Cedar Grove residents may be left in the dark as soon as next week if they haven’t already paid for a street light.

In September, County Commissioners warned they would soon run out of money to pay for street lights in Cedar Grove. Bay County was paying nearly $50,000 a year to light the streets of Cedar Grove, from funds the county received when the community dissolved. November 1st, the county will stop paying which means if Cedar Grove residents want lighting, they will have to pay for it themselves, like other people in Bay County.

“Throughout Bay County, we had the same policy from one end of Bay County to the other, and now that Cedar Grove has been included in the unincorporated area of Bay County they have to follow that same policy” said County Commissioner, Bill Dozier.

Like other areas in Bay County, the county will pay for lighting at busy intersections, but residential street lights will fall on residents. Eddie Curti is a Cedar Grove resident and says the extra expense has to be weighed against safety concerns.

“I would have no exception for paying for the streetlight for my own personal [street], but for the safety of the community street lights designated so many feet apart, which I feel should still [be] maintained” said Eddie Curti Cedar Grove resident.

Gulf Power have a residential streetlight program in which residents can elect to add an additional $9 to their electric bill to light up the streets near individual homes.