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Neighbors want lights parceled out By John Darling ASHLAND � Residents at a town hall study session of proposed lighting at North Mountain Park Thursday hoped the parks department might consider "spreading the pain" by lighting one field at three different locations around town. The city plans to spend $210,000 to light three fields for night games of soccer, baseball and softball at North Mountain, but neighbors loudly objected to expected light levels, noise and traffic. In the third public meeting on the lighting issue, 50 citizens in small groups hashed over alternatives, including lighting just one field at North Mountain plus two more existing fields at either Ashland Middle School, the YMCA, Helman Elementary School or the Hunter Park-Walker School area. The Parks and Recreation Department conducted a survey of potential lighting sites and ranked the Middle School and YMCA as good possibilities because of condition, ownership, upgrading costs and lighting ease. Helman received satisfactory marks. Residents suggested the Hunter-Walker site. Hunter, however, is being used by Little League, leaving little time to share with other teams, said Parks Director Ken Mickelsen. The department ruled out the old Waldorf School site, recently acquired by Ashland School District, the Ashland High School baseball field and the Southern Oregon University softball field, said Mickelsen. Residents also considered impacts of using the $210,000 to upgrade all city fields without lighting them or to just go ahead with the city�s first plan � lighting all three fields on the new 40-acre, $1 million North Mountain Park with 90-foot professional lights. The site was engineered as a mega-park to handle burgeoning numbers of children and adults playing soccer, baseball and softball, to readily host visiting teams and to provide adequate parking. The north end of the park is home to a nature study center. "We have to be careful not to move too far and too fast," Parks Commission Chairwoman Laurie MacGraw told the gathering. "We need more athletic fields for more children�s athletic opportunities and more adult sports, yet we also have to keep the unique character of Ashland." Some residents suggested using the money to buy new, less intrusive sites, then float a bond issue to pay for improvements. Mickelsen said it would take five to 10 years to acquire new land and that large, level sites in the area are about gone. "The alternatives we�re dealing with are based on our present funds," he said. If North Mountain is lit, MacGraw said, the commission plans on limiting hours to 9 p.m. three days a week and excluding Sunday. The commission likely will vote on the issue at its Nov. 27 meeting, MacGraw said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.