Street Lights - What Is An "Emergency"?

Yesterday the HOA's office sent out an email about street lighting on Summit Parkway. The message read, in part,

"We want to inform you that there is currently an electrical emergency affecting the street lighting along Summit Parkway, resulting in the street lights being out until further notice. Crews have been notified, and repairs will take place as soon as possible.

"We understand that this is occurring during the New Year holiday, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Please use extra caution when traveling through the area, especially during evening and nighttime hours, and remain alert while driving or walking near the outage zone."

Anyone who has driven at night on Summit Parkway in the past few weeks (and months) has noticed a high number of street lights that are out. The lights are owned and maintained by The Summit's HOA.

An online dictionary defines "emergency" as "a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action. (Source: www.dictionary.com)

So, what is the "emergency"? There is no "emergency". The lights are just out.

The advice to use caution is good, because too many Summit residents, particularly the younger ones, wear dark clothing and stand in or near the street. Few drivers are attentive to pedestrians waiting at crosswalks, where drivers are required to yield (and don't). 

If you do slow or stop to yield to a person in or at the crosswalk, watch your rearview mirror for the speeder behind you. Don't get rear-ended for obeying the law.

But is the outage an "emergency"?

Should the Projects Committee form a sub-committee on street lights and develop a master plan to correct the problem, including regular updates (at board meetings, in the Summit Scoop, and on the HOA's website) to inform the Board and all Members of the problem, the possible solutions, costs, and the repair timetable?

Or should the Board appoint an ad hoc Committee to do that?

Suggestions: Should e-mails from the office contain the name of the Sender (the Property Manager or Assistant Property Manager)?

Should the sender's name be changed from "Help Desk" to "Summit HOA" for easy, fast recognition in the long list of emails everyone receives these days?

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