More light, lower electric bill anticipated

After being closed for 2020 due to covid, Lotz Park is open this summer, and to that end there were some maintenance issues to cover at the July 14 village board meeting, held in Boyd at 705 East Murray Street. Among the needs of the village that came up Monday and saw some action was that of light—more of it at the Lotz ballpark, to be exact.

Currently the village ballpark has 44 halogen bulbs that could prospectively cost $30 a piece to change, plus $15 each for the necessary lift. Replacing them with LED lights, meanwhile, could save the village wattage on the low-power draw LED option and with this the village electrical bill. The new LED lights could put out 80,000 lumens of ballpark light, more than the halogens on hand. So what’s a lumen?

A single unit of artificial light or 'lu men,’ per the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary at merriam-webster.com, is "a unit of luminous flux equal to the light

emitted in a unit solid angle by a uniform point source of one candle intensity.”

“This product is returnable,” Trustee Sarah McQuillan read from the Amazon posting for the lights under discussion, Kekeou 800 W LED Stadium Light with four panels on each fixture, a two-pack

costing $339.99 before coupon application. Among the sale points highlighted by Kekeou are the IP 67 waterproof status, 180-degree angle adjustment, something called “double heat dissipation,” and the flat LED lights general safety over

curved one for which broken glass (such

as a baseball strike), is a greater risk.

Talk was made at the meeting of in-

quiring into a potential tax exempt Ama zon account, while Tom Grunewald said the village got its electric supplies from Viking Electric, and that he would call them to make sure the halogens were in stock, in case the LEDs didn’t work out. Bob and Jayne Geist, meanwhile, would order the LED option. There was more on Parks at the July 14 meeting as well.

Among the Parks news was that two dead trees currently stand at the park, while siren maintenance was coming up and the question of whether or not to rent

the fridge in the Big Pavilion after the present year was brought up—and then there were more general park rental fees. “The thing with counties, cities, villages is that you don't want to make a profit,

you want to break even,” Trustee McQuillan shared of the need to look into park rates to see if they were reasonable or not. The aim was to neither lose money hand over fist or make money hand over fist,

while it was unknown how the current rates stacked up to reality in this respect. From there, it was into the Streets and Utilities update—someone had turned in the Friendly Town to DNR officials re garding its brush site on Boundary Road.

“So the DNR called me, and said, 'you're fine,' and I knew we were,"

Grunewald said, “’because we’re here to the bar from the wetland.” Taken literally and depending on establishment referenced, that meant 120 to 170 feet from where Grunewald sat in the village hall,

See NEW LIGHTS, Page 10

The new LED lights are shown from their Amazon listing in the lower left as the Boyd Village Board and employees meet for July. From left are Sarah McQuillan, Tom Grunewald, Bob Geist, Sandi Isaacs, and Casey Dorn. Staff photo. NEW LIGHTS

FROM PAGE 3

per Google measure estimates.

That being said, the Village would still need to get silt fence to prevent run off to the wetland,” Grunewald reported. The village would also be hauling sludge soon, he said.

As to local police matters, Trustee Dorn reported that he had talked'to'Chief'Louis'Eslinger'and'that'Officer'Kevin'Hagmann'

had several junk and weed violations written out, but “would rather go talk with them then just write a ticket,” Dorn said. From

there,'it'was'into'Parks,'Health,'and'Sanitation'with'Trustee'Mc Quillan.

"I'think'we'covered'it,'and'then'some,"'McQuillan'told'Geist'

when he asked for the report. There was nothing to report for

finance'(Gwen'Krizan'was'absent),'while'President'Geist'(who' also' serves' with' Boyd-Edson-Delmar' Fire' and'Ambulance)' re ported that he had an Operations and Audit meeting on the 19th, followed by a meeting on Wednesday the 28th at 8 p.m. Clerk Sandi'Isaacs'had'heard'from'the'Chippewa'County'Clerk'about'

individuals serving on the redistricting board for the county, with replies due by that Friday.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

leaves'and'stems y y @g