During last nights council meeting, an update regarding the replacement of LED lights and poles at the John Bell baseball diamonds was brought up.
The costly move for the ball diamond comes as John Bell is one of the most used diamond for rentals, replacing the LED lights and poles is to address safety concerns. Interim Manager of Recreation, Amy Gangl says safety and regular costs are a big reason for replacement.
“It’s recommended we proceed with the replacement mainly due to the deterioration of the lights and poles at the John Bell park. In addition to public safety concerns there are maintenance issues. Product and installation costs will continue to rise as they did in 2017.” said Gangl.
She added the newer poles would have a life of 50 years and broke down total costs split on the years.
“The manufactures indicate the poles have a fifty year or more life expectancy. With this investment we broke it down to $7504 per year or $9.44 per hour of usage at the park.”
$210,000 was set aside in the budget for the light replacements and new poles which was a number provided by a local electrician and supplier. However inflationary costs and work has given the lowest tender being $131,700 over the budget estimate.
While some councilors, including Mayor Kasenberg weren’t a big fan of the newer pricetag on the replacement, safety to allow better use of the ball diamonds was something most weren’t willing to ignore.
The proposal to increase the allocated budget carried 9-1. Doug Kellum was the only voter against the proposal.
