DATE: March 24, 2016
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
FROM: Eric Stuckey, City Administrator
Paul Holzen, Director of Engineering
Jonathan Marston, Assistant Director of Engineering
Gupta Borra, Traffic Engineer 2
SUBJECT:
title
Presentation of DRAFT Street Lighting Standards
body
Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to provide information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) concerning the current status of the development of Street Lighting Standards for the City of Franklin.
Information
In recent years, the City of Franklin has revised its opinion on the ownership, operation, and maintenance of street lighting systems. In the past, all street lighting was ultimately owned, operated, and maintained by the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (MTEMC), with the City of Franklin paying a fee, per fixture, for these services. On several recent capital projects (i.e. Carothers Parkway Phase 2, McEwen Drive Phase 3, Carothers Parkway South Extension, etc.) the City has installed street lighting so that it will be owned, operated, and maintained by the City, with payment to MTEMC for electricity only. With these recent projects, staff has tried to be consistent with the design and construction of street lights. However, the City does not currently have a technical standard for street lights.
In 2014, several City staff members worked on an internal task force to develop standards for future City street lights. Unfortunately, this effort was never completed and adopted as a City standard. On September 8, 2015, the BOMA approved a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) (COF Contract No. 2015-0284) with Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, Inc. (BWSC) to provide additional technical input and to develop a final street lighting design standard that builds off the effort of the original task force. On February 9, 2016, the BOMA approved Amendment No. 1 to the PSA with BWSC to provide these additional tasks: (1) examples of lighting design results, (2) training for review of light designs, and (3) incorporation of revisions as required by staff comments.
On March 2, 2016, a brief presentation and discussion was held at the monthly Design Professionals Meeting in the City Hall Boardroom. This opportunity was used to introduce the idea of street lighting standards to the local design community. The attendees provided good feedback, which will be incorporated into the final specifications.
After the presentation at the March Capital Investment Committee (CIC) meeting, City staff intends to meet with staff from MTEMC to discuss the new draft lighting standards. Any comments and concerns will be incorporated, along with any additional staff recommendations, into a final standard. This final standard will then be presented to the BOMA and Franklin Municipal Planning Commission (FMPC) for review and approval.
Financial Impact
City staff is still evaluating the long term impact associated with owning, maintaining and operating street lights. Additional information will be provided prior to the adoption of our new standards.
Recommendation
rec
No recommendation at this time. Staff is seeking input and direction from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.