Trustees Approve Lighted Fields At CSHS

Carroll School Board Trustees voted unanimously December 3 to put lights on the baseball and softball fields at Carroll Senior High School. The motion had extensive language to mitigate the impact to homeowners living adjacent to CSHS.

CISD must now go through the process with the City of Southlake to have the lighting project approved. School officials anticipate that to start as soon as possible.

The Board included measures to help neighbors by limiting field use to University Interscholastic League (UIL) activities involving CISD students/programs (no night time rentals to outside teams), setting a maximum number of night games per year, requesting of the District UIL Committee that Carroll games start no later than 7 pm and increasing the landscaping buffer between field lights and homes. The Board also asked the Administration to set public address sound limits and to turn outfield lights off during post-game field maintenance and clean-up.

Several hundred citizens attended the Dec. 5 meeting, many to protest the lighting project; they wore red to show unity for their opposition to the project, while supporters wore green shirts. The audience was cordial and respectful of speakers, urging Trustees to remember their core values and consider options other than Carroll Senior High School for the lights. The Board met in executive session per the law and listened to about 17 different speakers before making a final decision around midnight.

The Board agreed to pay for the lighting project from remaining 2006 Bond funds (interest earned). They also agreed to construct a water well on site for landscaping and field maintenance, paid for through remaining 2009 Bond Funds.

The district will next request to be on a Planning & Zoning Commission agenda to begin the process to seek city approval. CISD’s goal is to have the lighting project completed for the 2013 season so students can avoid missing class for early game times and begin playing evening games against opponents on their home campus.