Main's displays go LED for the Holidays

November 21, 2008
Special to the Plaindealer

By OBC Chairman Charlie Berger

Ouray's holiday decorations will be more spectacular than in previous years with the inauguration of our new holiday decorations for all "cobra" lightpoles in the Ouray Business District.

This upgrade includes a full conversion from the traditional incandescent lighted decorations to new larger and more attractive decorations featuring LED lights. This is the first step in transitioning Ouray to LED lighting, a means to conserve energy, and reduce this expense to the city's treasury — an initiative that Mayor Bob Risch has been advocating and working toward since taking office earlier this year.

Supplementing these new holiday decorations will also be a second new initiative, the introduction of 18" x 36" banners, promoting a winter theme, that are mounted streetside, but still over the sidewalks, on cobra light poles, on opposite corners at all intersections throughout the Ouray Business District.

The decision to use LED lights this year was made after experimenting with them last year in locations like the Gazebo in Fellin Park, and along the fence bordering Highway 550, above the Hot Springs Pool. It was clear after last winter, an extremely severe winter, that these lights will definitely withstand the harsh winter weather conditions so prevalent in our city. It is anticipated that the LED lights will reduce the energy consumption from the old incandescent lights by approximately 75%.

On Monday, Nov. 17, and Tuesday, Nov. 18, the city's Public Works Department in coordination with the Ouray Beautification Committee, spent most of those days mounting the required hardware on the light poles, and installing the new banners and holiday decorations. Having the hardware mounted on the poles will make future installations and take down much easier and require less man hours.

During evening hours the banners, mounted between the two cobra lights, will benefit from the illumination produced by these lights enabling them to be seen. It is the intent to leave the winter banners up throughout the winter season. However, the holiday decorations will officially be lit as part of the "Light-up Ouray" evening on Saturday, Nov. 29, and they will be taken down after the holidays.

It is necessary at this point to acknowledge and thank the Ouray Chamber Resort Association for their donation of the winter banners and the attendant hardware. The Ouray Beautification Committee is recognized for keeping focused on, planning for, and for promoting the need for the city to acquire new holiday decorations and go LED.

A well-deserved thank you is also extended to the City Council for approving the appropriation for the new holiday decorations, and for approving the displays. Finally, an acknowledgment of appreciation is extended to all individuals and business owners who so generously donated money in 2006 and 2007 for the purchase of strings of LED lights to get things rolling. Will they be used again this year? You bet!