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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWD-009-23 Staff Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: General Government Committee Date of Meeting: September 11, 2023 Report Number: PWD-009-23 Submitted By: Stephen Brake, Director of Public Works Reviewed By: Robert Maciver, Deputy CAO/Solicitor Resolution#: File Number: By-law Number: Report Subject: Bowmanville Dog Park Solar Lighting Update Recommendations: 1. That Report PWD-009-23 and any related delegations or communication items, be received; 2. That Council approve the use of $10,000 from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve Fund for the removal of all existing solar lights and poles from the Bowmanville Leash Free Park; 3. That Council provide direction to staff on whether: a) to utilize the existing solar lighting at one of the alternate locations suggested in this report; or b) to place the lights into storage until a future site has been determined. 4. That if an alternate site is selected for the solar lighting, that an appropriate source of funding be identified for the reinstallation cost; 5. That Council provide direction on the future need to install a hardwired lighting system for the Bowmanville Leash Free park and the source of funding for the project; and 6. That all interested parties listed in Report PWD-009-23 be advised of Council’s decision. Municipality of Clarington Page 2 Report PWD-009-23 Report Overview At the regular meeting held on November 1, 2021, Council passed resolution #C-355-21, that directed staff to install solar lights, as soon as possible, at the Courtice and Bowmanville Leash Free Dog Parks. While the lights at the Courtice location operate without any problems, there are on-going issues with the lights at the Bowmanville Dog Park, caused by the overhead high voltage power transmission lines. Upon further investigation with the manufacturer and Hydro One, removal of all lights was the final decision made by Hydro One. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the current issues and to suggest alternate options in order to utilize the solar lighting, subject to the approval of funding for removal and re-installation at one of the proposed alternate locations. 1. Background 1.1 At a meeting held on November 1, 2021, the Council of th e Municipality of Clarington passed the following Resolution #C-355-21: That Staff be directed to install solar lighting, as soon as possible, at the Courtice and Bowmanville Leash Free Dog Parks with appropriate funding from the Outdoor Recreation Misc. Upgrade Account; and That the lights, on the sports field adjacent to the Courtice Leash Free Dog Park, be turned on daily from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. from now until the earlier of the beginning of daylight savings time in the spring of 2022 or when the per manent lights have been installed. 1.2 Staff conducted market research on solar lights both within and outside of Canada as the technology is quickly evolving. A similar installation did not exist within Clarington prior to this project. After reaching out to several vendors only one showed interest and was selected to proceed to the design stage. 1.3 Shortly after the installation of the lights at the Bowmanville park was complete, several units began acting erratically. Upon a dedicated and extensive troubleshooting by the manufacturer, and a lengthy review by Hydro One, it was determined that the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) is significantly stronger than the safeguards built into the solar lights. It is suspected that the strong EMF causes build up of st atic charges within the components causing false parameters and erroneous operation of the controller units and solar panels. 1.4 Hydro One provided the following response to our inquiry: Municipality of Clarington Page 3 Report PWD-009-23 “The Hydro One Network Inc aerial conductors are operating at 500,000 Volts and the required minimum clearance must be maintained at all times. Position of the conductors may change very quickly due to system and/or atmospheric conditions. We would request that the lighting within the corridor be removed as soon as possible” 1.5 During onsite troubleshooting of the faulting solar lights staff were made aware by our streetlight maintenance contractor that other municipalities have ongoing issues with their hardwired LED streetlights under certain high-voltage lines. It was shared with staff that some locations result in LED streetlight fixtures being replaced very frequently due to “undiagnosed” faults. 1.6 Staff have removed and tested one of the solar light assemblies and found that it operated without any issues when away from the park location. This encouraging result provides options for the use of the solar lights at an alternate suitable location. 2. Alternate solutions 2.1 Due to the decision by Hydro One to have all solar lights removed from the Bowmanville park staff are proposing the following three alternate options: i. Relocate the lights to the Newcastle Leash Free Park o The surrounding municipal property is being redeveloped to include additional facilities and lighting along the pathway to the leash-free park, but not the Dog park itself. o Sufficient quantities exist to satisfy the needs of the Newcastle Park, with several lights left over for other suitable small-scale projects. ii. Relocate the lights to the recently constructed paved pathway at Rhonda Park from Bowmanville Avenue to Rhonda Boulevard o The paved pathway is an urban pedestrian connector. o Due to budget limitations at the time of construction, no illumination was included in the construction project. o Due to the challenging terrain, any future underground electrical work will result in significant costs. o Existing solar lightning from the Bowmanville park could be relocated and proportionally distributed to illuminate the entire pathway. Municipality of Clarington Page 4 Report PWD-009-23 o The pathway is generally well exposed to sun light for optimal solar performance. iii. Remove all lights from the Bowmanville Leash Free Park and store them until an alternate location, such as the future site of the Bowmanville North Dog Park, has been approved and constructed. 2.2 Any one of the three options would require additional funding to cover the cost associated with the removal of the existing lights and the reinstallation at a new location. It is anticipated that the installation at the Newcastle Leash Free Park location will be significantly less expensive than along the Rhonda Park pathway due to reduced challenges with access to construction equipment. Based on the initial installation pricing the anticipated overall cost of removal and reinstallation at the Newcastle Leash Free park is estimated at $20,000 and the estimated cost for the Rhonda Park pathway is $30,000. The removal-only option is estimated to be around $10,000.00. Regardless of the relocation site all existing lights at the Bowmanville Dog Park are required to be removed as soon as possible. 2.3 The removal of the solar lights at the Bowmanville Leash Free Park is expected to cause dissatisfaction with patrons. It appears that the only alternative option to provide proper lighting of the park will involve a hardwired system. This option will require to be budgeted for including system design options and studies and additional reviews by Hydro One to ensure proper operation. Based on the direction of Council this project will be costed and included as a future Capital Project. 3. Financial Considerations 3.1 The removal of the lights was not contemplated in the 2023 Budget. As this is related to the removal of the lights, the appropriate source of funding would be the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve Fund. 3.2 Future capital projects will be included in the 2024 Budget or the 2025 Update Budget dependant on the direction of Council and the required time to design and cost the solution. 4. Concurrence This report has been reviewed by the Deputy CAO/Treasurer who concurs with the recommendations. Municipality of Clarington Page 5 Report PWD-009-23 5. Conclusion It is respectfully recommended that Council provide direction to staff on the preferred option. Staff Contact: Slav Potrykus, Traffic Engineering Supervisor, 905-623-3379 extension 2315 or spotrykus@clarington.net. Attachments: Not Applicable Interested Parties: There are no interested parties to be notified of Council's decision.