Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Shining the Light on Lake Worth2020 - The cash grab continues

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Siemens says that LED Street lighting will reduce
 energy consumption 60 - 65%

Hector Samario of Siemens Infrastructure and Cities division gave the presentation last night to the city commission. The entire commission is enthralled that it will be taking Lake Worth into the 21st Century at least as long as the capital improvements last--15 or 20 years? Whenever the commission hears the word "sustainability" they all have orgasms.

Any company that is in this sustainability business and makes its money off of improving energy performance will emphasize that infrastructure is the backbone of our economy. Mr. Samario didn't have to do that last night.  This commission already understood that as Siemens has been around our city for the past eight or nine months delving into our needs. "It moves people and goods, it powers our lives, it fuels growth," says Siemens, whose head company was founded in 1847.  Lake Worth certainly is no exception with its struggle of aging infrastructure. We are a poor city with no money and the city manager along with the commission has been planning on how to take your money for well over a year in order to rebuild our city in various ways.

Last night's presentation was not too long and only touched on what Siemens said that we needed.  The mayor asked about Smart Meters and she was assured that the smart metering is outside the home. She also said that she wants to see "lights everywhere." There was supposed to be a high level discussion of the entire project but street lighting seemed to be the commission's major concern.

The public was not allowed to comment nor did the mayor ask anyone if they wanted to comment.  And not once did the commission ask anything about the $20 to $25  million dollar cost.  This is a decision that the commission can do all on its own.  They don't need a vote of the people unless they were to go with a general obligation bond. They are all in total agreement that smart building technologies drive energy efficiency and reduce costs.  Not only do they want to rebuild all of our infrastructure, they want this city "green" and in the red.

Perhaps a lot was not explained. We need to see the contract proposal and understand the financing and why it won't cost the City money. Someone(s) is going to make a lot of money off of Lake Worth.

3 comments:

  1. Green is the New Red

    SELF Sustainability
    isn't the way w/these guys,
    it's sustaining an out of control government using voodoo math!

    Hello Mayor - the Smart Meter Fires were on the OUTSIDE of the HOMES!

    You can't make this stuff up!

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  2. The commission continues to tell us that it's not going to cost us anything and I don't necessarily mean just money. I say, prove it. Let's see the contract and all the fine print.

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  3. A couple of comments about LED's as street lights and cost savings. LED's are the future, but the future is not here yet. LED's are about five times more expensive to purchase and replace than HPS luminaires. They also do not last anywhere near as long as advertised. A good friend of mine, and possibly the best electrical engineer in the nation, is researching LED's and his findings are not in line with what you are being told. To begin with, LED's burn out faster than your grandmothers old incandescent bulb. They also require an incandescent bulb to get the color rendition needed for street lighting.

    If your city is truly interested in increasing revenue without taxes, then explore leasing High Pressure Sodium private area lighting. This is a source of revenue that will just keep on giving. Nearly all intelligent utilities will use PAL's because the revenue is so great and it keeps the generators turning for off peak load.

    http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/print/volume-7/issue-12/features/choosing-between-led-and-hps-street-lights.html

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