Darker nights ahead for Marysville

Darker times will literally fall over Marysville within the next month, as the money-deficient city begins a plan to shut off some streetlights in commercial and residential areas at night.

Since city officials announced the plan a month ago, about a dozen people have contacted the city to say they're willing to pay $100 to keep their lights on for a year, said City Services Manager Dave Lamon.

"The response hasn't been high yet," Lamon said Friday. "When people start seeing lights turned off, we expect they'll call in and say, 'When's my street?'"

Under the plan finalized in the last few days, the city will first shut off a few streetlights on highways 70 and 20, which required discussions with Caltrans. Lights in the city's commercial corridors, such as downtown, will be next, followed by residential areas.

Once lights are off, residents or business owners can pay $150 to have them turned back on. Lamon said it's possible some may not do so until a few months from now, when there's less daylight and more time when streetlights would be needed.

The city will save $60,000 to $75,000 of its $90,000 annual budget for power costs through switching off streetlights. Overall, the city had to cut about $700,000 from its budget.

Downtown business owner and Marysville resident Kathy Fetty said she attended city hearings where the plan was discussed and largely supported the idea, but not entirely.

"I've been turning on my outside light at home, and we've got recessed lights here we've kept on," Fetty said Friday afternoon at D Street Salon, which she's run for a decade. "That's where I'm giving something."

Given the tough economic times, she said, everyone, cities included, has to get by with less.

In west Marysville, though, Wanda Witt said she'll let the lights stay off.

"I don't always go out a lot at night," she said, explaining why she wouldn't see a need to pay the $100.

Nor was she concerned less light would increase the chances for crime on her block.

"When you live on Social Security, the $100 is quite a bit," she said.

Lamon said the city still hadn't finalized a list of when and where streetlights would be turned off, but the process should unfold during the next month.

The city recently found a way to more easily kill power to a specific light to make it easier to turn a light off and then back on, he said.