Ascot Park, Ballfield, Electrical

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"We've all learned — we regret that we didn't lC make th` own," said John Etter, landscape Zlhc 1co 3tcr -4urtra architect .he combined parks and public works department. He got stuck with making explanations, MONDAY even though the hush -hush approach was a OCTOBER 11, 1993 collective staff exercise with enough suspects to + field a touch football team. R UT, NOW THAT everybody's vented on that, let's examine what the department has in DON B I S H O F F jJ mind. It may not be a bad idea — with conditions. This all came up because a light fell off a pole • last spring at Kincaid Field, next to Ellis Parker The neighbors Elementary School in southeast Eugene. The city g hired an expert to check all its field lights, and he said to replace those at Kincaid and at Graham like ark dark Field The staff looked around and said, why spend 00 to re-light 4 � acres at Kincaid, when for a ' $100,000 gh / i HEN KEN LUSE says, "I'm just a typical little more we could light 13 acres and a lot more W Not In My Back Yard playing area at Ascot? y guy, I guess," he's talking almost literally. In the city's master parks plan, Ascot is NIMBY Luse doesn't mind the occasional pop designated as a lighting - suitable community park. It foul into his Ascot Drive back yard, but a 100 -foot- has restrooms and lots of playing room, both tall light pole is something else. Or the roar of a lacking at Kincaid. crowd beneath that pole at 11 at night. And a lighting company convinced the staff that The back yard of Ken and Patti Luse is just 60 fancy new metal halide, low -glare lights can be feet from the foul line of one of the softball installed at Ascot with about 75 percent less light diamonds in Ascot Park, 13 acres of gorgeous city "spillage" into surrounding neighborhoods than playing fields behind Monroe Middle School and with old - fashioned ball field lights. So the staff ringed by about 20 homes. On that foul line, the city tiptoed around and let a contract to put up $140,000 proposes to erect one of eight tall poles holding worth of new lights at Graham Field and $129,000 enough lights to illuminate two softball diamonds worth at Ascot and two soccer fields. The Ascot lights are now on hold until a public Illumination means night softball and night meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Monroe library. soccer. Night tournaments. Maybe even night Lacrosse, night rugby and night ultimate Frisbee. City staff members will be talking compromise, but neighbors have unconditional city surrender in "I mean, we're taking a completely nice mind. They've hired lawyer Don Diment, himself a neighborhood with nice park neighbor, to represent them. a middle-class it into a night people nig ht and t urni ng it "I guarantee we will fill the library and there t sports complex," Ken won't be enough room for people to stand — they'll Luse said. have to move to the gym," Luse said. I.. i +,,,.... - 1 Well, something like He's mad that the city also invited sports users: t that. But aren't kids and "They're not watching their house drop in value by y " grown -ups supposed to $40,000. They don't give a rap where they play their . r ) do things like play games; they just want to play." ` organized ball in large city parks, maybe even Sure — and Ascot Park seems one logical place after dark? to play. Yes, there are other parks, but none quite ( �' "We're not griping so well set up for lighting now. V -. , ?' about the park," said I sympathize with Byrne and the Luses. Because John Byrne, the Luses' their homes are closest to home plate, they'll bear next -door neighbor. "What we're concerned about the brunt of any crowd noise, glare, unsightly poles is the noise at 10 o'clock and 11." and the like. But there are trade -offs: They have the closest access to park amenities — expanses of They're also mad about another of those greenway, paths, and mating mallards in the incredible "whatever you do, don't ask or tell surrounding swale. anybody" gaffes that the city blunders into now and then like a blind hog stumbling into a swamp. The city could offer to buy their homes and did parks, recreation and others most affected at pre - lighting values. My In this case, not only p guess is that the homes could be resold at no loss — public works officials not ask residents or the to people who'd put up with night sports in Harlow Neighbors neighborhood group what they exchange for a great extended back yard. thought — officials kept the lighting plans secret from them. Only on Sept. 24 did the city send a Bottom line: The city's owned Ascot since 1965, letter to about 20 park- border homeowners, telling planning it as a major active community park. So, them the lights were going up — on Sept. 27! let there be light — if the city's agreeable to When neighbors hollered, city officials retreated reasonable restrictions (a 10 p.m. game curfew, for y example, and no PA systems on fields closest to the and admitted that they'd kept quiet to try to keep homes). neighborhood opposition from stalling the project! .; You could make a case for dumping this idea on - As a final goodwill gesture to the neighbors, grounds of staff stupidity alone. assign the "let's- keep -it -a- secret" staff members to the trash pickup detail.