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Decision pending on athletic fields' lights
Proponents of a proposal to add lights to three athletic fields in the Rappahannock public school system will have to wait longer for an official answer.
After hearing citizens' concerns, members of the Rappahannock County School Board on Tuesday voted to delay the issue until their Friday, June 27 school board meeting.
In particular, board members hesitated over concerns from Bill Gadino, of the Gadino Cellars winery in Washington. Gadino worried over the possible harm to his nearby business, and questioned numbers from the Rappahannock County School Sports Association, which proposed the lights.
"I'm all for sports. I love sports," Gadino said. "But I do have some concerns about our business and the lighting, particularly the baseball fields."
The proposal would build lights to illuminate the football and soccer fields at Panther Stadium, and the baseball and softball fields at Rappahannock County Elementary School.
Proponents say the lights would allow for night games, which could boost ticket sales and keep athletes from playing under high temperatures in afternoon games. In addition, the lights could allow for other community events, such as Relay for Life. RCSSA President Rich Hogan said the project would "complete the field."
"We'd just like to complete what was approved by the school board four years ago," Hogan said.
If approved, the $395,000 project would be financed over the course of the next 10 years through a lease-purchase agreement. Interest payments would drive the total cost to $511,000, or annual payments of $51,000.
But the RCSSA wants the county to sign the agreement, thereby guaranteeing better terms for the organization. If the county signs, that means no down payment and lower interest rates of 4.8 percent.
"We're not asking for anything from the county," Hogan said. "We're raising our own funds. Which we do now."
However, the county would have to make the payments if the RCSSA failed to raise adequate funds. Ownership would pass to the county after the 10 years ended.
RCSSA members claim that an anonymous donor will provide $22,000 a year for the next 10 years. Community organizations would donate an additional $10,000 annually, while the RCSSA would make annual contributions of $19,132.
By comparison, the RCSSA says it contributed $31,000 to the school system this year for a concession stand and fencing around the track.
Additional ticket revenue could cover expenses such as uniforms or game officials. The question of where that money goes will likely be resolved "administratively", rather than through a formal school board vote, said Rappahannock school Superintendent Robert Chappell.
However, the superintendent cautioned that additional revenues were still a guess.
"We absolutely cannot prove there would be $2,600 in additional gate receipts," Chappell said. "I think there would probably be more than that, but we can't prove it until it happens."
The school system's facilities committee found the proposal "sound," but added that the schools would likely "draw a line" limiting the lights to school-sponsored events.
The RCSSA estimates that it would cost $2,600 to maintain the lights. Gadino took aim at those projections before the school board.
In particular, Gadino alleged that RCSSA's numbers ignored factors such as the distribution costs, purchase rates and local taxes – meaning that RCSSA's estimates were likely inaccurate. And with the price of electricity up, Gadino doubted those numbers would remain accurate.
He also worried about increased attendance and traffic, which could flow onto the winery's access road.
"We have 200 people a weekend coming to our winery," Gadino said. "They're coming for the pastoral views, not to look at the lights, whether they're on or off. And those 200 people bring in a lot of revenues to Rappahannock County."
Camille Racer of Amissville sympathized, saying that she lived next to the the Bill Payne auction house. But she said the community benefits outweighed Gadino's business concerns.
"To put your business or your home in front of those girls that play softball there – I got over it," Racer said.
John Diley, treasurer of RCSSA, promised more conversation between the group and the winery.
"If we work together, there's a lot of ways these industries could co-exist and prosper," Diley said.
Contact Jason Peck at 825-9882 or e-mail jpeck@timespapers.com
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