City may pay for stadium lighting

ST. MARYS - City officials are considering paying for the lighting at the proposed new football stadium at the middle/high school campus but are waiting for final cost estimates before proceeding.

City council's electric committee members and other officials met on Monday with Roughrider Philanthropic Association representative Dan Burke to consider the proposal. The plan would include having the city pay for the lighting and then be repaid through the purchase of electricity over 15 years.

Engineer Brad J. Core of Core Consulting, Spencerville, recommended the Qualite Q-LED Game Changer 1,000-watt lighting system. The system would use 42 light poles for a 40-foot-candle system or 56 poles for a brighter system. A foot-candle is a unit that measures the intensity of light falling on a surface equal to 1 lumen per square foot. Committee members also watched a short video about the system.

The cost, including installation and maintenance with a 25-year guarantee would be $226,600 at the 50-foot-candle brightness. Core also recommended adding a small amount of lighting for events on the track to allow better view of the corners and end of the track. More lights also could be placed there to better illuminate the parking lots on either side of the field.

Committee member Ken Koverman asked how much more it would cost for the additional lighting. Core said it would depend on the total brightness and how much additional lighting would be desired. He did not have an estimate.

Members agreed to wait on the additional estimates before deciding whether to recommend the project to full council. They will meet again on Monday to review the numbers. If they opt to proceed, council members could give first reading of the ordinance at their Feb. 12 regular meeting. The project, if approved, would be funded through the city's electric fund.

Burke said the association hopes to have the new stadium ready for the fall football season and so wants to keep the project moving forward as quickly as possible. The association has raised more than $1.6 million for the facility. Seating has been ordered and a new scoreboard has been selected, he added. If approved, the lights would be delivered and installed within six-eight weeks of purchase.

Council president James Harris, who was at the Monday meeting, said council members would not suspend the three readings rule to rush through the legislation. He said the public would be given time to offer as much input as possible.

Mayor Patrick McGowan said city and school district officials have come to the same agreement in the past.

"Nothing is new. This was done back in the 1970s for the current stadium," he said.

Council passed legislation in May 1978 to provide lighting for the new baseball field when it was moved from its Skip Baughman Stadium location to K.C. Geiger Park. That project also involved new lighting and aluminum bleachers at the football field, city law director Kraig Noble said.

Correction:

According to St. Marys Mayor Pat McGowan, the proposed lighting system would consist of 56 lights on four poles at the football field. Consultants misspoke when they relayed the information at the meeting.