GTA

Ontario town spent $70K on new Christmas lights

Staff in Georgina recently found themselves in a Christmas-themed quagmire after council spent $70,000 on new LED holiday decorations only to discover the town’s hydro poles aren’t compatible with the lights.

Now they are in a race against time to retrofit the poles with new electrical upgrades — an additional $30,000 expenditure — to get the lights up in time for the holiday season.

Mayor Margaret Quirk says crews will get the job done.

“There’ll be Christmas lights in Georgina. Staff is working hard to ensure that, in the downtown areas, there will be lights put up,” Quirk told CBC Toronto.

“As long as the weather holds,” she added.

Down to the wire retrofitting 54 poles

Rob Flindall, director of operations and infrastructure for the Town of Georgina, said there are 54 poles that need to be upgraded.

He said the work will cost between $500 and $600 per installation.

Flindall said the town has hired two contractors, but it could take another two to three weeks to retrofit the poles.

“It’s going to be right down to the wire, nip and tuck, but we’re hoping to get as many as we can up prior to Christmas,” Flindall said.

“It won’t be completely dark for Christmas this year, we’ll have something up. But if nothing else, we also have Christmas or festive banners that will be available that we can put up.”

The old lights had been used for more than 20 years — longer than most town staff have been on the job.

“It was time to upgrade,” Quirk said, adding that they were able to get funding from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario through the streetscaping program.

“I’m very confident with the staff. They know the importance of this and they’re working hard to get it done.”

Georgina resident Beverly Hartford is hoping that the town will get the new equipment installed successfully.

She said the old decorations “looked a little sad” compared to some other small towns.

“We do want the lights . . . the more things that can bring people to the downtown core, the better,” Hartford said.

CBC

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CBC

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