Staff recommends City Council approve the Resolution of Intent to create Street Improvement Light Maintenance District (SILMD) 331 and set a public hearing date of June 12, 2023.

Property Owners along Montana Avenue between 27th Street and 22nd Street have requested that the existing streetlights within this corridor be upgraded from High-Pressure Sodium Lights to more efficient LED lights.  Passage of this Resolution of Intent is the first step in the legal process of creating a lighting maintenance district to pay for the required retrofit as well as the maintenance and operation costs. This resolution will discontinue the existing SILMDs in the area (SILMD 18 & 208) and combine them into the SILMD 331. Passage of this Resolution of Intent will trigger the mailing of legal notices to the affected property owners and set a public hearing at the June 12th, 2023, City Council meeting. The intent is to retrofit the existing pedestrian lighting on the north side of Montana Avenue (SILMD 208) and the existing streetlights (SILMD 18) with LED luminaires. The retrofit will require the installation of service meters and underground wiring.  The adjacent property owners will pay for electrical energy, ongoing maintenance, administration costs, and installation through an assessment on their property tax statements.  The assessments made will be based on equal value. The energy and maintenance assessments are estimated at $382.14 per property per year, totaling $10,700.00 for the entire District. The current total assessment for the two districts is currently about $13,000.00.  The installation assessment is estimated at $2,357.14 per property, totaling $66,000.  In summary, implementing the new district will simplify two districts into one district and total electrical use will decrease with the new LED lights.

City Council may:

• Approve the Resolution of Intent to Create SILMD 331 to provide a source of funding for the installation, operation, and maintenance of the streetlights and set a public hearing for June 12, 2022; or
• Do not approve the Resolution of Intent or set a public hearing date. If the Council does not adopt the Resolution, the property owners cannot be assessed for the installation, operation, or maintenance of the streetlights, so the new lights will not be installed.

The United States Federal Building at the Northwest corner of N. 26th Street lies within the SILMD 331 Boundary. The estimated assessments for this property are $382.14 for the maintenance and $2,357.14 for the improvements. Assessments for Federally owned properties are paid out of the City's General Fund.