Council considers plan for baseball lights at park By kathy baratta Staff Writer HOWELL — A final decision has not been made on the installation of baseball lights at Deerwood Park. Although a motion was approved last month directing the township attorney to develop a resolution that would allow the installation of baseball field lights at Deerwood Park, no final decision has been made pending further public input. Deerwood Park is in the Parkside residential development off Lakewood-Allenwood Road in the southern end of Howell. At a special meeting held by the Township Council on April 11, Mayor Timothy Konopka and members of the council listened to parents and Howell South Little League coaches who want the lighting installed in order to extend the playing schedule the sports organization can offer township youths. Julian Feberes, a vice president of the Howell South Little League who lives on Shenendoah Road near the park, said the addition of the lights will enable the baseball league to keep players in the sport up until age 16. Feberes’ wife Iris said she and her husband bought their home where they did because Deerwood Park was there. "There was a park there; I knew that it wasn’t going to be a quiet place," she said. If approved later this month, the council’s resolution would allow for the installation of the lights at the baseball field, but would stipulate that they not be on past 10 p.m. Howell South Little League President Wayne Lucey said the lights would only be on past dusk for about 45 minutes in the summer. Lucey said if the league did not install the lights and lost the teen-agers playing the sport, "instead of being engaged in a sport, there will be 400 to 500 kids wandering the streets." Lucey said he had a petition to present to the council that was signed by more than 300 families he said are in favor of the lights being installed at the park. Also present at the meeting were two candidates who are seeking election to the council in November. Democratic candidate Joseph Deckhut, who is a sitting Planning Board member, said he is in favor of the baseball lights because past coaching experience has taught him the lights will allow for a more flexible schedule and promote safety. Republican candidate Pete Tobasco, noting the lights will be installed 750 to 1,000 feet from the nearest home, said he was also in favor of the lights for a town that is "crying for recreational space and facilities." Not all of the approximately 40 people in attendance at the meeting that was held at the Ramtown School were in favor of the lights. Fred and Jackie Weimmer live on Shenendoah Road and said their back yard abuts Deerwood Park. They said they are opposed to baseball lights being installed because they believe the lights will depreciate the value of their house and have a negative effect on their privacy due to noise of the games and glare from the lights. Karen Morlino, who sits on Howell’s recreation committee, told the members of the governing body that approving the lights for the Little League might bring out other groups who would want lights at their facilities and want the town to pay for them. If the proposed plan is approved, the $35,000 cost for the installation of the lights at Deerwood Park would be paid for by the Howell South Little League. Weimmer attended the council’s meeting on Monday believing that a resolution of approval for the lights had already been given. He said he was a representative for residents in the area who are opposed to the idea of lights at the park. Members of the governing body told Weimmer to bring any interested parties to the council’s May 20 meeting for the final hearing in the matter. A vote on the plan may be taken that evening.