Uintah County and Vernal City officials continued their discussion of the lights along Main Street and Aggie Blvd during the city/county meeting on Monday. The county and city began to experiment with the lights in March with several different configurations to see what each looked like and if enough light was distributed. Feedback was gathered through Facebook polls and officials are now considering their options. During Monday’smeeting, the Mayors from Naples City and Ballard City each explained their cost savings by owning the lights on their streets and having power metered. Both cities also use independent contractors for maintenance while the lights on Main Street and Aggie Blvd are owned by Rocky Mountain Power and the majority of the monthly bill covers maintenance costs. According to Uintah County Planning and Zoning, each light costs about $50 per month with only about $5 of that going towards electricity. The rest is paid to Rocky Mountain Power for service and maintenance. The cost to the County is about $72,000 dollars a year for 116 lights and the cost to the City is approximately the same. The group agreed duringMonday’s meeting to explore more efficient lighting options and possible grants to help with funding.
