Selma council approves $842,683.64 Musco sports-lighting purchase for Shafer Park

The Selma City Council on July 24 approved a purchase requisition accepting a July 16, 2025 quote from Musco Sports Lighting LLC for $842,683.64 to supply sports lighting and related materials for Shafer Park, with the cost appropriated from city reserves. The council directed the deputy city manager and the city attorney to ensure a detailed contract governs payment terms, warranties and other standard provisions.

The measure matters because the lights are intended to extend usable hours at Shafer Park for youth and adult leagues and because Musco’s system includes a 25-year warranty and remote monitoring that the city says will reduce long-term maintenance costs. Public Works staff said factory manufacture takes about eight to 10 weeks, and Musco’s contractor has begun pre-construction planning; the city aims to have the system installed and functioning by Nov. 1, 2025 if production and installation stay on schedule.

Public Works Director Hahn said Musco will install the lighting system and assume liability for materials and labor under the warranty. “The material, labor, all of that. They also monitor the system, and that is a 25 year warranty,” Hahn said. He explained that the city’s work would be limited to preparing and, if required, rewiring local distribution to meet Musco specifications; the staff estimate to rewire every light on the complex is $55,080, which Hahn described as a “must go” cost only if existing infrastructure fails Musco’s approval and must be replaced.

Hahn told council Musco monitors its systems remotely year-round and automatically alerts the company when an individual light or circuit fails; critical outages that disable a pole or field would prompt Musco to dispatch crews, he said. He described a range in response: a full-pole outage could be addressed within 72 hours, while noncritical repairs might take up to 30 days; under the 25-year warranty, the city would not pay for bulbs or Musco’s labor to replace covered components.

The contract route uses Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing program that the city said provides pre-vetted contractors and a standard purchasing vehicle; staff noted the vendor pays Sourcewell fees and the city does not pay an additional Sourcewell charge. The staff report and council discussion stated the Sourcewell procurement produced a roughly 10% reduction on the listed price in comparison with other approaches the city considered.

Council members and staff addressed timeline, liability and fiscal impact. Council members asked that staff not rush installation at the expense of quality, and staff said they have contingencies if production or construction delays occur. Funding for the purchase was identified in the staff report as coming from the city’s reserves; councilmembers said the city expects to replenish reserves with proceeds from a planned sale of city-owned land at McCullough Nelson, which the council previously authorized acquiring for $1,500,000 and is preparing to list for sale.

A member of the public, Teresa Salas, asked whether sales tax and bonding were included in the quote; Hahn replied, “It’s showing the estimated sales tax at 47,428. So that’s added into that cost.” Staff also said bonding costs are not charged to the city by Musco in this procurement and that Alves (an electrical contractor who previously installed lighting at the park) will be paid hourly as a consultant if used; public works staff will purchase materials.

The council approved the motion in a roll-call vote. Mayor Robertson, Mayor Pro Tem Guerra, Council Member Avalos, Council Member Osagara and Council Member Trujillo voted yes; the motion passed 5-0.

The council then moved to a brief recess before an announced closed-session item on public employment under California Government Code Section 54957.