The Village of Warfield is looking into following in Trail's footsteps with LED street lighting.
Councillor Brett Rakuson revealed that he has been in contact with Fortis to look into the village's options.
“I have talked to Fortis to figure out how we would go about doing something like that,” he said during the councillor reports portion of the most recent Warfield council meeting on Jan. 7. “They don't supply the lights, but a contractor does.”
Rakuson says the last time he looked into it, there was no price difference between the current lights and LED fixtures, but that isn't the case now.
“There wasn't a huge incentive to change the lights before,” he said. “Now, we should be conserving and saving, so I am looking into doing something like that (in Warfield). There might be some serious savings here.”
According to the City of Trail, which has begun the year-long project of switching over to LEDs in street lamps, the new lights will last twice as long and can be dimmed based on the time of day, saving money in future replacements and usage.
Rakuson finished his report by mentioning he is waiting to hear back from Fortis about the next step the village can take.
Next up on the agenda was a discussion around supporting the City of Trail in a second access road to the Kootenay Regional Boundary Hospital. Trail council sent a letter requesting support and a mock-up map of the potential second route to the hospital, dated 2004.
The mock-up depicted a road sketched in, looping around the west side of the hospital, creating a north entrance to the property.
All Warfield councillors agreed that a second access was necessary, but weren't sure about the proposed route, bringing up geological issues that could block it.
“You've got that creek and if it goes haywire like it did in the ‘60s, it is going to be a mess,” said veteran councillor Tom Milne, presenting an alternate route for the road. “I think the road should come off the highway, go behind the high school and in that way.”
Councillor Rakuson shared a similar opinion.
“A second access is great, but I don't know if this is the best one, but it might not be the final solution,” he said.
Mayor Ted Pahl centred the discussion to whether or not the council would support a second access, regardless of where it is.
“Even if it is not the final plan, what they are looking for from the village is a letter saying whether we do or do not support a second access,” he said. “What we are supporting is a second access and their application towards getting that, but not necessarily this proposal.”
The discussion ended with council requesting a letter of support to be drafted by chief administrative officer, Vince Morelli and sent to Trail.