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LED lights to give Fairview “green” look
By Jon Vanderlaan
McKinney Courier-Gazette
In addition to shopping and dining, the Village development also will bring the town of Fairview the first street in Texas lit entirely by LED lights.
The lights, named The Fairview Bell Series by Sunovia Energy Technologies after the town, will be placed on Fairview Parkway, a street located directly behind the Village at Fairview.
The lights also fulfill part of the town’s goal to be a technology and environmental leader, he said. Not only do the lights leave a minimal carbon footprint, but they will save about 50 percent on electricity costs and are guaranteed by Sunovia for 12 years.
Dunlap said the lights will pay for themselves through energy savings in three years.
Bob Fugerer, president of Sunovia, said the 82 lights that are being placed on the parkway will cost about $300,000 to the city.
The lights were positioned in a way that kept the light on the ground to abide by the dark sky ordinance, he said. The lights also are pointed strategically on the road to distribute the light on the road well and not have dark spots between the lights.
Similar to the lighting on a baseball field, Fugerer said, the lights are pointed in different directions so no area is left untouched by light.
Dunlap said the town agreed to be an “LED city” for Sunovia, and while the city does not plan on only using LED lights, the title is symbolic for the town's support of the concept of LED lights.
Besides the lights on Fairview Parkway, of which only a portion is finished but the entire street ultimately will have the lights, the town plans on purchasing more lights for the fire station and the new town hall, which still is in the design phase.
Dom Viccari, borough manager for Ellwood City, Penn., which first tested LED lights in 2006, said 135 out of the borough’s 796 street lights are LED, and the borough has seen about 83 percent savings on electricity.
The borough installed the most recent LED lights in August 2008, he said, and the lights alternate with more traditional mercury vapor lights to show the difference between the two.
Viccari said few complaints have been made about the lights, and the borough plans to replace the remaining 661 street lights with the LED lights through a three-year program that uses the 83 percent electrical cost savings from the already-installed lights to buy new lights.
Fairview Parkway runs behind the Village at Fairview and ultimately will connect Highway 5 and Ridgeview Drive, Dunlap said. Although the MGHerring Group paid upfront for the roadway, Fairview ultimately will pay back the money as part of the two entities' 22-year agreement.
The town of Fairview is guaranteed $1 million in revenue from the Village at Fairview before it is required to begin paying MGHerring back for the Village as well as Fairview Parkway, he said. After that first $1 million is brought in by the city, the city will give 80 percent of revenues to MG Herring for 22 years, or until $48 million is paid back.
Kevin Hammeke, Allen director of finance, said a similar agreement exists between Allen and MGHerring, in which the city will pay the company 75 percent to 90 percent of sales tax revenue until about $40 million is paid off.
According to finance department estimates, the city will bring in about $1.2 million in fiscal year 2009 and $1.8 million in fixcal year 2010.
Dunlap said Fairview has not begun speculating what they will do with the additional money that will come from the Village at Fairview, and will visit the options when they receive the money.
“Anytime you get $1 million. ... $1 million is a lot of money,” he said. “It's really good for the town.”
The city also will see a large amount of job growth, Dunlap said, with Macy's and JCPenney bringing 300 jobs.
Hammeke echoed that the villages also would help Allen during difficult economic times for the nation.
“We have some challenges, but we're not in as bad of shape as some other cities,” he said. “Any time you have increased employment, it results in people spending their dollars here.”
JCPenney and Macy's will open this summer, and Dillard's and the Container Store will open in March 2010 in the Village at Fairview.
At the Village at Allen, Hemispheres, James Avery, Movie Trading Company, Ross Dress for Less and Zeus Boutique will open in July and Sylvan Learning will open in September. The Allen Event Center is scheduled to open later this year.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Citizen wrote on Jun 22, 2009 8:53 AM:
" I'm glad it will give the "green" look, because whn it mixes with the red , blue and orange lights from the cop cars it will seem like Christmas in Fairview every night of the year ! "
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