City officials said the field lights are too old to repair. Replacement parts, including ballasts, are no longer manufactured, and the city has exhausted its remaining stock of spare equipment.<\/p>\n
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“Now the lights that are there, we can not repair any longer,” Renee Cooper, Safety Harbor Public Works Director, said during the\u00a0June 22 city commission<\/a> meeting. “They’re too old. Nobody makes the ballast. They don’t make the equipment that we could order in order to repair any of those lights. We have finally used up all of our stock that we had over at building maintenance.”<\/p>\n The lighting problem dates back to 2017, according to parents and city officials, but the urgency has intensified as opening day approaches. Kevin Higgins, a Safety Harbor Little League parent, said demand for the league has grown steadily.<\/p>\n “It’s so strong now we actually have a waitlist almost for each and every division,” Higgins said.<\/p>\n Without reliable lighting, the league could lose access to evening games and practices altogether.<\/p>\n “We need to have as much time on these fields as possible and finding out that this lighting issue has gotten to be so bad that we might have to give up night time games, night time practices, is going to be devastating to the league,” Kevin said.<\/p>\n Young players said the fields mean much more to them than just a place to play.<\/p>\n “It’s my favorite sport. I don’t know what else I’d be doing with my time,” one child said.<\/p>\n “It would make me very sad because then I wouldn’t get to play my favorite sport,” another child said.<\/p>\n The city’s decision does not affect only baseball. Other sports, including fall flag football, may also lose access to night games at the park. Cameron O’Connell, a volunteer coach with the little league, said the news caught families off guard.<\/p>\n “Definitely a little blindsided,” O’Connell said.<\/p>\n Parents said the timeline has shifted since October, when they were told the city had budgeted to replace the lights this fiscal year. The city manager has since said the project may not have been included in the final budget, leaving families confused.<\/p>\n “So we don’t know what’s going on. We’re getting multiple different answers to the same question,” Kevin said.<\/p>\n According to the City Manager Josh Stefancic, a full lighting system replacement would cost between $800,000 and $900,000. City officials said they have identified $30,000 in the proposed 2027 fiscal year budget to expand relamping efforts at the fields, pending City Commission approval. Officials described that funding as a temporary fix, saying a more permanent solution will require long-term funding.<\/p>\n Through a partnership with the Little League, city officials say the general fund is used to maintain and staff the fields for upkeep, allowing it to be rented out to organizations as needed.<\/p>\n Stefancic told 10 Tampa Bay News that a recent lighting assessment identified broader system performance deficiencies associated with the age and condition of the lighting infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Staff is currently working with vendors to evaluate relamping options for Field #1 and obtain updated cost estimates, while also continuing to develop both short-term and long-term solutions for field users,” Stefancic said. “One option under evaluation is relamping all fields, which may extend the useful life of the existing system and provide additional time to plan and fund a comprehensive replacement of the more than 25-year-old lighting infrastructure.”<\/p>\n