ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Redskin Field and the Liberal High School East Campus field will be getting new lighting thanks to some action by the USD 480 school board Monday morning at a special meeting.
The meeting began with discussion of the LHS East Campus field lighting project.
“USD 480 solicited a quote to furnish and install sports field lighting for the LHS East Campus Field, and a quote was received from Musco Sports Lighting LLC, for $255,000,” Director of Operations Chad Mease said. “This includes a 25-year warranty for all maintenance, materials, on-site labor and everything else. The pricing was provided under Sourcewell, which is a cooperative purchasing program.”
“What’s some of the stuff WE are in charge of?” Board President Alan Brown asked. “Is there anything in particular we’ll have to do before or after?”
“There will be some additional work to get the primary electrical work done at the field, and that’s being worked on as well,” Mease said. “And this project didn’t have to be put out to bid because it doesn’t involve us buying anything, we just have to go through the extension of the line.”
Before the vote, a couple more quick questions were raised.
“With the warranty, does that cover ALL maintenance, or just the 25 years?” board member Jesus Baeza asked.
“The 25 years, and Musco has a stellar reputation,” Mease said. “We had that windstorm that ripped the roof off of the LHS East Campus building, and they came back and helped with that. They have a very stellar reputation and do great work.”
After some more brief discussion, the board ultimately voted to approve the purchase and installation of sports field lighting at the LHS East Campus Field in the amount of $255,000, with the funding to come from Capital Outlay.
The other topic of discussion was upgrading the lighting at Redskin Field.
“USD 480 solicited a quote to perform an LED sports field lighting retrofit for Redskin Field, and one quote was received from Musco Sports Lighting LLC for $239,000, which includes a 25-year warranty for all maintenance, materials and on-site labor,” Mease said. “The new lighting system will provide bleacher lighting on both the home and visitors’ sides as well as improved running track lighting. The current setup does not provide any lighting to the bleachers or to the ends of the track, especially with that far north curve. This is something that’s definitely needed. The pricing for this project is also provided under Sourcewell.”
“I can remember during track season sometimes, there were runners rounding that north curve who couldn’t see in the stands, so I feel like this is also a safety issue,” board member Nick Hatcher said.
“So even by ‘accident,’ we’re going to get better lighting down by the flagpole as well?” Brown asked, to which Mease replied in the positive.
“We also have some spots and shadows on the field due to how we relocated everything, and Facilities did the best they could do,” Mease said. “As things continue today, and with the current technology, there can’t be any additional fixtures added. But they can bring in the LED, which is smaller and has a lower profile, and that will help us add additional lighting.”
“And with the LED lighting, that’ll help with cost savings pretty well, won’t it?” Brown asked, to which Mease replied in the positive.
Questions were also asked about upgrading the lights in the parking lot areas and other logistical matters.
“If we redo the press box or any of that, would we have to move any of the lighting or any of that in order to do that work?” board member Sarah Thompson asked.
“No, because these lights will be different,” Mease said. “That’s what happened a few years ago, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid through doing this project.”
After some more discussion, the board ultimately voted to approve the conversion of lighting to LED at Redskin Field in the amount of $239,000, with the funding to also come from Capital Outlay.
