Lights still an issue at C bldg.

Parts of the North Lake campus aren’t as bright at night as they should be.

At least that’s the contention of a recent listening-box contributor, who claimed night-time lighting around the southwestern portion of the C building is insufficient. In particular, the complaint singled out the exterior lighting near the loading dock.

At night, several areas around the C building certainly seem dark, particularly near the loading dock – a problem compounded by burnedout safety lights along the sidewalk in front of the C building.

When asked about the listening box complaint, John Watson, college director of facilities services, said the lighting problems had been identified and corrected where possible.

Part of the problem, said Watson, is the difficulty in reporting the location of burned-out lighting to facilities. It’s hard for students to pinpoint bad lighting, he said, leading to reports like “a burned-out light on the path near the flag circle.”

In addition, North Lake maintenance workers are only able to repair problems with the shorter light poles, like those that line paths. If a problem occurs with taller park-ing-lot lighting, outside contractors have to be called in. Because of the expense of bringing in contractors, Watson said he prefers to wait until approximately 25 percent of parking- lot lighting is out.

The lack of C building’s exterior lighting is a completely separate issue.

Since construction on a new classroom complex near the C building is scheduled to begin in six to eight months, Watson doesn’t see the lack of exterior lighting as an issue, stating “I’m not going to spend money on something that has a sixto- eight-month life.” For the present, Watson said, if students need to be in that area at night, “they can bring lighting out with them or call the police for an escort.”

North Lake’s police chief, J.C. Drake, was reluctant to comment on the C building lighting, as he hadn’t personally looked into the situation. However, Chief Drake did say that if the lighting conditions pose a risk, temporary lighting should be installed for the interim. Drake proposed several alternatives for increasing lighting outside the C building until construction begins, including “wall packs” of lights that could be installed in problem areas.

“I don’t want to let anything slide with student safety involved,” Drake said.