WESTERLY — The town could transfer nearly 600 streetlights along state roads in Westerly to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
A proposed agreement before the Town Council outlines the move, which has been in the planning stages since 2021 when state DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. offered to take over the lights. Municipalities in Rhode Island had been paying for all roadway lighting within their borders, including streetlights on or adjacent to state roads, Alviti noted.
The agreement would transfer ownership, maintenance and billing of about 590 lights to the state. It would need Town Council approval.
The council got its first look at the proposal Monday and is scheduled to take it up again at its next regular meeting, Sept. 25.
“This is the very first time we’re seeing these documents,” Council President William Aiello said. “For something like this it would be good to let it be out in the public.”
The town would no longer be responsible for paying for the power and maintenance of streetlights on state roads, Town Manager Shawn Lacey said.
Lacey said the move would save a substantial amount of money off the town’s annual budget of $300,000 to $400,000 for lights. Lights on town-owned roads would remain the responsibility, and an expense, of the town.
Among the conditions of the transfer are that the town has completed conversion of all the lights to light-emitting diode, or LED, technology. The conversion to LED technology was paid for with a low-interest loan of $250,000 that the town received from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.
Westerly has owned all its streetlights for several years. In December 2016 the Town Council authorized the purchase of about 3,100 luminaires and 117 non-distribution poles and the supporting equipment for $109,135 from National Grid and joined PRISM, the nonprofit Partnership for RI Streetlights Management, which manages streetlights for its member towns and provides maintenance through two contractors.
The ability to turn the lights over to the state stems from a lawsuit the town of Johnston filed, with Westerly Town Solicitor William Conley’s firm also representing that town.
The suit against utility National Grid and the state alleged that it was not legal to charge municipalities for power to streetlights that were on state property.
“There was opposition under the regulations pursuant to the Public Utilities Commission that RIDOT should have been paying these bills all along,” Conley said. “Ultimately we won in court and one community after another has taken advantage of that.”
The lawsuit was settled in Johnston’s favor and other communities, including Coventry, Central Falls, Cumberland, Pawtucket and East Providence have turned lights back over to the state, Lacey said.
“The state basically stepped in to settle the matter and accepted the maintenance and electricity on the streetlights,” he said.
Savings by ridding the town of the upkeep on 590 lights would begin as soon as the transfer is completed, Lacey said.
Some councilors expressed concerns that the state would shut off the streetlights under its control as a money-saving measure. Lacey, too, noted that “every other streetlight” on Route 78 had been turned off during a recent drive he took on it. He called that a safety issue and has been in contact with the DOT about it.
Conley said the state can’t turn off the lights on a whim. Built into that PUC agreement are safety standards, he said. “They have to meet those safety standards.”
Federal highway funding the state receives also is tied to “another layer of safety standards,” he said.
After the transfer anyone could still report a light outage to the town, Lacey said, and get the light replaced within 24 hours.