Collingwood's staff have a bright idea.
In response to multiple and continuing requests from local residents to use light up town monuments to mark a week or day of awareness, town staff have pitched a pilot project to council recommending the town hall clock tower be used for such a purpose.
During a May 6 Corporate and Community Services standing committee, Jenny Haines, the staffer responsible for coordinating the town's flag-raising requests, presented the pilot project to council.
She said the mayor's office gets frequent requests for lighting on town monuments to mark a special day, but always turns them down with no formal policy in place.
Her suggestion is to use lights behind the clock face and in the belfry of the town hall to grant the requests. If all goes well, staff can bring a request for an upgraded and remote-controlled lighting system to council for the 2022 budget.
This year, staff have been testing options for lighting up monuments. Haines said they tried three locations including the library, the terminals building, and the town hall clock tower.
Floodlights on the Collingwood Terminals building produced a faint glow hard to see from far away, reported Haines.
Staff were also concerned about vandalism of a lighting system at the terminals, and the health and safety of staff trying to access the building.
In 2019, town staff tried to light up the library for British Home Child Day with red and blue lights installed in the library. However, the lights only gave off the "desired effect" when the library lights were off.
Since cleaning staff work at night, the effect of the coloured lights was lost.
Town staff recommended the town hall clock tower after testing out two lighting set ups over Christmas. The best outcome, according to Haines, was using lights behind the clock face and below it in the belfry.
She said requests could still come through the mayor's office, similar to requests for flag-raisings and proclamations, and that the clock tower would be lit up for a maximum of one week to accommodate requests.
Requests for lighting up the clock tower would be first-come, first-serve.
Staff pitched a launch day of July 1 for the pilot program, and promised to monitor feedback to create a more permanent program for 2022.
The standing committee council members supported the idea, but it will still require a final vote from a full council meeting before it goes ahead. Council will vote on it later this month.
