By DAVE SCHULTZ
They were supposed to last five years. This year, however, is their 23rd.
What was being discussed during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bluffton Common Council were the Christmas lights being installed throughout the city. The large snowflakes are wearing out and are expensive to install and to operate, and council members would like to do something else to decorate the city for the Christmas season.
The question, however, is a simple one: What do we do?
Jon Oman, the city’s utility superintendent, said it takes about 935 man-hours to install the lights. Due to the fact that the lights are incandescent rather than LED in format, they take more electricity.
Council member Janella Stronczek said that someone had approached Bluffton NOW, the downtown revitalization group, about the installation of new lights. She said she would check and see what the status of that effort might be.
Council member Chandler Gerber said it was time: “We got our money’s worth,” he said.
daves@news-banner.com
