Daleville Council OKs street light upgrades

An opportunity to upgrade the street lights in the city of Daleville, at no upfront cost to the city, was approved by the Daleville City Council at the meeting March 16.

The council approved entering into an agreement with Alabama Power Company to upgrade the existing street lights to LED lamps, which are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps and can be significantly more efficient than most fluorescent lamps.

Under the agreement, there is no upfront cost to the city and no ownership risk, Daleville City Clerk Angelia Filmore told those attending the council meeting.

“Alabama Power provides all maintenance, parts and labor and the maintenance cost is included in the monthly service amount,” Filmore said, adding that the lights will provide “better visual acuity and a virtually wasted light estimated saving of $135.86 per month.”

In other business, Daleville Mayor Jayme Stayton said that the city’s comprehensive plan is being revisited. He said he has reached out to the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning Commission and will update the council as the project develops.

Daleville City Councilman Alan Souders expressed concern about the appearance of structures along the street leading into Fort Rucker from Daleville. “The sidewalks look awful outside the gate,” he said. “One thing we can do and it won’t cost a lot of money would be if we could start trying to beautify from the (Fort Rucker) gate this way,” he said

Some suggestions from the council included a decorative lighted “Welcome to Daleville” sign and research into grants available for businesses to improve their facades.

Stayton said that he will review the existing ordinances and ensure that they are being enforced. “Working together as a team, I think we get more accomplished if we do it together,” he said.

In unrelated business, Stayton announced that Daleville Department of Public Safety Chief Allen Medley has completed the first 40 hours of training in the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police Certified Law Enforcement Executive Program. Medley was awarded his certificate on Feb. 18.

The council also heard the first reading of an application for a lounge retail liquor license for Hueys at 451 Daleville Avenue. It will be laid over until the April 6 for a vote by the council.

In unrelated business, the council also tabled any decision on changing the costs to rent the ball fields at Culpepper Park to a more competitive rate pending additional information from the Daleville Parks and Recreation Director.

The next meeting of the Daleville City Council is Tuesday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the Daleville City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting is open to the public.