Baxter agrees to go with lower cost on street lighting options

BAXTER - Baxter City Council members previously expressed a preference for staggered street lighting on both sides of Excelsior Road.

But to do that, instead of just on one side, comes with a cost increase of about $128,992.

The city plans to reconstruct Excelsior Road next year.

On Excelsior Road, from Highway 371 to Cypress Drive, costs for lighting on one side are expected to be $113,160. Staggering the lights to be on both sides of the street costs $168,037.

From Cypress Drive to Conservation Drive, the costs for lights on one side of the street are $125,292 or $180,777 when staggered. From Conservation Drive to the city's eastern limit is $36,121 for lighting on one side and $54,751 if staggered.

The city went with staggered lights on Isle Drive. The city has both staggered lights and lights on one side depending on the area, but most are staggered.

Council member Jim Klein said the cost is substantial and the street should be lighted and should be on one side.

Council member Rob Moser said if there are no performance issues, staggered has a significant dollar increase. Council member Todd Holman said he was interested in being consistent all the way.

"I'm not sure consistency is all that important if we light the street," said Council member Mark Cross.

Klein, Cross and Moser were fine with lights on one side and Holman and Mayor Darrel Olson said they were fine with it either way.

Excelsior Road runs from Highway 371 to Baxter's eastern boundary with Brainerd behind the Westgate Mall. In Brainerd, the street is known as Jackson Street and has lighting on one side. Baxter has not had street lighting on Excelsior other than at intersections, although with the commercial businesses, the street is more lit from Cypress Drive to the west.

Plans are for 40-foot aluminum light poles spaced at 250-foot intervals with receptacles for holiday lighting. The lights are LED and have concrete foundations.

In other cost upgrades, the council heard using a 12-foot paved trail on the west side of Conservation Drive from Excelsior to the Northland Arboretum trail by the parking lot is predicted to add $5,000 to the cost compared to a 6-foot wide concrete sidewalk.

A pedestrian crosswalk flasher system is expected to cost $29,025. The crosswalk flasher suggested is similar to the one on College Drive in Brainerd, which is by Central Lakes College.