The Town of Tofield and Fortis Alberta will be holding an open house at the Town Office on Wednesday, May 15, from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. regarding proposed street light installation within the town.
“In an effort to increase visibility throughout Tofield, Town Council has approached Fortis to install additional street lights throughout the town. If final approvals are received by June 2024, we anticipate that construction will be completed before the end of 2024. Initial stages will involve surveying, staking, and flagging. Upon completion of the finalized plan, construction will occur,” a customer notice from Fortis and the Town of Tofield reads.
The proposal first came before council last year, but the Town heard from many residents who had concerns about the project when flags and stakes appeared on their properties in September 2023.
“Concern stemmed over communication. Admittedly, this should have been handled differently, therefore, the rationale behind messaging and the Open House. Collectively, we want to dispel any false information, and provide the answer as to why we’re looking at the installation of the lights throughout the community,” Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Edwards said.
The customer notice says the area where light poles are installed will be returned to their former state after the installation.
“Fortis and our contractors will restore all impacted municipal property to the same condition it was prior projection completion.”
All residents may benefit from attending the open house, especially those who have an interest in or have concerns over the project, and all are invited to the Council Chambers in the Town Office to talk with Fortis as well as Council members.
“Those who have a proposed light either in front of, or adjacent to their property (can benefit from attending the Open House), however, any resident with questions on the project is encouraged to attend,” Edwards said.
Among frequently asked questions, the customer notice answers the question about where the poles are going to be placed.
“The new street lights are to be installed within municipal rights-of-way and will have minimum impact on your property. If any residential property is to be impacted, owners will be notified in advance,” the notice says.
Currently, the proposal indicates that the street lights will be powered by overhead lines. Fortis will cover $300,000 of the cost, with the Town paying $14,000. Overhead lines are considerably cheaper than underground, with at least an additional $400,000 with the underground option.
“Fortis provided two estimates to the Town, one for overhead and one for underground. When looking at total cost for both options, investment from the Town for overhead lines would be significantly lower than underground installation,” the notice says.
Kari Janzen
Staff Reporter
