WESTFIELD–The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will be holding a public hearing Nov. 2, to discuss a proposed plan of lights being added to the Sadie Knox and Papermill ball fields.
The meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the city council chambers of city hall, will provide the public with a chance to ask questions or voice any concerns that the lighting project may induce, especially following the Roots Athletic Center lighting issue.
“We are looking to put lights on the back field of Paper Mill and the back field of Sadie Knox,” Ken Diegel, president of the Westfield Little League, said. “Once we get all the go-aheads, four to six weeks to get all the material and Westfield Gas and Electric will be doing all the construction for us.”
Diegel said that Westfield Gas and Electric will be donating their time to the project to get the lights constructed. The materials though, will cost $60,000 and are purchased through Musco Lighting, who is also in charge of designing the project. Money for the project is coming from donations and grants, although the Westfield Little League still needs money for the project.
They already put down 25 percent, which was enough to get the project up and running.
Diegel said that there will be a total of four poles per field, but was uncertain how many lights would be on each pole.
Ward 6 city councilor William Onyski said that the decision to provide residents with a public hearing on the project was to make sure people had a say. He also said that it is merely a coincidence that this has come up around the same time as Roots Athletic Center’s lighting issues.
“My main concern is making sure the public has some input before the lights go up–at least at Paper Mill, the lights are literally in people’s backyards,” Onyski said. “It’s a number of things that the planning board would normally look at, but since it’s public property they won’t look at it.”
Westfield Ward 6 City Councilor Bill Onyski (WNG file photo).
Onyski also voiced a concern regarding lighting between the fields and the parking lots, which have a fair amount of distance between them at Papermill Park.
Diegel said that they will try to address that, as well, either by adding more lighting to the scoreboard or by getting older, out-of-date lights up-to-date near the Papermill tennis courts, which he said would provide enough lighting at night.
Diegel added that the Westfield Little League is still seeking donations for the project. If anyone is interested in assisting, Diegel can be contacted at: [email protected]
