Friday night lights to get brighter at Columbus HS

New lights for the Columbus High School football field should be up and running in time for next fall’s season, school superintendent Jeff Bermes said.
High-tech LED lighting installed last year didn’t adequately illuminate the field, leaving the school district with little choice but to rent four portable diesel-powered mast lights commonly seen at construction sites to supplement the new lights.
The temporary fix was far from satisfactory for fans in the bleachers, who complained about noise and exhaust fumes, but it was too late to replace the new lights and too late to switch the football schedule to afternoon games.
“We had to be patient and get through the season,” Bermes said.
The Columbus School Board approved the lighting project to improve safety and the public experience and to lower energy costs, school board chairman Joe Morse said.
“The older lights were also wearing out,” he said.
After looking at submitted bids, the school board chose One Source Lighting of Billings as the supplier. The $27,000 cost was paid with metal mine tax money, which must be used for fixed assets, and was partially offset by an $8,000 energy savings rebate from NorthWestern Energy, Bermes said.
One Source Lighting has taken back the lights and fully refunded the school district, but some of the cost of installing and removing the lights could be a loss, Bermes said.
“Ace Electric has been helping us out,” he said. “We’re taking lots of precautionary steps so we don’t get the same results, with more research and time.”
Bermes said the school district wants to stay with newer LED lighting and not go back to metal halide fixtures in order to keep the NorthWestern Energy rebate. He said they’ve been looking at the LED lights installed at Daylis Stadium in Billings last May.
The LED lights Columbus got were panel fixtures that didn’t correctly focus light on the football field and didn’t put out enough light, Bermes said.
“We’ll have the new lights up in time for football next season,” he said.