Two Menifee parks will soon have additional sports lighting after the City Council approved a $422,500 contract Wednesday for improvements at E.L. Pete Petersen Park and Hidden Hills Park.
Under the contract, Universal Wiring Corp. will install lighting at the multipurpose fields and basketball courts at both locations.
Park/Landscape Maintenance Manager Bryce Howell said construction is expected to begin around October or November, with the new lights scheduled to be available for use around February or March.
The lighting is expected to provide more than 30 additional hours of field availability each week, particularly during the winter when it gets dark earlier.
City programs and local sports leagues can reserve the fields for practices and other activities.
Howell said the sports lights will only be turned on when the fields are reserved or otherwise in use and will generally shut off at 9 p.m. On nights when the fields are not being used, the lights will remain off.
The city budgeted $445,000 for improvements at each park, which includes previously approved costs for design, engineering and the purchase of the lighting equipment. The construction portion approved Wednesday is approximately $203,000 for one park and $218,000 for the other.
