Huntsville Council approves new lighting option for McCulley Robertson Diamond F

Councilor Helena Renwick says that after spending $2.1 million, the town didn't get it right

Huntsville Council approved a new option for lighting at McCulley-Robertson Diamond F during the April 27, 2026, meeting.

Earlier direction from Council resulted in staff exploring potential options after a photometric study identified lighting concerns at the site.

While the study confirmed that lighting levels meet standards for the infield playing area, it also found that non-playing areas require additional illumination to improve safety and accessibility.

After much debate by Council members in a recent meeting staff were then directed to investigate alternatives and work with a consultant to assess potential solutions. As a result, several options were presented in a report today outlining different approaches, timelines, and cost considerations.

Council engaged in a lengthy discussion about issues such as safety of users, temporary solutions, deviating from this year’s budget, and waiting for a comprehensive review in 2027 so information doesn’t come back suggesting they made a mistake going forward with the decision this year.

Councillor, Helena Renwick, said, “We started this project two years ago. We spent $2.1 million to get this right. We didn’t get it right. The people to use these diamonds are telling us ‘You didn’t get it right…’ Let’s get it right.”

Although recognizing it would be a budget deviation, Renwick added that the funds are available.

She continued, “And if we got it wrong because we did the lights now, we figure it out. It’ll be a new Council anyway.”

After much debate and staff input Council agreed to amend and approve the first option in the report: “Modify the field to a 50/30 configuration, with 50 in the infield and 30 in the outfield. Install two cement poles in the backstop area and add a total of 12 lights on the new poles and existing poles along the foul line.”

Staff estimate the cost at $79,487 +HST, with $12,320 funded from Development charges, and $67,167 from the Parks Capital reserve.

They advised that the lighting would take approximately 8 to 12 weeks once ordered, and 16 weeks for the poles.