By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

Next Friday is the deadline for South Portland residents who want to keep the city from switching off streetlights within 50 feet of their home. Last month, the city council discussed pulling the plug on approximately 112 streetlights throughout the city in an effort to save money.

At $15 a light per month, Planning and Development Director Tex Haeuser estimated throwing the switch could equate to a $19,000 savings in the city’s energy bill. In May, Haeuser said he and Code Enforcement Officer Patricia Doucette selected streetlights that were either close to another light or to a residence when deciding which should be turned off and those that should remain on. 

At least four petitions to leave lights on have already been filed with the city, submitted by residents on Broadway, B Street, Main Street and one business on Sawyer Street. 

“Directly in front of our facility are pole numbers 17 and 18 which are marked as two of the street lights to be eliminated,” Richard Reo, owner of Reo Marine on Sawyer Street, wrote in a letter accompanying his petition. “They act as a deterrent to vandalism and they also aid police officers as they patrol through the boat yard. Please give this matter some serious thought [before] removing these two street lights.”

Other petitions include concerns about deterring “unsavory characters” from walking Main Street at night and one Mill Creek resident has requested every light in the neighborhood remain on for public safety reasons. 

At least two lights north of Broadway on Ocean Street are scheduled to be turned off, according to a preliminary planning map.

“With many elderly and young families the need for lights in the summer [is] against crimes and rape,” Resident Melanie Wiker wrote. “The need in the winter is for the slippery walkways and streets, not to mention the snowplows not seeing someone and hitting or killing them. We can save [money] some places, but not in the public safety sector.”

Haeuser said one resident has also been reimbursed $25 for purchasing a house light to illuminate their property in lieu of a nearby streetlight remaining on. Any resident – including people who are renting apartments – may protest a streetlight being turned off, but requests for house light reimbursements must be made by South Portland property owners, according to an email from Haeuser.

According to a preliminary notification about the program, the streetlight project could be subject to final approval by the city council next month. All petitions to leave lights on will be reviewed by a council-appointed committee for consideration. 

“The committee members will base their determinations on whether there is a public safety problem associated with removing a street light,” the notification reads. “Stating that a street light removal would make a person’s property darker will not be deemed to be a valid public safety reason for keeping a street light.”

To learn more about the streetlight removal program, including how to object to a streetlight being turned off, call Adin Wolfgram at the South Portland Planning and Development Department at 767-7603 ext. 9 or visit the city’s Web site.

   Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.