In 2019, Mesa City Council approved $81,225 for a streetlight monitoring system.
In August of 2020, City Council approved the second year of the Philips City Touch lighting management system at a cost of $1.7 million.
The third year of the program, approved by City Council In June, cost just over $2 million.
At its Sept. 20 meeting, City Council added $510,000 “to add a CDBG Funded Project to install and upgrade streetlights in specific, qualifying areas,” according to a report adding: “This project was not identified when the contract was established.”
According to a presentation at an earlier study session, the city will replace about 7,000 lights a year.
“The light bulb just went on in my head,” Councilman Mark Freeman cracked, before clarifying the purchase if only for the lights, which will be installed by city staff.
A presentation explained the system: “Philips City Touch is a lighting management system for public lighting in support of Mesa’s Smart Cities Initiative. It offers simple web applications to analyze, schedule dimming, plan and maintain workflow management, while monitoring, managing, and measuring connected lighting through the applications.
“The system can alert the City to pending failures and the general health of the streetlight inventory.”
Director of Transportation RJ Zeder said his department was approached a few months ago asking if there were any “viable projects within the low moderate income areas for the use of CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds.”
He praised the system.
“Smart nodes are the technology that allows us to manage how the streetlights are working, allowing us the ability to dim the lights,” Zeder said.
In response to a question from Vice Mayor Jenn Duff, Zeder said, “We’re accelerating, we have a seven year program to upgrade all the lights, but this will allow us to speed up.”
“I do like that it helps us get into our climate action plan and achieve those goals a little quicker,” Duff said.
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program is intended to support communities in every aspect, building them up through projects or activities that “address needs such as infrastructure, economic development projects,” according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The lighting system increase and 15 other agenda items were approved as part of the consent agenda Sept. 20. There was little discussion at the meeting and not public comment in a meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes.
“Well this will go down as one of the shortest meetings we’ve had, at least during my tenure as mayor,” Mayor John Giles said.
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