The Santa Clarita City Council will once again look at the topic of streetlight maintenance services at its regular meeting Tuesday evening.
Following the holidays, the City Council terminated all proceedings regarding proposed fee changes in the landscape and lighting district assessments. This time, council members will consider awarding a three-year contract “for ongoing maintenance services,” according to the staff report.
In May 2017, Santa Clarita purchased the streetlight system from Southern California Edison for three reasons, the city said, which are: for local control, the ability to immediately replace all lights with LED fixtures and “the realization of significant operational savings.”
“By acquiring our streetlights and converting them to LED technology, staff forecasts total savings in excess of $30 million during the first 30 years of ownership,” the staff report reads.
Following the transfer of ownership of about 40 percent of Edison’s streetlight system, the city started the process of installing LED fixtures.
The staff report reads, “As the city now owns these streetlight poles, it is appropriate to award a contract for ongoing maintenance services.”
The company in consideration to receive the award is San Francisco-based Tanko Streetlighting, which Santa Clarita worked with early 2018 to oversee the transition of streetlight services citywide.
Base services would include the replacement of failed lamps at no charge during a 10-year warranty period, a call and online-service center for residents to report streetlight issues and 24-hour standby personnel to respond to emergency conditions.
According to the city, annual costs associated with the recommended contract include $190,000 for base streetlight maintenance services and $60,000 for as-needed repair work. Staff is also requesting a recurring appropriation of $110,000 to repair streetlight poles in the case of any damage, which includes vehicle collisions, for which cars are responsible for damaging 100 to 110 poles annually. The amount requested would fund the city’s $1,000 deductible for every incident.
