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Dear Mr. Faraj: Councilmember Feller asked me to forward the following
letter written by of our City Attorneys, Barbara Hamilton, regarding the issue
with lights in your neighborhood. He feels it answers many of the questions
posed by individuals concerned with the situation and hope this will give you
some idea as to the situation at this time. Her letter stated: In response to your specific
questions and concerns: 1. As you know, the street lights in the RDO
neighborhood are different from the street lights throughout the rest of the
City. This is so, because at the time the community was planned, the
developer desired to establish a special aesthetic character unique to the RDO
neighborhood, which was accomplished through the use of specialized
improvements, facilities, signs and street furniture. Those improvements
and facilities, including the street lights, are not standard City items.
Pursuant to Street Maintenance Agreements with the City formed at the
inception of the development, the City accepted responsibility for maintaining
the street lights but only to the same extent as the City maintains City
standard street lights. Importantly, the RDO property owners (through
their HOA) are responsible under the Street Maintenance Agreements to pay any
extra cost to maintain the street lights “to the extent it exceeds the
City’s cost of maintaining standard City items.” 2. The RDO street lights are constructed of a
non-galvanized, painted metal; City standard street light poles, on the other
hand, are made of concrete and require minimal maintenance. The City has
in fact maintained the RDO street lights at the same level as it has maintained
City standard street lights in other areas of the City (e.g., replacing lamps
and photo cells when necessary). Under the Street Maintenance Agreements,
the cost of providing any maintenance beyond that level is the responsibility
of the property owners, through their HOA. The HOA never requested the
City to provide additional maintenance for the metal poles, even when City
staff pointed out to the management company the first signs of rust on the
poles. Moreover, several years ago the City replaced many of the metal
bases, which were beginning to rust, with plastic bases and did not recover the
extra cost from the HOA, even though the City was entitled to do so under the
Street Maintenance Agreements. The Street Maintenance Agreements specifically
authorize the City to remove and replace non-standard improvements with
City-standard improvements, at the HOA’s expense, “upon the
City’s determination, in its sole discretion, that the public
health and safety require such permanent replacement.” When the
light poles became so rusted and deteriorated that they began to fall, the City
determined that they posed a safety hazard and, after contacting the
HOA’s management company, removed those poles that posed the greatest
hazard. The Street Maintenance Agreements specifically provide that the
property owners, through the HOA, are responsible for the costs of removal and
replacement of the street lights under these circumstances. 3. The street light assessments that appear on your property
tax bill are used to pay for electricity, maintenance, debt service, and
administrative costs of providing street lighting throughout the City.
The amount collected has been insufficient in recent years to cover the full
cost of the program, and accordingly the City has had to subsidize the street
lighting fund from other sources. As
I noted previously, the City shares the residents’ desire to replace the
street lights that have been removed, but we face the joint challenge of
finding the funds to pay for the replacement. Although the City and the
HOA disagree as to who bears responsibility for replacement of the street
lights, we are trying to focus on a solution rather than arguing about the
problem. City staff has obtained cost estimates to replace the 132 poles
that have been removed, and we are exploring various financing options.
We expect to meet again with the HOA and its attorneys within the next two
weeks to discuss possible cost-sharing arrangements as well as a comprehensive
program for removal and replacement of the remaining street lights. We hope this gives you a more thorough understanding of the
situation. Sincerely, Vickie A. Prosser, Aide to Councilmember Jack Feller |