ALLENTOWN — The Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education meeting last week was packed with parents and some football players still in their uniforms.
The large turnout was there to observe the board gratefully accepting what school officials termed a generous donation of an outdoor sports lighting system for the Allentown High School football field.
The lighting package is designed by the Musco Lighting Co., and will ensure maximum illumination of the fields with minimum impact on surrounding areas, said school officials.
Company representatives have submitted appropriate construction approvals to Upper Freehold Township and an engineering impact study to the Planning Boards of Upper Freehold and Allentown.
The high school athletic program and the community Pop Warner Organization will closely monitor field utilization. Evening activities will be limited to 10 high school and Pop Warner football games which will end by 10 p.m., three evenings per week of Pop Warner practice which will end by 8:30 p.m., and occasional special high school events such as field hockey or soccer playoff games.
The lighting system donors for the lighting system were to remain anonymous, according to school officials.
According to a press release issued by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Connelly, the new lighting system "will bring an important new dimension to Allentown athletics by expanding the impact of our current building referendum that includes a new track, field irrigation, bleachers and additional fields.
"It will also enable the school and community to move forward with the five year strategic plan that calls for expanded athletic opportunities and greater community involvement," he added.
Connelly said last week that the school board wishes to be a good neighbor, and in its quest to be a good neighbor, will take steps to make sure that the lights do not affect area residents.