My Motion regarding Streetlights at the 08 February 2017 Underhill Energy Committee Meeting

[Peter Duval]

Peter Bennett, Chair

Underhill Energy Committee

Town of Underhill

Dear Peter,

The Energy Committee has discussed streetlights many times and reviewed research on the issue of LED street lighting. Over more than year, among other things, we learned that:

* the Town is not compelled to light streets;

* In years past, the Town had already removed about half of its streetlights;

* While other lamps are available on the market, Green Mountain Power offered only 4000k lamps in its proposal to install new streetlights;

* the blue light from these LEDs is relatively strong;

* the blue light is especially effective at disrupting the circadian rhythm of humans by suppressing melatonin in the brain;

* this problem is also caused by screen devices;

* this problem is a factor in many diseases;

* the American Medical Association warns against the installation of the type of LED streetlight that Green Mountain Power is offering.

At the 08 February 2017 Energy Committee meeting, we voted unanimously to encourage the Town to decline the GMP proposal on streetlights and instead suggest removing some streetlights (with possibly one addition).

From the draft minutes, published 13 February 2017 on the committee’s Google Group (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/underhillenergycommittee/Ja2F5qPTE5g):

Streetlights 
************* 
PB reported that the Town received a letter from GMP informing it that it had 30 days to opt-out of a changeover of streetlights to LEDs. Discussion ensued. 

7:20 
PD MOVED, NB SECONDED to recommend that the town wait for better lights before accepting to change streetlights, and authorize PB to point out good candidate lights for removal, and perhaps one addition at Park Street and River Road. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 

This is a recording of the motion:

The Motion: