Methacton School Community Asked to Show Support for Field Lights

Members of the Methacton School Board are urging the school community to show their support of installing Methacton High School athletic field lights.

During the Dec. 4 Methacton School Board regular meeting, board member Jim Phillips said that the Worcester Township Board of Supervisors is expected to place a vote concerning the installation of field lights on their Dec. 19 meeting agenda.

“I would appreciate it if people were to show their support for Methacton and make themselves available for that night,” Phillips said.

The lights installation would enable night use of the athletic field.

According to a 1998 Philly.com article, the lights have been a point of contention since the early 1980s. The article reports that the Worcester Township Zoning Board approved a light plan in 1993, which proposed to have installed 100-foot-high lights. However, the township’s board of supervisors did not approve of the plan. The supervisors’ stance, at the time, was ultimately backed by rulings in Commonwealth Court and the state Supreme Court.

At the Sept. 21, 2011 Worcester Township Board of Supervisors meeting, a letter from Methacton superintendent Dr. Timothy Quinn was read, in which he requested relief to go above the 12-foot-tall restriction for lights on the athletic field. Several public comments followed.

Comments from opponents of the lights installation revolved around potential congestion, likely due to the expected nighttime field availability; light pollution and the quality of life of surrounding school athletic field neighbors. Proponents commented on the needs of the student athletes.

Similar comments were made at the Oct. 16, 2012 Methacton School Board regular meeting, during which Quinn presented the board with a document providing a list of conditions regarding the field light installations. According to a previous report, Quinn and district administrators worked with John Harris, the representative of residents living adjacent to the high school field. The document regulates appropriate uses of the athletic field, particularly during its nighttime use.

At the Dec. 4 meeting, school board member Herb Rothe echoed Phillip’s request for community support at the Dec. 19 Worcester supervisors meeting.

“We’re getting really close here folks,” Rothe said. “Now is the time.”