Two Superstition Shadows Park baseball fields, and two softball and two soccer fields at Prospector Park in Apache Junction are to be retrofitted with energy-efficient, shielded LED lighting at a cost of nearly $1.8 million, some funded through grants.
The Apache Junction City Council at a meeting July 16 is to vote on a $1,784,427.75 contract with Veregy for the Musco-brand sports-field lighting, which includes a 5% contingency. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers, 300 E. Superstition Blvd.
A total of $471,649.50, including a 5% contingency, will be funded by the city of Apache Junction and used for fields 3 and 4 at Prospector Park, 3015 N. Idaho Road. Fields 1 and 2 were done last year, Parks and Recreation Director Liz Langenbach said during the council’s July 2 meeting.
“The contract total with all options is $1.7 (million), almost $1.8 million. It’s a lot of money in the contract and that feels like a whole lot of money, but our part that we’re really agreeing to is in that $400,000 range and the rest of it would be through grant funds if we were able to secure those,” she said.
The fields were first constructed between 1985 and 1990 with metal halide lights and little or no shielding.
“Since that time, nowadays there is just more energy-efficient lighting that’s out there and then we really try to have a big focus on dark-sky-friendly options, especially in that north part of the community where the individuals who live in that area there really value that night sky,” Langenbach said.
The lights, which will have a 25-year warranty with maintenance included, are anticipated to be installed in October during the field overseeding when there is a break in play, she said.
Grants sought for lighting
The contract with Veregy includes two possible grant-funded projects, with the city paying a portion. They are for the removal and disposal of existing light fixtures at Prospector Park soccer fields 1 and 2, installing new light fixtures and other work; and for the removal and disposal of light fixtures at Superstition Shadows baseball fields, 1091 W. Southern Ave., and installation of new poles and lighting, according to the construction agreement with Veregy.
The soccer fields lighting is to cost $436,091.25 and the baseball fields lighting is to cost $876,687, both including the contingency, Langenbach said.
“We have some opportunities for future grants and we won’t know about those grants for the next month or so. And so we can’t finalize those or say we for sure have this certain amount of money in hand. All of the grants we’re looking at require a match,” she said.
“This contract allows us the opportunity that if we were able to find that additional outside funding that we could go ahead and complete those projects ahead of schedule and get them off our (capital improvement projects) list and have that money for future things,” Langenbach said.
LED lighting since 2019
The city’s first sports facility to covert to LED lighting was its little league fields, 440 S. Ironwood Drive, in 2019, and was done through a partial grant from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Langenbach said.
Moving all fields to LED lighting is on the parks and recreation department’s capital improvement projects list, she said.
“Mainly for energy-efficiency, but also to phase out some of that old lighting and go to dark-sky-friendly lighting as well as lighting that can be on a centralized system that we can use for our reservation system, and all of our different users out there,” Langenbach said.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here