A new petition called Illuminate Seward is attempting to light up downtown.
Gregg Nelson, owner of Rue 6 and Squire Wards, described what the petition is fighting for.
“A bunch of the businesses downtown have strands of lights on them that are turned on during Thanksgiving and Christmas time,” Nelson said. “But every year, the lights get turned off at the beginning of January, and they aren’t used again until around Thanksgiving time of next year. We are proposing that we keep the lights on all year round in the evenings. It seems like a lot of businesses are on board with the idea.”
Nelson said having the lights on in the evenings could help the downtown area.
“Anyone in urban development knows that in order to keep people downtown during the evening hours, you need to keep the lights on,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to get more people to stay downtown during the evening hours. We are starting to get more businesses downtown, and the lights could help with people staying and shopping later. It could also be a big benefit to the farmers market and allow it to be open later.”
Lights could help with safety.
“More light in an area definitely helps people feel more safe and allows them to be out later,” Nelson said. “Having a well lit area can also help with the downtown traffic.”
Although keeping lights on year round might seem pricey, Nelson said a plan has already been worked out.
“The taxpayers will not have to pay anything with this plan,” Nelson said. “So they don’t have to worry about that. The Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership has agreed to pay the electricity costs. They seemed really on board for it. As for the purchase and installation of the lights, if a business doesn’t already have them, they would need to do that. However, any maintenance with the lights would be done by the city.”
Now that the petition is up and running, Nelson has a plan to get it passed.
“We plan on going to the city council meeting on Sept. 7 and at that time we will ask the council to approve the lights staying on,” Nelson said.
If the idea passes, Nelson hopes that it will allow for more events downtown in the evenings.
“We’re hoping to set up more things, like a street dance for example,” Nelson said. “It would bring more people downtown and it would just be better for our town. If we get this passed, we hope to have a ceremonial lighting with a street dance.”
Overall, Nelson said that they aren’t just stopping at the lights.
“We’re going to keep pushing to revitalize this town,” Nelson said. “Seward’s downtown is fantastic, but it needs more. This would be a step in the right direction and we would love to see the community get behind our idea.”
