Plainsboro officials hope that the WW-P school board will continue its history of providing courtesy reviews of school board projects by the township’s Planning Board — this time, with regard to the lights that will be installed at both of the district’s high schools.
Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu said Plainsboro is requesting that the school board provide a courtesy review of the proposal — which was approved last month — by the township’s Planning Board.
The request, he emphasized, is nothing more than what the district has always provided in the past.
“The board has delegated responsibility to a citizens’ group to finance and construct, with their approval, lights for the two fields,” said Cantu. “When there’s been projects, whether they were new schools or other projects, the school board has come to the Planning Board to provide an opportunity to provide review and comment on those projects.”
A memorandum of agreement between the WW-P Board of Education and the WW-P High School South Booster Club allows the club to preside over the process for installing athletic field lights at High School South in West Windsor and at North in Plainsboro.
The drafted memorandum of agreement places all of the responsibility for installing the lights — from obtaining any necessary zoning approvals to financing the football field lights — in the hands of the Booster Club.
Since the idea was first discussed last year, district officials have maintained that the district would not spend any of its own money on the installation of the field lights, estimated to cost .
The proposed agreement grants the Booster Club the permission to enter school property to install the “improvements,” which consist of “a four-pole lighting system designed to illuminate two football fields (approximately 360 feet by 160 feet at each school) with 50 foot candles.” According to the proposed agreement, the installation would take place in 2012.
The agreement protects the school district against any charges — even for utility costs — with regard to use of the lights.
The Booster Club would be responsible for independently financing, carrying out, and installing the improvements, including obtaining any loans and hiring any professionals or contractors to install the lights.
West Windsor residents Pat Boyle and Manny Efstathios, who have represented the Booster Club, told the board at prior meetings that the installation of the lights would cost between $240,000 and $260,000 using energy-efficient lighting with a 25-year guarantee. The two residents, who first introduced the idea to the school district two summers ago, said they would raise the money through fundraising events and donations.
The project — and discussions about the Booster Club’s involvement in the project — began in the summer of 2009, and the board spent numerous public meetings throughout 2010 discussing the proposal and hearing from residents.
The agreement the board approved with the Booster Club states that if the club is unable to raise sufficient funds to install the lights within two years, the board will terminate the agreement.
The school board does play some role in the light installation: approving the plans, specifications, and design of the field lights. The scheduling of work for the project will also be subject to approval by the superintendent.
Once the project is completed, the board will retain the exclusive right to determine the usage of the completed project, the proposed agreement states.
The agreement also states that following the installation, the Booster Club will be responsible for utility costs attributable to the use of the lights. Every school year, the board and the Booster Club will meet to estimate the cost of the usage for that school year, and the Booster Club will be required to advance those costs to the district before the school year begins.
School Board President Hemant Marathe confirmed he heard that Plainsboro officials were preparing a letter to the WW-P district regarding the request for review but said the district had not yet received an official request.
“We do keep both towns’ officials informed about things that affect the townships,” said Marathe. “We’ll certainly get them involved at the appropriate time.”
He pointed to the meetings the district has been having all year and the involvement from the public from the beginning of discussions. “The neighbors that live near North did come and comment on the lights,” Marathe said. “The board will vote on the actual model [of the lights] and the actual contract at the board meeting when it is ready.”
Marathe said he could not comment specifically about whether there would be a courtesy meeting at the Plainsboro Planning Board.
“We will do all the necessary steps,” said Marathe. “We had the public involved very much in this process. This has been going on for quite some time, and we have posted all the documents on the Internet. It’s not a decision that was made very quickly or behind closed doors.”
Cantu said his concern was with the proposed lights at High School North. “The lights are adjacent to a residential area, and I think that it’s important that there be an opportunity to review so that residents have an opportunity to comment, as well as the Planning Board, so that it’s done in a way that’s not a negative impact,” said Cantu.
Cantu acknowledged, though, that the Planning Board lacks any authority on school projects. But “we have a good relationship with the school district, and I think this will continue,” Cantu said. “We want to make sure the school district maintains a level of control and continues its past practices.”
Despite controversy over the field lights throughout the year, the approval came with hardly any comment and amid low attendance by residents.
