Group raises $229,259 for Findlay streetlights

2/5/2003

FINDLAY — Members of a recently organized group with a goal to purchase 80 light fixtures to install along Main Street have raised $229,259 of a needed $300,000 for the project.

The Light Up Main Street committee announced Monday it has received contributions and pledges totaling more than its original goal of raising $200,000 by yesterday.

The group is trying to raise funds for new street lights in connection with a $1 million city maintenance project as well as an Ohio Department of Transportation paving project scheduled for this summer. Organizers said the city has agreed to pay for conduit, transformers, foundations, and upkeep of the light fixtures, while the private group, managed by the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, will fund the purchase of the light fixtures.

The effort is a spinoff of the $2.9 million downtown streetscape project, which was repealed by City Council in December. Before the council vote, opponents of the project had gathered 1,403 valid signatures to get the issue on this November's ballot.