ROCKPORT — The Rockport Select Board voted unanimously Dec. 9 to purchase 25 decorative  light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights to be placed in various areas of downtown Rockport, Rockport Harbor as well as along Warrenton Street near Glen Cove and the Samoset Resort.

The town’s remaining 237 streetlights will be replaced with Cobra Head LED fixtures as part of the board’s plan to convert all of Rockport’s streetlights to LEDs.

The 25 ornamental streetlights will be distributed as follows:

10 along Pascal Avenue;

five along Central Street;

three leading down to Harbor Park;

one at the Rockport Post Office; and

six along Warrenton Avenue.

The board discussed various neighborhoods, light locations and distribution schemes and made and amended two motions before voting unanimously on the aforementioned array.

Prior to the town-wide conversion to LED, which will be the work of RealTerm Energy, there are currently 149 decorative streetlights and 113 Cobra Head fixtures in Rockport, which operate using high pressure sodium bulbs.

On Oct. 28, the Select Board considered a proposal by RealTerm to replace all the decorative LED lamps at a cost of $308,000, and install the remaining cobra head lights for $102,000 for an estimated project cost of $436,000.

In reviewing a map of the all of the town’s streetlights, the board noted that many of the 149 decorative fixtures were placed in neighborhoods outside of Rockport Village, such as Clam Cove, Simonton Corner and Rockville.

The existing ornamental fixtures were purchased years ago and parts for them and matching votives are no longer available so the board selected a similar style decorative votive.

At the October meeting the board discussed purchasing up 75 decorative streetlights, though members expressed concern at the visibility of some of the light locations as well as the associated costs.

Town Manager William Post said in October that each decorative lamp would cost $1,204, and that cobra head lamps cost $144 per fixture. Either type of fixture would be covered by a 10-year warranty. The lights would be paid for through a lease-purchase agreement.

An estimate provided by RealTerm at the time stated the town’s annual electric bill from Central Maine Power would be reduced from $55,000 to approximately $11,000 by installing the LED fixtures throughout town.

Board member Jeff Hamilton was the first to propose placement of the 25 decorative lights at the Monday night meeting.

Hamilton, who had driven through town to note the location of the existing ornamental lamps, suggested that the new ornamental lights be placed along Pascal Ave. running through town up Central Street to the Post Office, as well as placing two near the Rockport Town Office and fire department, one on Clam Cove Drive near the Samoset, and three at an intersection in the Rockville neighborhood. 

“I realize I’m newer to town than anyone else here, but I didn’t even know we had decorative streetlights before we started talking about them and then I started noticing them but they were up in cables and transformers,” said board member Denise Kennedy-Munger. “I’m not sure they’re better than the Cobra light in some of these settings but I understand the importance of distinguishing the downtown commercial district.”

She suggested that three of the decorative lights be placed on existing light posts leading down to Harbor Park.

Board member Doug Cole said that he was generally in favor of the arrangement Hamilton suggested, but said that the board had received feedback from a number of citizens who lived along Warrenton Ave. and suggested that lights Hamilton had designated to Rockville be placed instead in the Glen Cove neighborhood near the Samoset. 

During the discussion board member Mark Kelley said that he had spoken to Post and Chairwoman Debra Hall about the possibility of the town’s tax increment financing (TIF) district helping to pay for some of the lights which were in Rockport’s downtown area, such as Central Street and Pascal Ave.

Post said that any expenditures from the TIF would need to be put to a vote during the Town Meeting in June, but that he would explore the funding further as the town prepares its annual budget.

Hall said she would prefer the two decorative lights Hamilton suggested be placed near the Town Office and Rockport Fire Department be moved to Warrenton Ave.

Cole suggested moving these two lights, along with the three suggested for Rockville and one at the opening to the Samoset all to Warrenton Ave. for a total of six lights at the location, a move that was later agreed upon by the board.

Three of the four lights Hamilton had placed leading up from Central Street, past Memorial Park and up to the post office and Graffam’s seafood market were moved by the board to the access road to Harbor Park.

“My intent of going up to Graffam’s was to respect the reasons we’re doing decorative lights at all and going up through the majority of the commercial part of town in the village –from that point on it gets pretty thin– but you get up to the part of town where people tend to walk during the day, in and out of the village,” said Hamilton.

Hall made a suggestion that the lights run in the opposite direction, toward the former CMCA building, but the board did not pursue that idea.

The Select Board also voted in favor of having “smart controls” installed simultaneously with the LED conversion, at an additional cost of $30,000, or $120 per light fixture. This technology allows the lights to be dimmed, turned off or on remotely as well as notifies the town of lights are out.

“A very rough estimate for the project including purchase of existing lights from [Central Maine Power], purchase and installation of new lights (25 decorative, 3 flood lights and 220 cobra heads), smart controls for all lights, and consultant contract is $305,000,” said Post via email on Dec. 10.

The next meeting of the Rockport Select Board is Monday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockport Opera House.