PORT HUENEME : Lighting Problems Put Games at Risk

Lacking the money needed to repair aging light standards at Moranda Park, the city of Port Hueneme may be forced to cancel the remaining games in a nighttime softball league.

After absorbing $260,000 in budget cuts this year, Port Hueneme’s Recreation and Community Services Department cannot afford the $17,000 it would cost to replace the faulty fixtures, Brady Cherry, the department’s director, told the City Council.

The problem surfaced two weeks ago, when an apparent short circuit in the electrical system caused one of the park’s four light standards to remain dark during the Thursday night men’s league, Cherry said. Last week, though, the lights in the same standard worked, leaving park employees to wonder from week to week whether the night games will have to be canceled, he said.

“Hopefully the short won’t be a problem until the end of the season,” which comes in seven weeks, he said. If the lights go out again, chances are the city will cancel the remaining night games to avoid the risk of liability in case of injury, Cherry said. The city would then refund at least a portion of the $300 fee paid by each of the league’s six teams.

On Wednesday, the City Council authorized Cherry to cancel nighttime games if necessary.

Cherry said the possible loss of the ball field for night games is the latest setback for a city that has already closed its community center and stopped funding an athletic center.

“So many recreational opportunities have been lost in the last year that it is disturbing,” Cherry said.