Church St Marketplace Commission
“June 27, 2012 Dear Friends and Supporters of the Church Street Marketplace: Thank you for caring so deeply about the Church Street Marketplace and for supporting our downtown. I’m writing to share some information about our electrical and lighting project. It will provide you with a more complete view of the construction that’s happening on Church Street. Best to you, Ron Redmond, Church Street Marketplace, ron.redmond.vt@gmail.com or 802-865-7254.
Q. What is the Church Street Electrical and Lighting Project?
A. A project funded by the Federal Highway Administration to replace Church Street’s aging electrical system, originally built in 1981. The project includes new underground conduit, replacing our existing street lights with 46 new LED street lights and improved access to electricity for cart vendors and special events. The project will run from April to November, 2012.
Q. What’s wrong with the current electrical system? Why not just keep what you have?
A. Church Street’s lighting system was built in 1981 and needs to be replaced. Two street light poles have fallen over in the past 18 months, because the bases are rusting. Underground conduit is rusted in many locations and wiring no longer connects to fixtures. The reason many of our street lights don’t work is because there is no longer a power source. Now is the time!
Q. Why did this happen?
A: When Church Street was created, Church Street’s charter required that no Burlington taxpayer dollars be spent on its operations. The Church Street Marketplace has never had the financial capacity to maintain the lighting system. We have been making “band aid” repairs over the last 30 years. Also, the original conduit (steel pipe) and wiring are outdated and more and more sections of the lighting system are failing each month.
Q: What are the benefits of the Lighting Project?
A: Safer, more consistent lighting at night using LED technology. Our customers will feel safer when they walk on Church Street at night. Each light fixture will have its own “dimmer” switch so that we can control the brightness in specific areas.
Each street light will accommodate banners, and feature accent lighting, that can be aimed on a storefront or at architectural features of a building.
Separate lighting systems for Cart Vendors, Special Events (such as Christmas lights). We will no longer be plagued by temporary power failures. When electricity is on, it will stay on!
Irrigation system for our trees. The new drip irrigation system is an efficient and green way to provide the nutrients and water that urban trees need to grow happy and healthy.
Q. How long have you been planning this project? Why can’t you wait until another time?
A. We began planning the replacement of Church Street’s electrical system in 2005 when we learned we would receive a federal earmark from the U.S. Congress.
In 2005, the US Congress passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, the largest surface transportation investment in our Nation's history with guaranteed funding for highways, highway safety, and public transportation. Vermont’s Congressional delegation helped secure funds for a range of projects, including improvements and enhancements in our downtown.
Because the deterioration of Church Street’s electrical system has been escalating over the past decade, it was imperative that a new system be built. These funds were seen as the only way to address the deterioration.
The project has been delayed several times because of its complexity and because of the impact of the weak economy on Church Street and our downtown. We wanted to begin this project only when we knew we would be bringing the least amount of disruption possible to our businesses. The construction plan has been designed in a way that will speed up construction and minimize impact on Church Street business owners.
Q: Why did you delay the project for so many years?
A: - The Marketplace Commission spent the past seven years laboring over this particular project because of its complexity, cost and the amount of time required to complete it. They knew that the project would be disruptive and worked hard to find ways to reduce the disruption for our businesses.
Every year, between 2008 and 2011, the project was postponed because the economy on Church Street and in our downtown was so weak. Information was gathered from both surveys and face-to-face conversations. In 2009, for example, the Street experienced an 11% vacancy rate – the highest vacancy rate in more than two decades. Vacany is now at about 4%.
In 2011, the Commission surveyed business owners and noted that economic conditions on the Street were moving in a more positive direction. The decision was made in late 2011 to move forward with construction, to begin in the spring, 2012. That plan was nearly cancelled in January of 2012, when, in the 11th hour, Vtrans requested an additional review of…”
