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Glen Ellyn Park District could budget money for lights at Newton field

Glen Ellyn Park District commissioners next week will consider funding a much-debated project to install lights at Newton Park.

But village trustees ultimately would get the final say on whether the park district can flip the switch on four 70-foot-tall poles on the sidelines of a synthetic turf field.

Critics of the project say the lights don't fit the character of the neighborhood that surrounds the 25-acre park. The home closest to the athletic field sits about 100 yards away on Fairview Avenue.

With lights extending the playing time for athletes who use the field, neighbors worry about worsening traffic and parking issues on residential streets.

"Our point is you need to fix the problem before you add to it," neighbor John Farrell says.

The park district argues that the lights and congestion are two separate issues and that programming is busiest during the day. Neighbors, park district officials and police were set to meet Wednesday night to discuss a plan to keep drivers from parking on culs-de-sac and to address other concerns.

The park district also maintains that the LED fixtures and the height of the poles are designed to limit glare.

"LED lights are very specific to lighting the field and nothing else," said Dave Harris, executive director of the park district. "So the technology has evolved where the athletic lighting is very clean and specific to the area."

After talks with neighbors, the park district has proposed "blackout" months that would shut off the lights December through February and in July.

At the latest, the lights would turn off by 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Events on the field would have to end by 9:30 p.m., though Harris said most programs don't last that long. The lights would remain off when the field is not in use.

The park district has used portable lighting on the so-called upper field at Newton and completed the installation of the artificial turf in 2015.

"The turf field is our highest-quality, rectangular-shaped field," Harris said. "So the idea is to try to make greater use of one of your better assets, your better athletic assets."

The field primarily draws youth football, lacrosse and rugby teams. Some Glenbard West High School teams also can play on the field until 5:45 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday mornings. If lights were installed, those students would be able to play until 9 p.m. Wednesdays in the fall and until 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays in the spring.

Harris noted that Glenbard West prioritizes use of the school's Memorial Field on Crescent Boulevard, where neighbors raised concerns about lights five years ago. West also prioritizes schedules that are "closely aligned" with their school hours, Harris said.

Glenbard High School District 87 pays the park district $54,000 a year for use of its properties, including Newton, Ackerman Park and the Village Green.

That fee could increase to $64,000 per year to help cover the expense of the lights if the project was approved.

Commissioners could vote Tuesday night on setting aside $250,000 for the project as part of the park district's 2017 budget.

Then the park district would seek variances from village code that restricts the height of light poles to the tallest structure on the property, Harris said. In Newton's case, that's the concessions building, which is about 20 feet tall.

The plan commission would review the request and make a recommendation for or against the lights to the village board.

  The proposed project would install four 70-foot-tall poles with LED fixtures on the sidelines of an athletic field in Newton Park. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  A fixture installed about 20 feet up one of the proposed poles would provide lighting for a sledding hill at Newton Park. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Youth football, lacrosse and rugby teams primarily play on the synthetic turf field. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
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