Streetlights: A good way to spend money in Fitchburg

if this is addressed to wong and the city council you've wasted your brain power on a bunch of burnt out bulbs

No lights, no vote for Wong next election.

i prefer wong in the dark

I would have thought that with all the adverse publicity that Uniswill got for their disgusting response to last Decembers ice storm, they would have kept the lights on for nothing as a good will gesture. I guess they are still in denial on the subject of mistreating the ratepayers of the City.

You've got it right 'geezer'.they owe us BIG-TIME. We haven't forgotten.

If anybody out there is waiting for a goodwill gesture from Unitil, you will be waiting for a very long time.

If having streetlights on is so important to people then they can sign up to pay for their own. It is only $10 to $20 per month depending on the wattage of the bulb in your particular streetlight. While I realize this may be a burden for some residents, for many it is not. If enough of us that can afford it stepped up then maybe the city wouldn't seem so dark.

pay for your own wrote:

If having streetlights on is so important to people then they can sign up to pay for their own. It is only $10 to $20 per month depending on the wattage of the bulb in your particular streetlight. While I realize this may be a burden for some residents, for many it is not. If enough of us that can afford it stepped up then maybe the city wouldn't seem so dark.

So us homeowners should have to pay more on top of taxes that keep going up with less and less service so the renters and slumlords can have free lights???!!! No thanks, any additional funds I pay out are for my own property being well lit and well armed!!!

paying taxes for nothing wrote:

<quoted text>
So us homeowners should have to pay more on top of taxes that keep going up with less and less service so the renters and slumlords can have free lights???!!! No thanks, any additional funds I pay out are for my own property being well lit and well armed!!!

Pay For Your Own was suggesting just that. Pay for the streetlight closest to your house. Great idea, actually. If your neighbor happens to get some residual light from you paying to have the streetlight on, such is life.

It's just like raising taxes for all homeowners so the ones complaining can have lights to make them "feel" safer. I personally don't have a problem with the lights being out. It's not like the entire city is in the dark. Instead of raising taxes for all homeowners (because that is what it would take to turn the lights on) the people who want the lights on should pay for the one near their home. Problem solved.

It could just be me and select number of people, but where is it written that the city is required to have streetlights? Most of people who are complaining are just complaining over nothing. If you're worried about visibility on your own property that isn't the city's problem. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and purchase yourself some additional lighting. That's what I did and it worked like a charm.

If you don't want to do that perhaps you can chip in to pay for the light near your home that you want turned back on.

The people complaining about lack of street lights will be the same people complaining about police layoffs when/if they happen. The want want want without any thought to how much things cost.

The mayor should make these people look foolish by placing the steet light budget on a prop 2.5 override, which of course will be defeated. This is just another case of a few squeeky wheels getting their names in the paper....and the paper trying to "make" their own news.

Bob the Builder wrote:

The people complaining about lack of street lights will be the same people complaining about police layoffs when/if they happen. The want want want without any thought to how much things cost.
The mayor should make these people look foolish by placing the steet light budget on a prop 2.5 override, which of course will be defeated. This is just another case of a few squeeky wheels getting their names in the paper....and the paper trying to "make" their own news.

We pay taxes in this city, we have every right to complain and demand the best public safety. Why should we settle for anything less?

city wrote:

<quoted text>We pay taxes in this city, we have every right to complain and demand the best public safety. Why should we settle for anything less?

Because you are paying for less.

Real World wrote:

<quoted text>
Because you are paying for less.

Not according to my tax bill I'm not

I was a little nervous for Halloween in Fitchburg this year. The recent violence on Mechanic St. and Main St. had me thinking that maybe the city is getting out of control. Well, I didn't hear of any problems. Not on my street, not in the center of town, not anywhere. I am happy to say that even with the street lights out we managed to survive. Thank you to our local police. Thank you to the Main St. businesses who greeted my family as we participated in the "Trick or Treat on Main St." Thank you to the Fire Department for participating (we got a great picture of my son in the truck.) I am tired of the negative. When our tax base improves we should turn the street lights back on. Until then we should be vigilant while driving, keep our porch lights on, and keep an eye on our property (and our neighbors property for that matter). I am glad the city is cutting the lights and not police officers. I am glad that we are cutting our utility bill and not teacher jobs. Wake up. The small group of cry babies who are pushing for street lights should think a little more about what could be at stake. We have a lot of time for walking around with petitions. Perhaps that energy could be spent finding a way to increase our tax base here. Our city's population has been going down and people have been taking their tax money with them. Turn on the lights, create a burden on our budget. Convince a new family to buy a house in Fitchburg and you create tax revenue that can keep the lights on for good. I tried to convince a friend who was opening a business in Lowell to consider Fitchburg instead. He didn't say, "not if there are no street lights." What he told me was that Lowell has been improving itself for the last 20 years while Fitchburg has remained stagnant. Lowell is an old factory town like Fitchburg. What have they been doing? It can be done here too. Keep up the good work Mayor Wong. Let's keep up the trend of putting new blood into public positions. Our city's future has been stuck in the mud long enough.

AGREED!(P.S. Also not voting for any incumbent city councilors)

Keith McLinden wrote:

I was a little nervous for Halloween in Fitchburg this year. The recent violence on Mechanic St. and Main St. had me thinking that maybe the city is getting out of control. Well, I didn't hear of any problems. Not on my street, not in the center of town, not anywhere. I am happy to say that even with the street lights out we managed to survive. Thank you to our local police. Thank you to the Main St. businesses who greeted my family as we participated in the "Trick or Treat on Main St." Thank you to the Fire Department for participating (we got a great picture of my son in the truck.) I am tired of the negative. When our tax base improves we should turn the street lights back on. Until then we should be vigilant while driving, keep our porch lights on, and keep an eye on our property (and our neighbors property for that matter). I am glad the city is cutting the lights and not police officers. I am glad that we are cutting our utility bill and not teacher jobs. Wake up. The small group of cry babies who are pushing for street lights should think a little more about what could be at stake. We have a lot of time for walking around with petitions. Perhaps that energy could be spent finding a way to increase our tax base here. Our city's population has been going down and people have been taking their tax money with them. Turn on the lights, create a burden on our budget. Convince a new family to buy a house in Fitchburg and you create tax revenue that can keep the lights on for good. I tried to convince a friend who was opening a business in Lowell to consider Fitchburg instead. He didn't say, "not if there are no street lights." What he told me was that Lowell has been improving itself for the last 20 years while Fitchburg has remained stagnant. Lowell is an old factory town like Fitchburg. What have they been doing? It can be done here too. Keep up the good work Mayor Wong. Let's keep up the trend of putting new blood into public positions. Our city's future has been stuck in the mud long enough.

Ryan McNutt- Ward 4. He worked for it
Mike DePietro - New At-Large
Stephen Hay - good president
Marcus DiNatale - works hard

All right I'm at a loss on what to do for the other at-larges.

tomorrow wrote:

Ryan McNutt- Ward 4. He worked for it
Mike DePietro - New At-Large
Stephen Hay - good president
Marcus DiNatale - works hard
All right I'm at a loss on what to do for the other at-larges.

I like the choices but Starr deserves to be re-elected.

city wrote:

<quoted text>We pay taxes in this city, we have every right to complain and demand the best public safety. Why should we settle for anything less?

Because you can't get the best for the small amount paid in. You personally may seem like you are paying a lot, but there are not enough of "you's" paying, anymore. The cost of everything has gone up and the total amount of revenue has gone down. You just can't get what you used to get at the same price anymore. When you go to the super market for a box of cereal. That $3.00 box is now 3 oz lighter than the last time you bought it. So, you either get less for same money. Or pay more to get what you got before. It's not greed. It just is.

tomorrow wrote:

Ryan McNutt- Ward 4. He worked for it
Mike DePietro - New At-Large
Stephen Hay - good president
Marcus DiNatale - works hard
All right I'm at a loss on what to do for the other at-larges.

I just met Mike Depietro as he campaigned in my neighborhood. He came across as intelligent and well informed. He listened to my thoughts and seems very capable of serving the city well. He's got my vote.