Butler isn't putting up its Christmas lights on city streetlight posts along Main Street this year because of the ongoing streetlight replacement project, but city officials are kicking around other ideas to bring some holiday spirit downtown.

The city is in the process of replacing old streetlights on Main Street with a “stylish” black pole that will illuminate the city's streets and sidewalks.

The new light poles are being manufactured with brackets built-in to hold the Christmas lights, allowing future installations to be easier, and brackets for the veterans' banners, Mayor Ben Smith said.

He said the Christmas lights would have had to come down soon after they went up so the new streetlights could be installed.

“If we put the lights up, we'll have to take them down after the parade,” Smith said, referring to the annual Spirit of Christmas parade being held Nov. 30. “The other option was to not put them up.”

Diamond Park will be decorated for Christmas and ribbons, wreaths or other types of decorations that can be easily put up and taken down could be placed on the Main Street light poles, he said.

“It's just an idea that's being tossed around,” Smith said.

The lighting project was funded through a loan from the Butler County Infrastructure Bank Loan program. Payment of the loan will be from a restricted streetlight tax revenue source. Efforts to replace the lights started after many of the bases that anchor the old light poles began to deteriorate, causing them to become unstable and unsafe.

The city expects to receive the lights from the manufacturer in the first week of December and the installation process will begin immediately.

The Christmas lights the city has been using will be hung on the new light poles next year.

“The Christmas lights are perfectly fine. We'll use the same lights,” Smith said.