Politics & Government

Council to Present Drawing of Possible Cribbs Field Lighting Before Voting

Verona Council held off on voting for the second time.

has yet to make a final decision about possible lighting at Cribbs Field.

On Tuesday, officials discussed the matter extensively with residents. Though council was expected to vote on the matter, officials held off until they could present a drawing of the plan to residents.

Several residents expressed new concerns, regarding the fact that the project was not brought before the borough planning commission.

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"This was not thoroughly investigated," said resident Al Raimondi, who lives across the street from the park on Second Avenue.

Officials have been discussing the possibility of field lights since 2010. They approved the project at the time with the intention of allowing more playing time on the fields for Riverview Athletic Association teams. However, residents began to voice concerns—parking problems, lighting problems, disturbances later on into the night and property value— and council brought the issue back to the table.

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Borough Solicitor Craig Alexander said the borough doesn't have a lighting ordinance, and the issue was presented to the borough code enforcement officer, who said it did not need to go to the planning commission.

Plans call for the installation of —three at the first base line and three at the third base line with five to six lights or so per pole. 

The poles would be donated to the borough and installed by Duquesne Light, and the RAA would work to obtain grants to buy the actual lights.

the new lights might interfere with an emergency helicopter's ability to land at Cribbs, which is a designated landing spot.

Council President Dom Conte said he looked into the matter and it would not be a problem to install the lights.

Officials also agreed that they should create rules and regulations pertaining to the lights, such as the number of days they should be used, a cutoff time and the closing of the basketball court at dusk.

Conte said he also would work with borough engineer Larry Seiler to draw up some loose plans depicting where the lights would be installed.

Once that occurs, a decision should be made.

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