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Marshfield council approves 24-foot light poles, $10,000 credit for Breen Park pickleball lights
Summary
The Marshfield City Council approved a change order to accept 24-foot light poles for Breen Park’s pickleball courts and a $10,000 credit after the manufacturer supplied poles two feet shorter than ordered; council members debated potential impacts on tournaments and design choices before the motion passed.
City Administrator Steve Varg told the Marshfield City Council that the manufacturer of the light poles for the Breen Park pickleball project produced 24-foot poles instead of the city’s specified 26-foot poles and offered a $10,000 credit if the city accepted the shorter poles.
The credit would reduce the project price from $83,000 to $73,000, Varg said, and the 24-foot poles could be delivered in the first week of June while ordering new 26-foot poles would add about four weeks and likely push installation into July.
The question before the council was whether the slightly shorter poles would meaningfully affect playability, safety or the city’s ability to host out-of-town tournaments. "They gave us a couple of options. They said ... we can go ahead and deliver the 24 foot poles," Varg said. "That would reduce the price of the project from 83,000 to 73,000."
The city relied on two consultants for the project: an architecture consultant engaged throughout the project and Visual Impact Lighting, which advised on illumination. Varg said the consultants reviewed the photometric data and concluded the 24-foot poles would cause a minor decrease in foot‑candle levels along peripheral walkways but would produce equal or slightly higher coverage on some court areas.
Alderman Worman, who said she reviewed the photometric survey, said she saw only "very minimal changes" and did not expect the shorter poles to "massively affect their play or any safety on the courts." Worman added that the pickleball players had been consulted and were "amenable" to the change.
Alderman O'Reilly and Alderman Spiros pushed back, saying the council should be comparing the current proposal to the original bid package rather than to an intermediate design that had already changed. O'Reilly called the presentation "disingenuous" if the council was not being shown what was promised on bid day and said the mid-project changes had not been documented.
Alderman Spiros expressed concern that lowering light levels could jeopardize the city’s ability to host tournaments. "If this is gonna impact it in a way that we don't get those heads in beds, it sounds like an easy way out to me," Spiros said, noting that Visit Marshfield helped fund the lights in part to attract visitors.
Alderman Corian reported outreach to Visit Marshfield and said he spoke to Matt McLean of Visit Marshfield, who told the alderman that if the pickleball group approved the shorter poles, Visit Marshfield would accept that decision; Corian said the pickleball group’s internal vote was 5–1 in favor of accepting the 24-foot poles.
Justin (staff member) told the council the department had not been focused on club- or pro-level illumination standards during design; the courts were specified as a recreational facility. Justin said the pickleball organizers reviewed the data and were comfortable with the 24-foot poles for their planned events, including a tournament scheduled for June 7 that coincides with a ribbon-cutting.
O'Reilly and others asked whether the manufacturer’s $10,000 credit accounted appropriately for both the wrong pole height and a previously approved one-month schedule extension. Varg said he did not have a detailed breakdown of how the manufacturer calculated the credit and that the manufacturer appeared motivated to avoid having unused stock of the 24-foot poles.
After discussion, Alderman Tompkins moved to accept the 24-foot poles and the $10,000 credit; Alderman Fire seconded the motion. The council voted to approve the change order. The motion passed and the meeting then adjourned.
The council discussion left several points for staff follow-up: confirm the final delivery schedule, ensure the installed lighting meets the recreational illumination described in the consultants' photometric report, and document how the current end product compares to the original bid specification.
(Reporting note: Quotes and attributions come from speakers during the Marshfield City Council special meeting on May 20.)
