(1/27) Pleasant Acres and Bennett Estates subdivisions will be receiving 114 new LED streetlights following the approval of the Streetlight Upgrade Project by the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 7. These are the latest subdivisions to receive updated streetlights as part of the ongoing project since 2016 to replace all of the streetlights in Thurmont with LED lights.
The Town Council, again, approved Catoctin Lighting’s bid of $48,564 over two other bids, hiring Catoctin again to replace the streetlights. They also received a non-compliant bid from Southern Partners in Altoona, PA and a bid for $52,440 from Shepherd Electric Supply in Frederick.
As with the previous sections of this project, the Town will be using funds awarded by Maryland Energy Administration’s Maryland Smart Energy Communities Grant to cover the cost of the lights. However, since the Town received $67,100 for this leg of the project, they will have extra funding leftover in this round. Town Manager Jim Humerick explained that the funding is more than necessary because Electric Utility Director Tyler Hubbard found a cheaper streetlight option that suited the Town’s needs better. Humerick reminded the Board that previous models were "too bright" and a different design than what the Town had chosen. Humerick assured the Board that the new streetlights Hubbard found is a "better model for less money."
At the time of the meeting, Humerick was waiting on a call back from the Maryland Energy Administration to find out if the Town can purchase additional streetlights with the remaining funds from the grant. He gave the Board the option to approve purchasing additional lights before speaking with the State or to approve only the 114 streetlights for the Pleasant Acres and Bennett Estates subdivisions and to wait on the remaining funds. The Town is required to use the funds for the LED streetlights and any unused funds will go back to the State.
Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird supported the former option. "We have the allocated funds, let’s go ahead and do it because it’s an ongoing project; we certainly still have a lot of lights that we need to upgrade."
The Council approved the project for the $67,100 with the provision that the Town purchase additional lights for future subdivisions, pending approval from the State of Maryland.
