LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "It's very dark!"
"It's too dark!"
"It's dangerous to live in the dark."
Annoula Wylderich, Mike Burke, and John Cluberton are some of the neighbors that I spoke with recently. They tell me that they're paying for lights but living in the dark.
In the area surrounding Wylderich's east valley home, near McLeod Drive and Rochelle Ave., the lights have been out for months.
"We have children, we have people walking their pets late at night because of the heat, and a few months ago, we had one pet who got loose and was fatally hit on Rochelle."
Cluberton's neighborhood in Sunrise Manor was dark for at least five months before he asked me, "Darcy, what's the deal?" and we were able to fast-track a fix.
"What were you encountering when you tried to get the lights turned back on," I asked.
"All I got was 'There's just not enough resources'," Cluberton replied.
It's a tired refrain that rings hollow for these folks who turned to us for help.
"It's just a shame that we have to go to the media to try and get progress for things our tax dollars already pay for," Burke said.
"Our property taxes have been paying for these amenities all along," Wylderich added. "Since we have no access to them now, do we get a rebate on our property taxes?"
I took their questions and concerns to Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom.
What about a tax rebate?
"I can't answer that part because it's such a widespread problem but the truth is, that's a function of government. They're right," Segerblom said. "We have to provide streetlights. We have to keep the streets clean. Those are just basic services that we do. So if we're not doing them, we need to address them real quick."
What is causing the problem?
Segerblom adds that combating copper wire theft, which causes the widespread outages, has proven elusive. So has getting the lights back on and keeping them on.
"During the pandemic, when government kind of shut down and everybody kind of looked the other way because we were trying to survive, this kind of grew and grew," Segerblom explained. "And then, all of a sudden, we're out of the pandemic and it's like, oh my God. What do we do?! We've never had this situation. Our job was to put in streetlights. It wasn't to have to put new wire in the old streetlights."
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Copper wire theft knows no bounds. There are no zip codes or hot zones where the crime is concentrated, but Segerblom says his district is unique — with residents being left in the dark longer because the county is focusing on the big surrounding streets like Flamingo and Lamb and Nellis, pushing the neighborhoods further down the repair list.
"We just want to know that residents matter," Wylderich said. "That's the bottom line. We should be taking priority. We are the stakeholders and the backbone of this community. We're the voters that elect our officials who we hope are going to work in our best interest, and we just want some relief and safety."
What is the solution?
Too many streetlights and not enough Public Works crews are part of problem, which Segerblom is prioritizing in the current budget.
"And this budget will have significantly more money," he said. "So, we're talking about contracting out to have new teams come in and start to work on these lights. Just so you know, we have 1,800 tickets for streetlights in the county."
That's 1,800 outages waiting for a fix and 400 of those are in Segerblom's district.
"One truck crew with three people can do like 10 lights a day," he explained.
It's "a massive problem" that he's hoping to dedicate up to $10 million to solve.
"This is a solvable problem. We're over a $1 billion corporation. If we have to spend $10 million, it's not gonna kill us."
He says they're also evaluating some innovative solutions, like removing the allure of pricey copper wire by replacing it with aluminum wire and making it harder to steal.
"We also, now, are trying to put the wire at the top of the poles — between the poles — which is unsightly. But truthfully, they can't get that wire."
Best case scenario would be replacing the electric lights altogether.
"We're working on solar-powered lights, which wouldn't require wires. We actually have a contract starting next month just as a test to see if these solar lights — they're from France — would work, and if they're bright enough. Then, we can start implementing those."
Could future policies address copper wire theft?
I asked about a supply and demand solution, noting there would be no market for a supply of copper wire from thieves without demand from recycling yards.
"Despite the safeguards that allegedly exist, should scrap yards just not be able to buy copper wire? How often do people legitimately recycle that," I questioned.
"Absolutely! And that's why we're working on an ordinance to the flip side — to go after the recyclers," Segerblom replied.
A new ordinance would include higher penalties, increased accountability, and a stronger partnership with police.
"The police need more help. It's obvious. Because they can't be everywhere," Burke said.
WATCH: Copper wiring to be replaced on Lamb near Charleston for fifth time in 15 months
Segerblom says the issue has become so big, they're looking to dedicate a task force to it.
"County-wide, at least within Metro, that can focus on just this copper theft. Until the cops are able to stop it, we're almost going backwards."
Segerblom admits that government operates at a snail's pace and he shares the frustration locals feel.
"It's not like I can just snap my fingers and say okay, go fix something. They need to know we're in the process, but they should keep complaining and hold me accountable."
The neighbors sure will and so will 13 Investigates.
