No it isn’t a disco ball, it’s a street lamp that isn’t working. A Bloomington City council member calls for accountability measures for the city when it comes to the time it takes from an infrastructure issue being reported to when it actually gets fixed.
Sheila Montney said a fundamental responsibility of local government is to make sure our infrastructure is in good working condition. Montney said the city can and must do better.
“There’s a street light, at the corner of Baywood Road and Towanda Barnes, that has been flashing like a strobe light on a busy street for at least four or five weeks,” said Montney.
Cornbelt Energy and Ameren have collaborated with the city on some of these street lamps, but one resident says Cornbelt has already replaced the bulb but the lights still don’t work. That ultimately then falls on the city to fix it.
“Why can’t Bloomington repair street lights, especially in places where kids stand and wait for school buses?” asks one resident.
Currently there are 8 lights out on GE Road between Airport Road and Towanda Barnes.
“I have called the city and Cornbelt Energy for two months and nothing happens,” said a Bloomington resident.
Does the City have staff that maintains streetlights in the city?
The City Electricians are responsible for the ornamental lights in the city. They also maintain the pole, underground wire, fixtures and globes on Corn Belt Energy lights. Corn Belt Energy maintains the lamp and photocell. Ameren Illinois handles all issues with their lights.
Montney said there is currently no accountability measures in place.
“What’s the time that we should expect a resident to wait from reporting a street light as non-functional to when that street light is functional?” asks Montney.
Montney points out in January it gets dark right when school gets out and car present a huge risk to children playing basketball after school.
Meanwhile the council recently approved $750,000 for a consulting company to brainstorm ideas about what the estimated $30 million Down Bloomington Streetscape might look like.
There was a Dec. 7 meeting led by business owners, mainly, who brainstormed ideas and a question that was asked was, “What are some of the major challenges that you feel prevents Downtown Bloomington from reaching its full potential?”
Montney said trash and the homeless population were both brought up as major issues. According to Home Sweet Home Ministries, the homeless population has been staying for longer periods of time in the shelter.
However, no solutions were brought up at this particular Dec. 7 meeting.
Montney said some of the streetscape is about the aesthetics and how the street lamps look.
“Now on the other side…issues associated with the sewer infrastructure in downtown…as an example, those types of things are already known to city and there are already on-going plans to address those,” said Montney. “What does that look like when you start a big project like this to include everything? That’s why I preferred a different approach other than this project.”
Montney said that 40% of Bloomington Roads, by Bloomington’s own rating system, are rated fair or below.
One of the precincts in Ward 3, Montney’s ward, is around the Evergreen Racquet Club and Montney said the streets in this area are below ‘fair’ according to Bloomignton’s rating system.
“When I am looking at things like that and thinking about the quality of life for the residents who are navigating those streets everyday….that really needs attention,” said Montney. “The way we communicate about our roads needs to be around miles paved.”
