Say no to lights at Glenbard West

I had the pleasure of serving the village of Glen Ellyn as trustee and president and have always admired efforts to preserve the character of our Village. Like many residents, I do not want to see development that severely impacts the uniqueness of this community.

It is the special quality of the historic and beautiful neighborhoods, parks, civic buildings and downtown that makes this such a wonderful place to live and that has helped maintain the relatively high market value of homes.

Last fall, Glenbard West High School installed an artificial turf field along Crescent Boulevard at the cost of $1.4 million for the stated purpose of improving the physical education curriculum. While some funds were raised through the park district and private donors, the school still has over $1.1 million in debt from the project.

Now, the administration wants to spend close to $1 million more to install 8-story tall stadium lighting, loudspeakers, stadium seating and other “enhancements,” which will not benefit the curriculum. In fact, the plan is to lease the field to outside teams with lights on until 10 p.m., three seasons a year.

As our village begins plans to improve our Central Business District, the lighting from the towers, traffic, noise from loudspeakers at Memorial Field, two blocks away, will severely impact the success of this important revitalization effort, a complex and costly undertaking.

Residents have started to speak out against this ill-conceived idea, and a petition is being circulated online (http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42517.html).

The next meeting of the Glenbard High School District 87 board is at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the high school. I urge residents tell our school board that we do not want stadium lighting at Memorial Park.

Joe E. Wark

Glen Ellyn