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Wolin in the News
The following article is reprinted with permission from the Des Moines Register, dated March 23, 2011:
It's out with the old and in with the new for Valley Junction's parking lot lamps.
Starting this spring, the area's 34 light fixtures will be retrofitted with LED bulbs. The new lamps are more energy efficient than their high-pressure sodium bubl predecessors, and will serve those who visit the neighborhood's business district after dark.
"I think this is a great project," said Mayor Steve Gaer. "There will be better light distribution, less spillover into adjacent residential properties, and there's an energy savings."
The project - paid for though a community development block grant and federal and state energy efficiency and conservation block grants - will be completed by July 1. The City Council awarded a $53,610 contract Monday to Wolin Electrical to make the switch. The light fixtures to be fitted with LED lamps are located in public parking lots in the 100 to 300 blocks of Fourth Street, and in the 100 to 300 blocks of Sixth Streets.
"I think it's great that they're moving toward something that's more efficient and less-intrusive to the neighbors," said Lori Ferris, who owns Heart of Iowa, 211 Fifth Street. "As long as it's keeping it bright and safe for everyone down here, I think it's win-win."
Linda Schemmel, an associate partner with West Des Moines, said the project is part of a larger plan to make the city more energy efficient. When items like light bulbs need to be replaced, city employees now look for greener products.
Many of the fixtures in the Valley Junction lots date to the mid-1980's, and are ready for an update, she said. Although the initial cost of the lights would be covered by grant money, the more efficient LED lamps would have paid for themselves in less than eight years - a savings the city would realize immediately, Schemmel noted.
"We're not just doing it to be green," she said, "We're doing it to be smart."
