Streetlight Project History

Street Lights –

08/14/2023

Expected to be completed end of August 2023

06/12/2023

All of the poles and extension arms and lights have been delivered to Duke, so we won’t have any supply chain issues.

ES/WS: (14 poles, 14 lights)

All of the poles and lights are changed out in East Shore and West Shore.  The Type III fixture we chose at the south end of Oceanview Drive at the turnaround was definitely the right choice as it’s working perfectly and that is what will be used in other locations in a Cul de Sac.

Madonna: (29 poles, 34 lights)

They have changed many of the Madonna double lights in the median heading West from the 7/11 and the light pattern on the street is excellent and a big improvement. There are still a few of the old Sanibel’s at the West end for comparison and the new poles and lights visually blend right in and provide much better light on the street.  They have shifted their work North into the Entrata area now and will probably finish those locations before shifting to Monte Cristo and Sands Point.   The lights that they changed in the Entrata side streets look just great and they are working much better at lighting up the street.

Monte Cristo (97 poles, 124 lights)

Not started yet but scheduled for completion by June 24th.

Sands Point (46 poles, 46 lights)

Not started yet but scheduled for completion by June 30th.

There may be more than one crew working at a time and Monte Cristo and Sands Point will probably be worked concurrently.  The Powertown crew chief tells me that everything is going very well.  There have been a few locations that did not have a concrete pedestal in the ground to support the pole and they have had to install one which involves a little more digging.

Once again as a reminder, all the poles are located within the utility right of way and crews may need to remove any plantings to perform their work.  If you have something planted next to the pole you should move it until the work is finished.

Duke Website link for streetlight or power outages.

Click on the light that’s broken or not working and fill out the form and submit.

05/08/2023 Update

Duke Energy will be replacing all of the streetlights in Tierra Verde with a new pole and a new LED light that is a softer warmer light and will better light the streets.  All of these poles are located in the Utility Right of Way and Duke crews will need to be able to access the pole to perform the work.  We realize that many residents may have flowers or bushes planted near the poles that you may want to save and replant once the work is done.  Now is the time to address this issue as material has arrived and the crews will begin working in the Madonna and Monte Cristo area as early as May 15th which is next week.  Replacement is expected to take 2-3 weeks.  Other areas will begin once these neighborhoods are completed and we will advise you as we obtain more accurate information on timing.

All light poles require a pedestal in the ground to support the pole and there are some poles in Tierra Verde that do not have a pedestal now.  However if there is a pedestal it’s a lot easier for them to pull out the old pole and install a new one.  If crews do need to install a pedestal more digging and work is required so they may need a 4 foot radius around the current pole for clearance.  If you have a Streetlight pole in your yard with landscaping around it you wish to keep, now is the time to please remove it.  Even though it’s still a utility right of way, you may be able to replant it once all the work is completed. This will be decided on a case by case basis by Duke.

If you have any questions you can refer to the BOD minutes from past meetings over the last several years or contact the TVCA office with your questions.

Project Details

Only the lights in Monte Cristo, Entrada, Sands Point and East Shore and West Shore are affected and paid for with your TVCA HOA dues.

After many years of investigation and consideration we selected the brand new, just made available, Micro 50 LED light fixture mounted on an arm that extends out over the street and it’s a warmer, healthier 3K color of  LED than what we have now.  The pattern of light on the street is much better than current fixtures.

We have examined every pole installation on Tierra Verde, along with the lighting engineer from Duke, to determine which of the 2 available LED patterns available in the fixture will be the optimum for each location.  We are not adding any poles at this time but will simply replace the current poles with these new poles and fixtures and then reassess the lighting before possibly deciding to add a few lights if needed.

We have signed new 10 year lease contracts with Duke and the new contracts will take effect on the date the lights are installed and first energized.  The current lights cost TVCA Homeowners $102,000 last year and don’t effectively light the streets.  These new lights will do a much better job, with a better quality light and only cost us $34,819 a year. This will save us $67,181 or 65% less and will continue to do so, saving us over $670,000 over the 10 years.

Poles should arrive and construction start early to mid May starting with Madonna and Sands Point. Completion by end of June.