(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Poles to be replaced

City upgrading lights at Beaver Lions ball diamond

Apr 29, 2021 | 5:01 PM

The City of North Battleford plans to upgrade the lighting at the Beaver Lions Baseball Stadium in the near future, and will also replace the 40-year-old stadium poles with new ones.

The lighting update was needed to align with the SaskPower grid upgrades.

“By upgrading the stadium lighting system now, substantial savings can be realized by the city through an incentive currently offered from SaskPower and reducing monthly billing costs,” city fleet and maintenance manager Seton Winterholt said in his report.

Of the five bids received for the project, Fedler Electric of North Battleford best met the city’s grading system requirements.

Administration proposed Fedler install Cooper Lighting system on the new poles.

BODY-WORM CAMERAS

RCMP begins nationwide rollout of body cameras for frontline officers

10h ago

Inflation

Rent inflation to slow in the next few years, Desjardins predicts

16h ago

North West U15 AA Sharks

AA Sharks continue success with tournament win in Regina

17h ago

Council heard the estimated total cost for the project is $299,397, including PST and a five per cent contingency fund for a study and engineering work required, which is $49,397 over the city’s budget of $250,000 for the project.

To put the new lights on the old poles, the company would first need to test and treat the poles for safety and integrity. However, if the new lights were installed on new poles, this extra cost would not be necessary. And, the brand new poles would offer a longer life value for the city.

Administration indicated the funding shortfall can be made up through the Parks and Recreation Department’s other capital project savings.

As well, the city stated there is an additional cost to remove the old poles. However, since the existing poles are made of cedar perhaps they could be sold for lumber when they are taken down after the project is completed. So there may be some type of cost savings for their removal in this way.

Coun. Kelli Hawtin questioned the need to replace the poles recommended by the administration since the reason for the project initially was only to upgrade the lighting.

However, Coun. Greg Lightfoot noted since the existing 70-ft. poles would need to be tested before the new lights could be installed on them anyway, it would add another cost to the project in the long run and would be less cost-efficient. So he was in favour of installing the new poles with the lighting.

“It’s well worth doing at this point in time to make sure they are safe, and that we don’t have some huge cost down the road,” he said.

Council ultimately overall approved administration’s recommendation for the new lights and the new poles. The actual removal of the old poles will be deferred until the project is complete.

–

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow