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Mayor Tarver was shocked by this proposal. He remembered past discussions about lighted sports fields. He wanted to support lighted fields because the Council promised them to some of the sports groups. But the residents made the point that they don't want any more lights, that there are already lighted softball fields. He didn't want to see these lights. If it is enough to light these paths, it will light the fields and people will use it as it is, with or without lights. He felt there was a covenant with the neighborhood to not light the park. It is not good for them and he did not support any more lights in the area. Ms. Dennis remembered when Dolores Bengtson said we need an ordinance closing the parks at sunset and asked if one were adopted. Mr. Wolfe quoted from the Municipal Code, Section 13.08.140, Hours of operation and access. Ms. Dennis agreed low pathway lights might invite vandalism and unless it is corrected immediately, it leads to more vandalism. She indicated she lived near the Pleasanton upper field and explained the major difference between the old lights and the new lights. The new ones are much better. She said people should keep in mind the fact that the Sports Park is a community park that happens to be in their neighborhood. She believed that if the entire community were surveyed, the neighbors would be outvoted. She felt it was the responsibility of the City to make the park available to the larger community in a reasonable way. There are people in her neighborhood who jog at 5:30 a.m. She did not feel it was unreasonable to have lights on at 5:30 a.m. She believed that using the park with no lights presents a public safety issue. She encouraged more enforcement regarding dogs off leash in the park. She acknowledged that there are lights from Parkside Drive, but she did not believe people wanted their children to play near the streets. She felt staff should explore additional landscaping that would mitigate the effect of the lights and asked staff about the video monitoring of the park. Because people do use the park in the dark and it is a community facility, she felt the lighting was justified. ChiefNeal indicated he would investigate that. Mayor Tarver referred to the PMC section and felt that adding lights was changing the way the park is used. People can walk the paths whether they are lighted or not, but adding lights will change the usage. He felt it should only be used dawn to dusk. Mr. Roush explained that just because there are lights on the path, that does not mean all of the park could be used. Normally, a group that was playing some organized activity in an area that is not otherwise lighted, like the softball complex, would still be prohibited. Ms. Michelotti clarified that staff has hired a consultant to prepare plans and specifications for a pathway lighting project. We are not illuminating the whole park and we are not lighting the park so people can play touch football in the middle of the night. The park pathway lighting is a benefit for the community. We need to decide how we get Pleasanton City Council 14 Minutes 01/18/00