The downtown trees along Main Street have featured wire lights since a 3-2 council vote in 2021 did away with uplighting.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(July 24, 2025) Uplighting will replace the current in-tree string lighting found in the trees in downtown Berlin, along Main Street, per a favorable vote by the municipality’s council last week.

On Monday, July 14, the Berlin Town Council green-lit a change in downtown that will see the transition away from cool, tree lights to warm uplighting. The discussion and motion were brought to the table by Councilman Jack Orris. The lighting modification was approved in a 4-1 vote, with Dean Burrell, council vice president, opposed.

Orris initiated the lighting conversation at last week’s Berlin Mayor and Council meeting, arguing that the stark white lights do not match the aesthetic of historic downtown Berlin. Orris said that he spoke with town staff, including Berlin Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence, who stated that his team has the bulbs on hand to proceed with the change.

“I’m not sure how long it would take [Lawrence] to replace all those lights, but I think it would be great to get kind of a head start so it’s in place for the holidays,” Orris said.

The majority of Berlin’s governing group agreed that the downtown trees’ string lighting should be changed back to uplighting, which was previously in place, before a council vote in 2021 to install the wire lights used on Christmas trees.

Now, the town will transition back to uplighting, which Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall has long favored. The new illumination will provide downtown Berlin with a warmer, softer glow, officials agree.

“[The string lights] don’t fit the historic charm,” Tyndall said. “In my opinion, it doesn’t match. With the [string lights], you can’t trim the trees.”

“I prefer uplighting,” Councilman Steve Green added.

The decision comes four years after the Town Council voted to replace the tree’s uplighting with string lights in 2021. At that time, Councilman Jay Knerr initiated a discussion to replace the existing uplighting. He said that several businesses had advised him that this was their preference.

“I don’t think the uplighting has the impact we’re looking for,” Knerr said in 2021. “They like the old-world charm of the in-tree lights and would prefer us to move in that direction.”

At the time when Knerr advocated for in-tree lighting, Tyndall had directed staff to remove string lights and implement uplighting just a year prior. The mayor noted in 2021 that string lights are more likely to fail and must be removed to conduct tree maintenance.

Lawrence also said at that time that string lights are not meant to be used all year long, thus making them more susceptible to deterioration over time.

Many on the council in 2021 pointed out that town residents preferred the string lights, leading to a 3-2 vote to replace the uplighting with in-tree wiring. Knerr, Burrell, and Troy Purnell, a council member at the time whose seat now belongs to Green, approved the alteration. Orris and Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols opposed.

That decision will now be rolled back with the retirement of the string lights, to be replaced with uplighting. While Burrell maintained his position from 2021 opposing uplighting, Knerr changed his vote this time around, expressing his preference for the warmer uplighting.

“I was a big proponent of the tree lights, but I’ve changed my mind,” Knerr said last week.

A specific timeline for the modification has not been announced.