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Home My WebLink About[06] Request to turn off lights 6 Council Agenda Item MEETING DATE: April 6, 2015 AGENDA ITEM: Wayne Birkholz, Light Request SUBMITTED BY: Administration BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: The City Council considered the request of Wayne Birkholz to turn the water tower lights off on March 28 in honor of earth hour. The Council authorized the lights to be shut off for that one night. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The City Council received a request from Wayne Birkholz to turn the lights off permanently. BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: ATTACHMENTS: Request for Council Action Email correspondence REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Provide direction This page intentionally left blank From: Wayne Birkholz \[mailto:wdbirk@hotmail.com\] Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 12:32 PM To: Judy Weyrens Subject: RE: Request to permanently shut off lights on water tower I'll see what I can put together. I would like some information as well. Can you give me the development costs of putting up the lights (total contract cost if outsourced), its history (when were they installed and if anyone present on the council was involved in that process, and what the rationale was at the time), and the yearly operating and maintenance costs allocated for the lights since the time they were installed broken down by year. In addition, can you provide any data that supports the continued use of the lights as it pertains to the city's rationale for installing the lights ? Basically a return on investment analysis: businesses that have chosen to locate here because of the lights, or new residents that moved here because of the lights. Information on the lights themselves, the make and model, type of light fixture (mercury vapor, sodium etc.) the rated output in watts , and the LUX value of the lights. Also, a calculation of how far the light travels and is still visible to the human eye. I'm not an engineer but I think that would satisfy most questions people might have. Thanks, Wayne From: jweyrens@cityofstjoseph.comB To: wdbirk@hotmail.com Subject: RE: Request to permanently shut off lights on water tower Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 16:36:37 +0000 ) I have 10 – 15 minutes. Could you send me electronically the information, all of our packets are delivered electronically and that works best. I can also include any links on the cover sheet for the Council. The packets go out tomorrow morning by 10 AM so I would need any information by then. Thank you From: Wayne Birkholz \[mailto:wdbirk@hotmail.com\] Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 11:30 AM To: Judy Weyrens Subject: RE: Request to permanently shut off lights on water tower 1 Good Morning Judy, I would be happy to be present at the next council meeting. How much time will be given to present the request? I am in the process of asking for information and assistance from others that may have an interest in presenting information. Do you happen to have the information I submitted last year for the lights off request? I would like that to be given to the council as background. In addition, can I submit internet links for review by council or do you need hard copies? Can administration make copies if that is necessary? Thank you, Wayne From: jweyrens@cityofstjoseph.com To: wdbirk@hotmail.com Subject: RE: Request to permanently shut off lights on water tower Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 15:08:32 +0000 Good Morning Wayne - I have been asked if you would be coming to present your request. We could place on the agenda Monday, April 6 at approximately 6:05 PM. Please confirm that you will be attending. From: Wayne Birkholz \[mailto:wdbirk@hotmail.com\] Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 2:31 PM To: Judy Weyrens Cc: rschultz25@msn.com; bobloso@q.com; Matt Killam; symanietzrenee@gmail.com; Dale Wick Subject: Request to permanently shut off lights on water tower Dear Ms. Weyrens and city council members: I would like to thank each of you for voting to shut off the lights on the St. Joseph water tower during Earth Hour 2015. It illustrates your understanding of the problem of climate change and its root causes, our indiscriminate and wasteful use of the finite resources we have. The decision to turn off the lights was the right one and demonstrates further the commitment each of you has to finding solutions. The solution to overuse of any of our finite resources is conservation. To that end, I am requesting that the city shut off the lights on the water tower permanently. The lights are unnecessary, do nothing to contribute to the mandate of municipal government to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens and is a frivolous use of taxpayer dollars . Since it may be deemed a frivolous use, it would mean a breach of public trust and an act of malfeasance by city officials. I am requesting that this matter be taken up during the next city council meeting for review and discussion. I am requesting that action is taken by April 22, 2015 which happens to be Earth Day. It would be an opportunity to have the lights shut off as part of a public event to bring further attention to the issue of responsible stewardship of our resources and an example of proactive, forward thinking leadership by our city officials. 2 In addition to the lights off request, I ask that the city adopt an exterior lighting ordinance. The Minnesota legislature has an Outdoor Lighting Fixture Model Ordinance, 16B. 328 It can be reviewed here https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=16B.328 Thanks again for the positive steps forward you have made with your decision to shut off the lights during Earth Hour and I hope you will continue to show your resolve by shutting off the lights permanently. Sincerely, Wayne Birkholz 447 Elena Lane St. Joseph, MN 3 From: Judy Weyrens Sent: Friday, April 03, 2015 8:23 AM To: 'Wayne Birkholz' Subject: RE: Water tower lights How long is the DVD, you will be limited to 15 minutes at the most. The agenda is full that night. Will this all fit in the time schedule. We will put the links in the packet and it will become part of the public record. From: Wayne Birkholz \[mailto:wdbirk@hotmail.com\] Sent: Friday, April 03, 2015 7:50 AM To: Judy Weyrens Subject: Water tower lights Good Morning Judy, Below are the articles from the web that relate to the lighting issue. If possible, can these be printed so they are available to the public that do not have internet access? If staff is unavailable to do this, let me know and I will make an effort to get the articles printed. I would like these articles to become part of the public record on the subject. I have a DVD of a concert at Kennedy last year that I would like to play at the council meeting. Is there A/V equipment available in the council chamber? Thank you, Wayne http://darksky.org/night-sky-conservation/88-international-dark-sky-communities http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/let-there-be-night/278070/ 1 http://www.startribune.com/local/west/177179761.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627884/ http://www.energybooks.com/pdf/D1150.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good http://economics.fundamentalfinance.com/negative-externality.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/electricity_generation.cfm/state=MN http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html#.VR4N7ZVFCM8 http://blogs.mprnews.org/updraft/2015/03/2015-already-warmest-year-globally-so-far/ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/us/californians-concerned-that-efforts-to-conserve-water-will-not- help-much.html?partner=msft_msn&_r=0 https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=16B.328 http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/136843363.html Total Control Panel Login To: jweyrens@cityofstjoseph.com Message Score: 10 High (60): Pass From: wdbirk@hotmail.com My Spam Blocking Level: Medium Medium (75): Pass Low (90): Pass Block this sender / Block this sender enterprise-wide Block hotmail.com / Block hotmail.com enterprise-wide This message was delivered because the content filter score did not exceed your filter level. 2 From: wdbirk@hotmail.com To: jweyrens@cityofstjoseph.com CC: rschultz25@msn.com; bobloso@q.com; mkillam@cityofstjoseph.com; symanietzrenee@gmail.com; dwick@cityofstjoseph.com Subject: Turn off lights on St. Joe water tower: Earth Hour 2015 Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2015 09:29:35 -0500 Dear Ms. Weyrens and city council members: I would like to request the city of St. Joseph to shut off the lights on the St. Joseph water tower in observance of Earth Hour 2015. Earth Hour is a global awareness campaign to promote responsible use of our limited resources and to educate people about global climate change. To join in the effort, we are asked to simply turn off all unnecessary lights for one hour on March 28th, at 8:30 PM local time. However, I also ask that the lights be turned off permanently at some near term time frame. We are all charged with acting responsibly as individuals in our public actions, city government is no exception. The lights are unnecessary, produce many negative consequences and is simply a waste of resources. I would like this matter to be placed on the city council agenda on March 16, 2015 to be considered for immediate action. More information about Earth Hour can be found at earthhour.org A web search on the detrimental effects of light pollution should also convince you it is the right thing to do. If I can provide more information to aid in the discussion, I will be happy to do so. Sincerely, Wayne Birkholz 447 Elena Lane St. Joseph, MN 56374 Total Control Panel Login To: jweyrens@cityofstjoseph.com Message Score: 30 High (60): Pass From: wdbirk@hotmail.com My Spam Blocking Level: Medium Medium (75): Pass Low (90): Pass Block this sender / Block this sender enterprise-wide Block hotmail.com / Block hotmail.com enterprise-wide This message was delivered because the content filter score did not exceed your filter level. 2