(9/13) At its Sept. 11 meeting, the Town Council approved awarding a contract to Catoctin Lighting for the purchase and installation of new light fixtures downtown. The council approved Catoctin Lighting by a 3-2 vote with commissioners Joe Ritz and Amy Boehman voting against the proposal.

The project will replace 103 total outdated Old Boston style streetlights including poles, fixtures and lenses. 97 lights are located on the East and West side of Main St. and six are located on South Seton Ave.

The current lights on Main Street are a semi cut-off design meaning some up glare is sent into the night sky, which has been an area of complaint by residents. The new proposed streetlights would have dimmable capabilities, minimizing this issue, according to Town Manager Cathy Willets.

Along with the age of the streetlights, many dating back to the 1980s, a driving force for the project was addressing concerns that Main Street was not bright enough, she said. Deterioration of the lights have been noted to include cracking, rusting fogging globes and bowls that are fogging, Willets said.

The Town received a total of nine bids with four finalists. Town staff recommended the Council award the contract to Catoctin Lighting, whose bid, at $266,140, was the highest submitted bid.

While the majority of the cost of replacing the lights will be covered by state grants, Catoctin Lighting’s bid was $38,000 over what the town had budgeted for the effort in its grant application process. To address the shortfall, the Town will have to dip into the general fund to cover the extra costs not covered by grant funding, according to Willets.

In voting for approval of the Catoctin Lighting bid, a company that is based in Thurmont, Commissioner Frank Davis reiterated the value of supporting local businesses, and noted that the town’s street department said having readily available parts in Thurmont would help them keep the light on. Going with one of the other finalists, who are located in Baltimore and Texas, would result in delays in fixing lights when they break. "We can make up the extra cost of going with Catoctin by savings on just the shipping costs from Texas when we need a spare light," he said.

Ritz voted against the contract stating he would have liked to have seen more investigation into lights that are dark skies friendly - meaning all light is directed down and not causing an unsightly blinding glare even if dimmed.

Boehman voted against the light contract because Catoctin's bid was not only the highest bid, but that Catoctin's warranty was not as good and did not address light pollution as well as other bidders.