Pottsville Mayor Says New Christmas Lights Need to be Returned

The city’s plan to put up new Christmas lights in Pottsville this year is on hold.

No, this won’t be a town without a Christmas, however. The old ones, Mayor Dave Clews says, will just have to last another year.

In a statement released Friday, Clews says a sample of 50 of the new Christmas decorations was delivered from Rileighs, which supplies commercial outdoor holiday decor, on Nov. 14.

However, as members of the Pottsville Streets Dept. began installing the new lights decorations, it was determined they were “unstable.” Clews says “several manufacturer’s defects” created this situation.

We’ve learned that even the slightest bit of wind caused problems with the new decorations, unfortunately.

“After meeting with representatives from Rileighs,” Clews says, “it was determined that the best course of action would be to return the lights.”

The Mayor adds that in early 2024, the city will place an order for new decorations and promises they “will be even better and brighter” than originally planned.

“Rileighs have pledged to work with the city to correct the problem and enhance our holiday light program,” Clews says. “We will still light up Pottsville with thousands of lights. They will simply be with decorations that have brightened many holiday seasons and memories. I ask for your understanding an patience as we resolve this issue.”

He adds that Rileighs has pledged to donate several cases of Christmas lights to Pottsville and these lights can be obtained by businesses in the city by contacting City Hall at 570-622-1234, x1346.

The Spirit of the Holidays fundraising campaign was launched by Clews earlier this year to replace the Christmas decorations around the city as they aged beyond 20 years already.

The goal of the campaign was to raise $35,000 for the purchase of those lights.

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