The Ceres City Council has dismissed the idea of cutting down the mature trees around the Costa Fields ball park in Smyrna Park as the city’s remedy to fixing lighting issues after installation of a new lighting system.
City Manager Doug Dunford said the council decided to not pursue cutting down the trees on account of the insistence of Ceres Youth Baseball (CYB) officials who argued that the trees are not the problem.
At the March 9 council meeting CYB officials continued pressing their accusations against city officials, saying they unnecessarily installed new lighting for all fields instead of the one they felt really needed it – Field #3. They also insist that the new lighting has made playing conditions worse.
CYB President Jorge Guererro claimed that three accidents have occurred because of the new lighting. He stated that on March 6 one female player lost sight of the ball in the light and got smacked in the nose and teeth. He also said a coach “lost the ball in the light.”
He insisted that the tree removal plan wouldn’t improve the lighting on the infield and asked the council to “make an educated decision since unfortunately, somebody misled the council.”
Earlier on, CYB officials said lighting was only a problem in Field #3 and handed the city an estimate to remedy that part of the complex only. But the city decided to have all the fields equipped with energy efficient LED lighting, paid for, in part, by a grant from Turlock Irrigation District which provides electricity to Ceres. CYB has complained that there is now a problem of uneven lighting which can be blinding to player searching for flying balls.
“I feel like we feel like the city manager is throwing the blame on us … when we handed you the estimate, it’s up to you and the engineer to pick the right lighting,” said CYB Vice President Ismael Ontiveras.
He alleged the city mismanaged the $80,000 in ARPA funds that were available for the replacement of the lights on field 3.
Guerrero complained that the candlepower at home plate on field #1 was at 62 before the lighting change and now at 30. For field #2, the candlepower was 62 and is now 43. Field #3 is at 28 and “it should be around 50,” said Guerrero. Field #4, where the younger less experienced youth play ball, lighting strength is at 16 when it should be at 50, he added.
In February the council considered but tabled a request to pay West Coast Arborists $57,060 to remove 39 large mature trees around the complex’s perimeter. Councilmembers expressed concern about how the loss of shade may affect residents opposite the ball park and want the city to first consult with them.
At some point the matter was dropped.
