Ball Field Lighting Gets Oakdale Council Approval

The Oakdale City Council passed an ordinance change Tuesday that makes it legal to install 70-foot ball field lights at .

“I feel that we owe it to our younger residents to allow them to play in Oakdale,” said council member Kent Dotas. “I think people will look back and say this was a good decision; it really benefited the residents.”

Jerry Belisle, a homeowner who lives near the park, said he didn’t think the plan had been properly discussed with residents.

“We should have a good, long hearing,” he said. “I would like more attention paid to this. This will make a forever change in the park.”

Public Works Director Brian Bachmeier said all residents who live within 500 feet of the park were mailed notices about a neighborhood meeting on the project, and that four people attended the meeting.

Belisle also questioned the city’s financial priorities in spending more than $250,000 on the lights, when it kept the restroom building locked all season because lifeguards had been cut to save about $20,000.

The City Council asked in July that city staff try to find a nonprofit group or private business to operate the concession stand next year as a way to provide enough monitoring to safely reopen the bathroom building.

Council member Stan Karwoski said he thinks having the lighted ball field will bolster efforts to re-open that building, and make the park safer.

“I think lights and the traffic down there will improve safety in the park, which at times can be a problem,” he said.

Oakdale Athletic Association board member Cory Lynch said the lighting will help draw young families to Oakdale.

“The community needs it,” Lynch said. “If we don’t invest in more recreation in our community—young families are not drawn to a community that doesn’t have enough recreation to support its population.”

The council approved the ordinance change—allowing 70-foot lights for public, recreational purposes—on a 4-1 vote. Council member Paul Reinke said while he supported the lighting, he thought the ordinance needed to be re-worded because it states that the point source of lighting cannot be visible.