Where are streetlights? Commission in the dark

Miami-Dade commissioners are in the dark about missing streetlights and are asking to be enlightened quickly.

Chairman Anthony Rodriguez on Monday asked for an in-depth report on the missing streetlights and what happens next, noting that he is being flooded with calls from residents asking about the issue – including the mother of Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera.

Asked about the full report, Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales said “We will bring it to the next Policy Council meeting” in March.

It’s not just a random light or two that’s out: Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said that since September, 35 streetlights have been out and inoperable along US 1 between 112th Avenue and 184th Street in her district alone.

While the outages have been attributed variously to copper wiring theft and other issues, she wants to know the facts in detail in the report.

“If we can have those 35 lights included specifically, I and my residents would greatly appreciate it,” Ms. Cohen Higgins said. “This is one of those basic functions. If a streetlight is out, it is equivalent to me of garbage not being picked up. We need our streetlights working for obvious reasons…. And if it is theft that is the source, we need to figure out how to mitigate, circumvent, rectify the situation. We can’t just tell our residents it’s due to copper theft and we can’t tell you when the lights are going to come back on.”

She called for a plan on how to get the lights gleaming quickly.

Seeking details in the report and rattling off questions, Mr. Rodriguez told Mr. Morales to “just load it. How many lights have been switched to LEDs, how does the contract stand on where they should be versus where they are, are [contractors] in compliance, are they in default, how many have been knocked down and not put back up, etc.?”

“On the issue of theft, we are working with the sheriff’s office and have some detectives working on this issue,” Mr. Morales replied. “I remember when I was city manager of Miami Beach we had a similar issue we had to deal with.”