George Catt and several of his neighbors have seen the light. Now they want it dimmed – considerably.

Catt lives along the rebuilt portion of Kasold Drive between 22nd Street and Bob Billings Parkway. He said the neighborhood has quickly learned the $6 million project included a lot more than new pavement and wider sidewalks. He said it also included a bevy of new street lights.

“When they turned all of them on, it was like daylight all the time,” Catt said.

Catt said the light was problematic because for nearby homes and made it difficult to sleep.

City leaders have received several complaints about the lights, enough that they’ve decided to turn off every other light along the stretch of road. Catt said that has helped with his property, but hasn’t helped with neighbors.

Several other neighbors are asking that the city remove the new poles and replace them with the older version of street lights, which are several feet shorter than the new lights.

Chuck Soules, the city’s director of Public Works, said the city is weighing its options. Soules said the city followed Westar Energy’s guidelines for the number and height of street lights needed for a major road like Kasold. The city uses Westar’s standards because Westar pays for the bulk of the costs related to purchasing and installing the lights. The city pays for the electricity.

“But I won’t deny that it was bright,” Soules said. “It was brighter than any other facility we have in town.”

An informal count showed that there are 40 street lights in the nearly 1-mile stretch of road between Bob Billings Parkway and 22nd Street. On a similar 1-mile stretch of Kasold to the north there are 31 street lights.

Westar spokeswoman Erin Dehn said the utility follows national standards determined by the Illuminating Engineering Society. She said Westar is willing to make changes to the lighting system, if the city is willing to pay Westar to make those changes.

A cost estimate to remove the poles hasn’t been released. The two sides are still negotiating the figure. A bigger issue may be what the city does for future street projects.

Dehn said Westar doesn’t have any plans to start deviating from the national standards. But the city does have the authority to purchase and install its own street lights. That, however, would be a new cost for the city, plus any lights installed by the city would be maintained by the city. Currently, Westar maintains and repairs all the street lights it installs in the city.

City officials don’t have a definite timeline for making a decision. But Soules said one complicating factor is that several residents have said they like the additional light. Soules said he has heard from several homeowners who like the extra light for security reasons.