There are a couple of things that puzzled me, arising from the Sept 22nd council meeting.
First, was the presentation by former Fire Chief Ed Bencin, of a petition signed by quite a few Highland Woods neighbors, asking that the city stop considering the idea of providing additional lighting for Whiteford Park.
Second, was a quote in the Sun Messenger, attributed to Ward 3 council canidate Frank Zanella, in which Mr. Zanella distanced himself from the recent Whiteford Park renovations and suggested that maybe people were confusing the Whiteford Park renovations with his efforts to get a bench installed in the Community Park.
I vividly remember Mr. Zanella's presentation to council about Whiteford Park, and I have a copy of a memo he sent to his neighbors at the time, detailing his efforts to improve the park.
So I asked myself: why the back-peddling? And what's with all the concern about the lighting?
In fact, public records show that Mr. Zanella was instrumental in getting the splintering and dangerous old playground equipment in Whiteford Park removed and replaced. Both he and his neighbor, Dan Greves, should be commended for their efforts. They did not achieve success quickly or easily.
According to the minutes, Mr. Zanella appeared at the June 17, 2008 Committee of the Whole Meeting, to discuss replacing the playground equipment at Whiteford Park with council."Mr. Frank Zanella, 474 Lassiter, advised he has two young children. He showed pictures of the apparatus in the park. He stated the park is not representative of the city; that it is a little neighborhood park to them; and, they want to maintain it. He passed out a flyer in the neighborhood and numerous residents have contacted him wanting to support the cause....
Mr. Zanella suggested they take the equipment out and replace it with something. He did talk with Miracle, the company who supplied the new equipment in the Community Park and did receive a few quotes. ...
So, Frank Zanella's significant involvement in the Whiteford Park renovation (he even procured quotes for equipment replacement ) is clear---and on the record--and is to be commended.
But what about the lighting? I got the feeling that Former Chief Bencin thought the city was planning to light up Whiteford Park like the ball fields in the Community Park--in the fashion of the old Jacob's Field/Progressive Park.
Where did the discussion about lighting start?
According to same Committee of the Whole minutes, Councilman-at-Large, Frank Legan was the first person to bring the subject up. He said the idea started with the city's recreation director, Dave Ianiro:
"Mr. Legan stated one of the things that Mr. Ianiro came up with that he thought was good was posting signs with rules, time the park closes, etc. and perhaps some lighting. He also stated he would hate to start this process and not finish it. He would not like to see the equipment pulled out and not replaced with anything. "
The discussion about Whiteford Park and lighting continued during the regular June 24, 2008 council meeting.
According to the minutes of that meeting, Ward 4 Councilman Ted Anderson reported that he met with Councilman Legan and (now Ward 3 council candidate) Tony Valentino after the June 17th COW meeting to discuss Whiteford Park. The minutes say that Anderson then provided some recommendations:
"An additional light was suggested. The pole at the far right needs to be serviced because the lens is out."
Mayor Coleman also weighed in on the issue of lighting:
"Mayor Coleman reported he had spoken with (Service Director) Mr. Evans about the condition of the light poles in the Highland Woods Area. A lot of them are in need of maintenance. CEI owns the poles. Mayor Coleman advised Mr. Evans will see if CEI can add a pole to that area. "
http://www.highlandhts.com/docs/city_council/minutes/2008/06-24-08_city_council_minutes.htm
So, according to the official records, the only lighting that the city discussed in connection with the Whiteford Park renovation was putting in an additional utility pole and a street light in the vicinity of the park.
Kind of anti-climatic, huh?
But hopefully this news will be reassuring to our Highland Woods neighbors, who thought, for whatever reason, that the city might be planning to light up Whiteford Park like a Christmas tree---and that somehow Frank Zanella was responsible for that.
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