$1 Million Beverly School Lights, Stands Funding Allocation Sought

BEVERLY, MA — More than $1 million in funding for lights and stands at the turf field and track at Beverly High School will be paid for through a combination of expiring COVID-19 ESSER funds, rebates from the installation of LED lights through National Grid and reimbursement from the Federal Aviation Administration for an easement at Beverly Airport.

The funding was outlined in a letter from Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill to the City Council, which set a public hearing for the lights and stands allocation on May 6 at 8 p.m.

A meeting with abutters at the school is set up for Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Council chambers for anyone with questions or concerns about the lights. The Mayor's Office was set to send letters to those in the neighborhood informing them about the meeting.

Cahill requested the light and stand proposal as a way to increase the use of the field for youth and school sports. According to his letter to the Council, the lack of seating at the current field and track requires spectators to bring chairs and stand in places that damage the surface of the track.

Being able to host games after dusk would also allow a greater ability for parents and other spectators to watch the events.

The funding plan calls for $300,000 in expiring ESSER funding to supplement $750,000 in municipal funding. Cahill said that would come from the $190,000 reimbursement from the FAA based on a 2017 easement agreement and $540,000 in National Grid rebates from the installation of the LED lights in 2018.

"A great deal of collaboration and behind-the-scenes work has been done between school administration, the mayor's office and city officials over the last year to make this happen," Beverly High Principal Mark Thomas said in an email to the school community last week. "This is a wonderful opportunity for BHS and the city of Beverly."

Residents in favor of the proposal were asked to contact City Council members as a helpful way to "show that this is a long-overdue benefit to our students, current and future."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)