Board awards bid to install lights for new field

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NAUGATUCK — The Board of Mayor and Burgesses last week approved moving forward with installing lights for new athletic fields along Osborn Road and Wisteria Drive.

The board voted 6 to 1 to hire the Danbury-based Shock Electrical Contractors, Inc. to install lights on Kevin M. DelGobbo Field, which is being built on open space the borough accepted in January 2016 as part of the Apple Hill Estates subdivision. The plan calls for baseball, softball and soccer fields on the land, which is approximately 7 acres.

Public Works Director James Stewart said the base cost of the bid is $90,000. There are additional charges if the company hits rocks and has to bring in special machinery to remove them, he said. He does not expect the additional cost to be more than $20,000.

The money for the work will come from this fiscal year’s budget and funds included in the 2019-20 proposed budget, he said.

Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said the borough won’t sign a contract with Shock Electrical Contractors until after the 2019-20 budget is approved.

Hess said he wants to get the lights up before people start moving into houses that abut the field.

“In the past, Naugatuck has tried to do several fields with lights and it was delayed. Then the neighbors moved in and there was opposition to the lights and it never happened. We want to do the lights early so everyone knows,” Hess said.

Borough officials have been eyeing possible new athletic fields over recent years because the fields located off Hotchkiss Street may become part of the proposed Port of Naugatuck project.

Burgess Dorothy Hoff voted against the motion last week, saying the borough should wait until the lights are needed.

“I know you want to take care of the lights because we might lose Breen Field. But I think we should take care of it then rather than just stuffing them in neighborhoods,” Hoff said.

The lights are expected to be installed by the fall.