Brookfield — There will be Friday night lights at Brookfield East after all.
The School Board Thursday morning unanimously voted to keep the light poles at the football field, with inspections to occur every month and after any major storm or wind event.
The fixtures were part of a nationwide recall, but two engineering firms inspected the poles at East and found no cracks or defects. After more than an hour of community comment and discussion on Tuesday, members said they wanted to reconsider an Aug. 11 vote to take down the poles and scheduled a special meeting for Thursday.
More than 20 residents attended the 50-minute meeting and broke out into applause after the vote was taken.
"I've been in public office for 5½ years, and if I've learned one lesson, it's that reasonable people can look at the same information and reach different conclusions," board President Tom Gehl said.
"I want to recognize, thank, and frankly, salute, the manner in which the East community presented itself and its concerns both Tuesday night and this morning," he said. "I think it show us the best that can occur in public discourse on sensitive issues."
The board on Thursday heard from Phil LeClair, a parent who serves as president of the Junior Spartans football program and also has been a structural engineer for more than 30 years.
Though the board's vote did not specify how long the light poles could be left up, LeClair said they could likely stand for its expected lifetime of 25 to 40 years. They were first installed in 2001.
The recall notice said poles only should be removed or repaired if any flaws were found, he said.
"All indications are that … they are as sound as any other pole that has been inspected," he said.
The studies stood in stark contrast to what the School Board was first told, that "these towers are bad and have to come down, and the question is when," board member Gary Jones said.
The board's Aug. 11 vote prompted an outcry from many East parents who wanted the football team to continue to play their home games on Friday nights.
East's varsity team's first home game is on Sept. 3.
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If the reality of this conundrum becomes fully visible, we may need a separate referendum in order to fully resolve the matter.
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EG - the $13,000 cost was an assumed 50% of the $26,000 cost for temporary
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Hi Grant - If you would care to, I am happy to meet you on a Saturday morning for coffee so as to answer any and all questions you might have about this matter from its beginning, to its conclusion this morning, to an accurate nature of the costs and savings going forward. I would also be happy to answer questions you have about any other matters pertaining to District operations or plans. I'll buy, and thanks much.
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So If I understand this, we paid $7000 for two inspections, or $3500 each. So now we are going to have an inspection every month plus possible additions. It won't take long for these costs to exceed the $13000 cost. Are these people mental midgets when it comes to economics, engineering, and common sense?
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Back to topSantas Elf - Aug 28, 2010 7:53 PM - Report Abuse
Should readin, writin an rithmetic really be allowed to become this involved?
Frankly Tweets, if you'll sign on for coffee with Tom, I'll invite myself and pay my own way. Let me know when and where!
BrkfldDad - Aug 26, 2010 2:20 PM - Report Abuse
lights for one season. Some of that cost I would expect to be recurring for each
following season if temps remained in place. Total replacement cost for new
lights is $200,000.
Tom G - Aug 26, 2010 11:56 AM - Report Abuse
intewedm - Aug 26, 2010 11:42 AM - Report Abuse