Downtown Dennison getting new streetlights
DENNISON (WJER) (Sept. 27, 2022) – Officials are moving forward with a plan to replace most of the street lights downtown.
The village is participating in a pilot program where AEP buys certain lights, puts in energy-efficient ones, and leases them back to municipalities. Mayor Greg DiDonato says they’re paying $122,500 to have the company rewire and replace lights along Grant, North Second, and Third Streets and install a few new ones.
“They will bore the ground. All these will be underground, and that means no more wires downtown because all our main wires run in the alleys. So those wires that ran to those light posts will be gone. They’ll set in all 24 new ones and then we rent them like we do now, pay a monthly fee for each light.”
Council is using money the village received under the American Rescue Plan to cover the installation costs and pay for the two dozen decorative light poles that DiDonato says should go in sometime next spring.
“It will be 19 feet high, so they’re gonna be higher than normal. The reason why, because in order to clear trucks like if they’re near the curb like if a UPS truck comes over, you have to be at least 13 feet 6 inches off the street so you can put your decorations up, you can put your banners, your Christmas decorations.”
The village received grant money for some other improvements downtown, which will also be getting brick sidewalk inlays along with new planters, benches, decorative street markers, and trash cans.