IPRA Request and Response

IPRA request #21-1403 was filed on April 23, 2021. On May 7 the city provided 14 documents, declared the request satisfied, and closed the request. 

Update (May 13): On May 10 – several days after the legally mandated deadline for responding to the IPRA request – four additional documents were provided to the Records Custodian, bringing the number of documents returned from 14 to 18. These additional documents do not change the conclusions or recommendations. They are noted below in a separate list.  

The request had three parts:

  • Any and all public records (in the meaning of NM Statute 14-2-1) regarding or related to project specifications or project requirements associated with the 2020/2021 project to replace Santa Fe LED street lights (hereafter, streetlight project), regardless of whether the streetlights in question are owned by the city, PNM, or some other entity. 
  • Also, any and all public records regarding or related to city project requirements used in the evaluation of the suitability of specific luminaires, or luminaire fixtures, or LED lamps for the streetlight project, regardless of whether the streetlights in question are owned by the city, PNM, or some other entity. 
  • Also, any and all public records regarding or related to the specific luminaires, or fixtures, or LED lights, or vendors of same, that have been considered for the streetlight project, regardless of whether the streetlights in question are owned by the city, PNM, or some other entity, and regardless of whether they are currently being considered or have been rejected from further consideration on the basis of any of the aforementioned documents. 

The 14 documents returned are all available at the IPRA request link. Their contents are summarized here

  1. Notes produced by Dalkia and the Department of Public Works from the citizen’s Advisory Panel meeting of April 13, 2021. Page 4 (of 10) includes a slide that includes six bullets of “Performance Requirements”. Three of these bullets are conformance with state law or standards and one is that city make a loan payment in December 2021. The remaining two – “Minimum 50% energy reduction” and “Support Dark Sky Community Designation” – might, with further elucidation, lead to project requirements. For example, a 50% reduction from what baseline? Is the energy reduction expected with or without light dimming? If with dimming, after what hour? Dark Sky Community Designation involves many different factors: which are being considered here?
  2. Presentation made to citizen’s Advisory Panel meeting of April 13, 2021. Slide 10 (of 13), labeled “Upgrade Project Requirements” is identical to the slide appearing in the Notes labeled “Performance Requirements”. 
  3. International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) June 2018 Dark Sky Community Program Guidelines. The guidelines cover all city lighting, public and private. The IDA has said that the guideline is under revision to reflect the new “Values-Centered Outdoor Lighting” policy, adopted in January 2021. Planning based on this document may not be relevant for Santa Fe’s goal of Dark Sky Community designation. 
  4. An April 27, 2021 email informing the Department of Public Works that NM DOT is beginning its update of section 716 of NM DOT’s 2019 Standard Specifications for Highway and Bridge Construction. 
  5. A January 24, 2021 memorandum from the Director of Public Works to the Governing Body, including the proposed contract between Dalkia and the City of Santa Fe, supporting documents, a presentation on the contract and specific luminaires and lighting CCT proposed for the project. No project requirements or technical specifications are mentioned in any of the documents. 
  6. A January 25, 2021 memorandum from the Facilities Project Administrator Grosse, via Director of Public Works Wheeler, to the Governing Body, requesting approval for funding for the city’s solar project and street light replacement project.  
  7. Section 716 of NM DOT’s 2019 Standard Specifications for Highway and Bridge Construction, which describes the standards to be met by luminaires to be used on NM DOT roadways. 
  8. NM Public Regulation Commission Rate 20 revision 16, which describes the rates charged for metered and unmetered lighting for city-owned luminaires, or luminaries provided Santa Fe by PNM
  9. Undated, unsigned agreement between Santa Fe City and PNM for ongoing incidental and emergency maintenance of street lights owned or maintained by Santa Fe City. 
  10. Excel spreadsheet listing 62 luminaries, with CCT in the range 2700 – 4000 K, and their luminosity, power consumption, and BUG ratings (some of which are marked as estimated). 
  11. An April 20, 2021 email between exchange between the Department of Public Works and NM DOT, asking and receiving (conditional) permission to begin the street light conversion on NM DOT roads that are being taken over by Santa Fe City, before the official date of the transfer. 
  12. “21-0125 PNM Streetlight Conversion Contract” – damaged on the city’s public records web site. Presumably the contract approved at the April 14, 2021 Governing Body meeting. 
  13. An set of emails between the International Dark-Sky Association, Dalkia Project Expeditor Cheyenne Ernst, and Director of Public Works Director Wheeler. 
  14. Duplicate of April 27, 2021 email noted above. 

The following documents were provided on May 10, after the response deadline and the closing of the IPRA case.  

  1. Duplicate of document 5 above.
  2. Duplicate of document 9 above.
  3. Lease-Purchase agreement between Sterling Bank and Santa Fe, which references the Dalkia contract (part of document 5 above) and Investment Grade Audit Report (part of document 6 above).
  4. Duplicate of document 12 above: this version is undamaged.