ROCKLAND, Maine — The city expects to replace all of its downtown street lights in the spring.
City Councilor Larry Pritchett, who also chairs the city’s energy advisory committee, said the estimated $250,000 project would pay for itself in four years.
The city pays $65,000 annually to Central Maine Power for leasing 72 decorative metal lights that are located from Pleasant to North Main Street.
Those would be replaced by 65 city-owned LED lights. Pritchett said fewer ones are needed because the modern street lamps distribute the light better.
The city also would save an estimated 57 percent on energy use with the new lights, which would be similar to the ones installed in the Thorndike parking lot, he said. This would result in additional financial savings, he said, but the specific amount was not immediately available.
There are other benefits he pointed out, including less bright light shining into the upper floors of downtown buildings. In addition, the city would own the poles and could reduce some of the sign clutter downtown by attaching parking signs and pedestrian crossing signs on the same poles.
The project has been in the planning stages for the past few years. The 15-year lease agreement with CMP expired last year but is continuing in place on a month-to-month basis.
Installation could be done in April although a set replacement time has not been set. The council has set aside money for the project but is expected to take an additional vote to use money accumulated from the downtown tax increment financing district, Pritchett said.