TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Derrick Abel, Police Chief
Steve S. Charelian, Finance Director
Sean Roberts, Facilities Supervisor
Gwen Eng, Purchasing Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Awarding Bid #1207-19 to Graybar for the Purchase of 70 Solar Pathway Lights for $69,097 (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of 70 solar pathway lights from Graybar for $69,097.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The total cost of the solar pathway lights is $69,097. Although the solar lights are not budgeted, there are residual funds appropriated and available ($74,500) in the Capital Improvement Fund from the recent purchase of Southern California Edison streetlights which can be used for this purchase. The remaining funds will be used for any hardware and use tax for this project.
BACKGROUND:
Last summer, the Public Works Department implemented a pilot project to test the functionality of, and desire for, solar pathway lights at intermittent intervals along Veteran’s Parkway (the greenbelt). The purpose of the solar lights was to provide additional low-profile lighting that would enhance users’ awareness of their surroundings and safety while on the greenbelt, while also maintaining that special ambiance the greenbelt provides in an urban setting. As part of the pilot project, waist-high solar lights were selected that best met that balance. Four of these lights were installed for one month each in three separate locations (upper, middle and lower greenbelt) along with accompanying signage asking the community what they thought of the installations (see Attachment). Greenbelt users were asked to text their opinions about the presence of the solar lights to the City using the following rating system:
Text “1” if you love it
Text “2” if you like it
Text “3” if you don’t care either way
Text “4” if you mostly don’t like it
Text “5” if you hate it
During the three-month survey period, the City received 513 responses of which 83% were overwhelmingly in favor of the pathway lighting. It is worth noting that the texting system did not accept multiple votes from the same phone number, thus staff is confident that the results represent 513 unique votes. The results were as follows:
76% Love it (390 responses)
7% Like it (35 responses)
<1% Don’t care either way (4 responses)
8% Mostly don’t like it (42 responses)
8% Hate it (42 responses)
These results suggest that the community is strongly in favor of providing additional moderate lighting along the greenbelt.
DISCUSSION:
Safety is a growing concern throughout the community, in particular in areas that are heavily utilized by the community but lack sufficient nighttime lighting, such as the greenbelt. Likewise, many people in the community like the natural environment the greenbelt provides within an urban setting, and are not generally in favor of substantial changes to the area. As mentioned above, staff’s objective was to select and test a well-performing, durable product that balanced the desire for enhanced visibility and user awareness at night while also maintaining the ambiance of the greenbelt. The community feedback the City received indicates that the solar lights tested successfully achieved this balance.
These solar lights do not require electrical (wired) power and are set to automatically come on at dusk and turn off at dawn. The particular light style tested by Public Works have 36” tall white posts, are powder coated to resist weathering, and have 220-300 lumen light emitting diode (LED) lights that last 100,000 hours (or approximately 22 years at 12 hours per day). The rechargeable batteries have an estimated 8 to 10-year lifespan. Because no electricity is needed to power the lights, this minimizes both installation costs and long-term maintenance. Notably, based on research of other lighting options, staff felt that that this light offered the best combination of options in durability, performance and aesthetics. The four lights used in the pilot program validated those findings. Staff estimates that 70 lights would be needed to cover a roughly 2-mile length of the greenbelt, with installations set approximately 130-150 feet apart. The installations would be performed by City staff.
Only one bid was received from Graybar for $69,097. If approved, installations would commence shortly after the order is received, and be completed within 120 days.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Public outreach was achieved through implementation of the three-month pilot program seeking community feedback from users of the greenbelt. A total of 513 responses were received, with results showing overwhelming support for this safety project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Solar Pathway Light Specifications
2. Solar Light Photos