The town will seek a design for the installation of lights on the Mandel Recreation Center athletic field.
The Town Council directed staff members at its April 8 meeting to gather designs for the poles, lighting, and possible landscaping to screen them.
If a conceptual design is approved by the council, the proposal will move forward for review by the Architectural Commission, then back to the council for final approval, Public Works Director Paul Brazil said.
Parents of children who play sports at the Recreation Center want the field lights so the youngsters can continue to play outdoor sports after sunset during the winter months, when it gets dark earlier.
The field lights would be used no later than 8 p.m., which is when the recreation center closes, according to Recreation Director Mark Bresnahan. The Seaview Park Tennis Center adjacent to the recreation center already has outdoor lighting until 8 p.m.
Matthew K. Smith, board chairman of the nonprofit Friends of Recreation fundraising group, said it has raised the money to pay for the lights for the sports field.
“It’s going to improve the lifestyle of the young families in town,” Smith said. “I don’t see anyone complaining about the tennis lights at the recreation center.”
After debate over the lights at its February 11 meeting, the council asked Friends of Recreation to reach out to neighbors and other residents and find out how they feel about the outdoor lights. Smith said there wasn’t a strong response.
“We engaged the community,” Smith said. “We didn’t see a lot of opposition.”
Smith is a member of the Palm Beach Civic Association’s Executive Committee and a Civic Association director since 2014.
Bresnahan fielded questions and listened to concerns expressed by Mayor Danielle Moore and council members.
The lighted field would be used primarily for soccer, flag football and lacrosse, Bresnahan said. The youngsters would be ages 14 and younger.
The lights would be used from October until April, most likely five days per week, he said.
The height and number of the poles and brightness of the lights have not been decided. (For comparison, the light poles at the Seaview tennis courts are 20 feet tall, Bresnahan said).
At Brazil’s suggestion, the design team to be hired by the town will include a lighting engineer and landscape architect.
Council member Lew Crampton expressed support for the lighting to expand the use of the field and accommodate families.
“Here is represented an emerging part of our community: families with young children,” Crampton said. “They are a group that needs to be recognized.”
But he said that accommodation should be balanced with concerns about traffic and parking management and aesthetics.
Councilwoman Julie Araskog said she is concerned about aesthetics, traffic impacts, and that the poles may be too tall.
Araskog said landscaping would be aesthetically important to the design. But Council President Bobbie Lindsay said landscaping the project would be expensive. Brazil said landscaping would also impact the vista.
Natalie Emerson, a board member for Friends of Recreation, said the council will have complete control over the design.
“I don’t think any of us want grotesque, hard monster lights on the field,” she told the council. “I think what’s beautiful is the ball is not in our court anymore to decide that. The ball is actually in all of your courts.”
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