The Neighborhood Improvement Committee agreed to draft a letter of endorsement for an aesthetic lighting and maintenance project under the Palmetto Expressway at Northwest 154th Street, and to send a vendor estimate to Councilman J.C. Fernandez for consideration at the town council level.
Committee members reviewed prior outreach to the Florida Department of Transportation and a vendor estimate for LED light bars (vendor name given in the meeting as Concept Lehi). Committee member Estrada told the group that FDOT indicated the municipality would need to show council support and a commitment to maintain the right-of-way for an FDOT allowance. Estrada said vendors estimated the light bars with installation (not conduit or service) at roughly $37,000–$41,000.
Councilman J.C. Fernandez joined the meeting by phone and asked the committee to forward the estimate and an endorsement so he could present it to the council. "I think it'll be stunning," Fernandez said of the proposed lighting, adding he believed the upgrade would be tasteful and would highlight an important entrance to town. The committee agreed that staff would assemble the vendor estimate and any FDOT correspondence and that a one-paragraph endorsement from NIC would be prepared for approval at the next committee meeting.
The motion to draft and forward an endorsement letter was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The letter will be attached to the NIC report to council; staff will supply emails and the estimate as backup. No funding commitment was adopted at the committee level; members discussed potential grants and developer contributions as possible funding sources and noted that conduit and ongoing maintenance costs would require town coordination and likely additional approvals.
Next steps: NIC will prepare the endorsement memo and supporting estimate for review at the next NIC meeting; staff will deliver the materials to Councilman Fernandez so he can raise the matter with the council.