While it may be July, the town of Richfield is already envisioning Christmas.

To give the town a more festive feel around the holidays, the town began discussing Christmas lights along N.C. Highway 49 this summer.

“We’d already purchased 10 (pole-mounted light displays) several years ago… they were an exceptionally good buy at the time,” Town Administrator Carolyn Capps said. “But we were never able to put them up.”

Pole-mounted lights need special wiring and fixtures to hold them in place, officials explained, and the town never had enough time or money to work that out. So this year, when it came time to figure out its budget, the town decided it was time to take action. It allocated $3,000 toward putting up the lights.

It also began talking with Duke Energy about the logistics of putting up lights. The company informed the town that certain high-voltage poles cannot be used. But there are still several others that could work.

“They’re going to come down and point out which ones,” Capps said.

After that, the city will have to talk with an electrician about installing wiring for the lights. But hopefully all can be completed by Christmas.

“I think we’re all ready to see those lights up,” Capps said.