Hoping to save a little cash down the road, Amherstburg is the latest municipality to make the conversion to LED streetlights.
"We've been talking about it for quite some time now. It makes sense," says Councillor Leo Meloche. "The cost recovery... they said is five-and-a-half years. It's good all around."
Last year, Amherstburg paid $228,573 in streetlight utility costs, and over the past years, another $44,991 has been spent on repairing streetlights.
A report to town council says Amherstburg will save $74,597 in utility costs, and $22,495 in maintenance this year.
The report goes on to say installation, power, and maintenance fees will add up to a total project cost of $1.2-million.
The new lights come with a 20-year limited replacement warranty, and all components are covered for a full replacement for ten years. The town will still have to pay for broken bulbs and damaged lenses.
Meloche acknowledges that Amherstburg is a few years behind other municipalities in the region.
"Some people think we've been dragging our heels a little bit on it, but we had a lot of issues to deal with over the time," he says.
Lakeshore completed its conversion in 2016, along with Tecumseh. Windsor decided in 2015 to replace 22,000 streetlights at the cost of $14-million.
- With files from Mark Brown
