Having the airlines' ground service people turn on runway lights is not a bad idea (don't know about met obs). I know of at least one regional flight that very recently departed a regional airport after sundown (still some ambient light) without the PAL lights activated.
Mountains to the west made it very dark very quickly so it may not have technically been after last light but dark enough to need headlights if you were driving.
The ground staff are there and getting paid anyway, so why not?
At least have them make sure that the lights have been activated before departure as a back up to the flight crew.