Avon High School Athletic Lighting Project Update

From the Town of Avon:

March 1, 2021

In early February, the Town Council and the Board of Finance approved appropriations in the amount of $380,048 to fund the installation of athletic lights at the Avon High School Synthetic Turf Field Facility. Funding for the project comes from two sources: $145,048 from a very generous donation by the local fundraising group, ACORN, and the balance from a portion of the bond premium that resulted from the Town’s June 2020 sale of general obligation bonds to finance the synthetic field and track improvement project.

We are very thankful to ACORN for their dedication to the "Lights on Avon" campaign. Their ability to rally the community around a common cause and to solicit 420 individual donations is to be commended, not to mention that they were able to conduct this campaign during an unprecedented public health crisis and a period of economic uncertainty.

At this time, the athletic lighting system will be delivered to Avon High School on March 1st with the assembly and installation of the four poles occurring throughout the first week of March, weather permitting. Wiring and electrical work, as well as the installation of four pedestrian walkway lights along the entrance to the track and field facility, will follow.

It is important to note that this project also involves significant coordination with two utilities, Frontier Communications and Eversource, to replace the existing utility pole that feeds the site and to upgrade the electrical service at the street. We anticipate that this may be the most time consuming portion of the project. Town staff are working diligently with the manufacturer, MUSCO Lighting, their subcontractors, and the utilities to complete this work as soon as possible. Weather permitting, we anticipate that the lights will be ready for use this spring.

Town staff are also working with the neighbors on Sudbury Way and West Avon Road to develop a plan for additional landscaped buffering on the site. This plan is still in development and staff anticipate presenting a recommendation to the Town Council in the coming months. An additional appropriation will be required to fund the buffering project.

The Town is pleased to have the opportunity to proceed with this project. We will continue to post updates as they become available. Should you have any questions, please contact the Town Manager's Office at (860) 409-4300.

This press release was produced by the City of Avon. The views expressed here are the author’s own.