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RSU 26 board discusses athletic field lighting plan, seeks neighbor agreements
Summary
Superintendent told the board the district has committed $50,000 to a field-lighting project but hit a local glare ordinance snag; officials said they reduced field size, will seek written agreements from nearby homeowners and will include a commitment to limit light use to about 9 p.m.
The RSU 26 board debated a proposed upgrade to the district athletic field lighting after the project ran into questions about local glare restrictions. Superintendent Meredith said the district has committed $50,000 to the project but discovered the lights’ vertical illumination raised concerns under the town’s ordinance and required design changes and neighbor outreach.
Meredith described the technical trade-offs the district’s lighting engineers pursued and said the team reduced the field footprint from 70 yards to 65 yards to minimize glare. "These lights are really high quality lights, and so like, for 1 house, it was described to me that someone, if they were sitting in their living room, would see what looks like a bedroom lamp," Meredith told the board, explaining why the district is resubmitting the plan to the town after tightening pole placement and field dimensions.
Board members discussed next steps for community outreach. Meredith said the district would approach five neighboring properties this week with an agreement form drawn up by the district attorney; she added that three of the five properties have significant tree cover that reduces potential impacts. The district also plans to include a usage limit in those neighbor agreements: "We've indicated that our plan is to limit light use to 9PM, no later than 9PM," Meredith said, noting the town ordinance would allow up to 10 p.m.
One committee member raised concern about an earlier start for weekend events and said, "I would probably feel more comfortable if we kept it at 10," underscoring the balance the board must strike between athletic scheduling and neighbor concerns. Meredith said athletic schedules anticipate most varsity matches would start earlier (for example, around 6 p.m.), and that the district’s athletic department recommended the 9 p.m. cutoff as reasonable.
No formal vote occurred on the lighting plan at the meeting; board members said staff will continue to tighten the design, pursue neighbor agreements with assistance from the Friends of Orno Schools on outreach, and target a resubmission to the town planning board in July.
