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The Marblehead Parks and Recreation Commission has completed a $77,740 lighting upgrade at Gatchell Playground that could have cost taxpayers upward of $500,000 through traditional procurement methods.
The project represents what commission Vice Chair Shelly Bedrossian calls a “perfect example of a private-public multi-department collaboration combined with private sector thinking that has yielded a great outcome for youth sports and Marblehead taxpayers. No money from the general fund has been used.”
Marblehead Youth Baseball approached the commission in early spring with a multi-phase improvement plan for the 8.33-acre facility at West Shore Drive and Lafayette Street. The organization has helped maintain stewardship of the park for decades, raising funds for maintenance and improvements.
Phase one addressed deteriorating lighting that had remained unchanged since its original installation 30 years ago. The old analog lights had become unreliable and created potential safety concerns.
“Field lights allow us to host up to six games per weeknight at Gatchell and up to 10 games on Saturdays,” said Marblehead Youth Baseball President John Lawler. “Evenings at Gatchell in the spring and summer have become community events where kids and families gather and connect.”
The lighting infrastructure had reached the end of its useful life, with major field lights dating back almost 30 years and AAA/football lights possibly 40-50 years old.
“The lights have been showing this age and we were running into issues with reliability, maintenance and parts supply,” Lawler said.
Verbal estimates for similar lighting projects in town, including the Reynolds Field project, reached $500,000, prompting the commission to explore alternative approaches using existing municipal resources.
Bedrossian said the commission contacted Marblehead Municipal Light Department superintendent Joe Kowalik to determine how the utility could assist. MMLD crews removed old fixtures, replaced all poles and installed 60 new LED sports lights at $920 each, totaling $55,200. The utility covered pole replacement costs after confirming ownership of existing poles, with the town’s transfer station handling disposal at no additional cost.
MMLD replaced all poles proactively, including those in good condition, to ensure long-term reliability. Individual poles cost approximately $400 each.
Because Marblehead Municipal Light Department employees cannot perform final electrical connections, the commission outsourced that work to Ham Electric of Georgetown for $21,750, coming in under the anticipated $25,000 budget. Three timers cost an additional $700.
Bedrossian said the new LED lights offer several improvements over the previous system. They direct illumination downward rather than outward, reducing glare for neighboring properties. The environmentally friendly fixtures will generate long-term electricity savings.
Three separate switches and timers now control different field sections, allowing selective operation based on actual usage needs. The football lights, right-side field lights and majors field lights can operate independently.
Marblehead Youth Baseball contributed $50,000 to the project, while the Parks and Recreation Department allocated $20,000 from its revolving fund, repurposing $8,000 in leftover funds from completing grandstand work in-house.
Bedrossian said completed project demonstrates how municipal departments can collaborate with community organizations and leverage existing resources to deliver infrastructure improvements while minimizing taxpayer costs. Future phases will address fencing and dugout improvements as youth baseball raises additional funds.
“In addition to the lights, the MYB Board identified several opportunities to invest in maintenance and improvement projects to the baseball infrastructure at Gatchell,” Lawler said. ”We recently launched a capital campaign for these projects, which include lights, fencing, and field improvements.”
Additional campaign information is available at mhdbaseball.org/. Those interested in supporting the campaign may mail checks payable to Marblehead Youth Baseball, P.O. Box 555, Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945, noting “2025 Capital Campaign” in the memo line.
