The Engineering Division has a street reconstruction project planned for Grand Avenue between Zimmerman Trail and Shiloh Road in the summer of 2016.  The project will include installation of new street lights between 30^th Street West and Shiloh as part of the street project.  Passage of this Resolution of Intention is the first step in the legal process of creating a lighting maintenance district to pay the costs of operating and maintaining the new lighting. Passage of this Resolution of Intent will trigger the mailing of legal notices to the affected property owners and set a Council public hearing at the January 25, 2016, City Council meeting.  To avoid having the formal protest period extend over the holidays, the legal notice will be published and mailed on January 7, 2016.

The new lighting will use steel mast arm style poles with LED lamps and underground wiring.  The cost of installing the new lighting will be paid for by the street reconstruction project.  The adjacent property owners will only pay for electrical energy and maintenance, through an assessment on their property tax statements. Light district assessments will average $423 per property per year and are based on the lineal footage of property frontage along Grand Avenue.  Pursuant to 7-12-4327 Montana Code Annotated, properties outside of, but contiguous to, the city limits will be assessed for their share of the energy and maintenance costs for the lighting. 
 

City Council may:

• Pass the Resolution of Intent to create SILMD 321 to provide a source of funding for operation and maintenance of the streetlights and set a public hearing for January 25, 2016; or

• Do not pass 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 operation and maintenance of the streetlights and the new lighting will not be installed.

Staff recommends the City Council approve a resolution of intention to create SILMD 321 and set a public hearing for January 25, 2016.