Mt Pleasant looks at proposal for

new light poles, LED street lights

By Doug Lowe 

Staff writer

2-6-2020

MT. PLEASANT—The Mt. Pleasant City Council heard a proposal last week to replace deteriorating light poles in the city with steel ones and to Install energy-efficient LED street lights on the poles.
However, at the meeting last Tuesday, Jan. 28, the council decided to postpone any decision, at least temporarily, because of the front-end cost of the improvements.
Shane Ward, the power superintendent, introduced a lighting company representative, who said his company’s “comfort optics” system, besides saving energy, would reduce light pollution, eliminate glare into windows of homes and improve visibility on streets.
The direction the lights point can be changed and the brightness increased or dimmed by remote control, the company representative said.
The council seemed to agree that the proposal would save the city in the long-run but wasn’t ready to commit to the purchase price for the first phase of up to $200,000. But it appeared the council might move forward later.
Meanwhile, the council approved participation by the Mt. Pleasant Power Department in a service project sponsored by the American Public Power Association to help extend power lines to the homes of 60,000 residents of the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners area.
For one week in May, two power department employees who have the required certifications will take a city truck and join with workers from one or more neighboring Sanpete communities at the Navajo reservation.
Ward said the local crews will work 10-12 –hour days connecting homes and hogans on the reservation.
In other discussion, two representatives of an organization that sponsored car drag races on the airport runway last year asked permission to sponsor the same type of event in the same location this year. The target dates are Friday June 12 and Saturday June 13.
“Last year Mt. Pleasant became the only place in Utah with a legal drag race, and that distinction brought in competitors here from all over the western states,” one of the representatives said.
But council members informed the promoters that since last year much of the old runway had been sold to a private party, and trenches have been dug across the pavement.
One of the promoters suggested that the city consider construction of a permanent drag racing strip as an economic boon to the area—much like the Contoy Arena. That idea seemed to appeal to some members of council.
On still another matter, the council discussed changing the time of its second meeting of the month. The council generally meets on the second and fourth Tuesday. It has been starting the meeting on the fourth Tuesday at 4 p.m. The council discussed changing the starting time to 6:30 p.m.
City Recorder Jeanne Tejada advised council that such a change would require a public hearing. The council scheduled the hearing for Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.