July 2, 2008
From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS — City efforts to conserve energy have grabbed the attention of retailers from across the nation.
Philip Curtis, owner of HolidayLEDs, a Michigan-based holiday lighting company, issued a press release stating his company was to donate four cases of LED Christmas lights to an “Alaska town struggling to cut energy costs.”
Curtis had read about the efforts of the energy task force in two articles and was caught by surprise at the mention of cutting back on Christmas lights if electricity bills got so bad that the city could not afford them.
Curtis jumped at the chance to offer his services but has not received a response from the mayor’s office. Curtis posted a press release making note of his offer to the city.
“Christmas displays are such an important part of the Christmas celebration, and it would be a shame if the residents of Fairbanks had to eliminate this tradition,” Curtis said.
City officials are skeptical, however, that this perceived act of charity is really just an advertising ploy.
“The city of Fairbanks isn’t about to be the next poster child for a LED holiday lighting company,” Mayor Terry Strle said. “The city is in no way struggling to keep holiday lights on,” she said.
Mike Schmetzer, city engineer and public works director, heads the energy task force and says he’s seen this kind of business before, but doesn’t see the city as struggling.
“The city isn’t doing anything different than every resident in Interior Alaska,” he said. “We’re just trying to reduce these costs that everyone is experiencing at home,” he said.
The task force has been working with local energy consultants to find ways to cut costs.
