Under the lights

DENTON – Youth baseball and softball teams will be able to play under the lights at Sharp Road Park next year.

“We’re very happy,” said Denton Little League President Kyle Bringman of Denton. “This has been a long time coming.”

Following the meeting, supporters said they felt “good” and “fantastic.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, four members of the Denton Planning Commission unanimously approved a site plan for the park, and lighting two ball fields. President William Quick was absent.

Tim Glass of Lane Engineering LLC in Easton presented two revised site plans and described how ballfield lighting would or would not affect neighboring residents and businesses.

The bottom line – an abundance of tall trees, shorter poles and less intense lighting would not negatively affect residents, Glass said.

Only one resident voiced his objections to the plan at this and the Jan. 28 meetings of the commission.

“I don’t buy into this zero impact on my property,” said Alan Kampmeyer of Siesta Drive. Although he was sympathetic to the needs of the youth ball teams, he said, “This is just way, way too much for our town and its rural character.”

“I live here. I got to deal with this, and I'm not real happy about it,” Kampmeyer said.

However, his next-door neighbor Jean Roberts of Pine Drive presented a petition with 30 signatures of neighbors who did not object to lighting the ballfields. Their properties back up to the park to the north and west.

“I have signatures from all of the neighbors that are pro getting this done, because we all feel like the lights would be a major safety plus for us,” Roberts said. “It would be amazing to be able to have the kids … to have games out there, and we don't hear half of the stuff because the foliage is so deep. There is absolutely no concern on our end.”

“So not only is it not a concern, but we want the lights for the safety of the residents, for the safety of the people,” she said, adding, “We want the children to grow up in a community where they have sports everywhere.”

“If that field is not lit up, you're just leaving it open for other types of activities. And we don't want that – other illicit activities that we've seen in the dark back there already.”

Choptank Community Health, two banks and two strip shopping centers line the east side of the park.

About a dozen supporters of the ballfield lighting attended the 6 p.m. meeting. They explained the limited times fields would actually be illuminated.

Bringman, who grew up in Denton and played Little League baseball, said the town “lacks access to county facilities” to allow for ball games in town.

He said the fields would be used three months out of the year – mainly from April to July – and younger athletes would probably not play past 9:30 p.m. unless there were delays caused by thunderstorms.

“I just wanted to point out that that little field, which is where their lights are the issue – they're 12-year-old kids and under, and they gotta go to school, and we don't want them out there playing 9:30 at night,” said Shane Hansley of Denton. He’s the coaching coordinator for Denton Little League.

The need is urgent, according to Bringman. “We have added two more teams amongst our divisions (since Jan. 28). We're up from 205 to 216, players – just baseball – this year. Combined with softball, we have 281 total kids playing ball in Denton.” He said the league has doubled its numbers since 2019.

“We have nowhere to play. We have nowhere to practice,” he said. “We've got the two fields at the Lions Club, the two fields at (Denton) elementary school, and the one field at Lockerman (Middle School), and I've got 20 teams to put on those fields. So, adding two more (fields) to the town of Denton … is going to be a huge benefit for our league, for our kids, some of which are here tonight.”

“The design for both fields will allow us to play all age groups on both fields,” Bringman said.

Bringman said the national Little League organization has changed its rules, which means more players may be flocking to Denton to play. Now players between 4 and 7 years old can play for the league of their choice, regardless of town or county. The former rule limited players to their hometown.

“Now I can't turn them away anymore,” he said. “We have probably … 15 players coming to us to play this year from Greensboro because they want to play for us. … We've built a really nice, fun league. We do a lot of good events for our kids, and it's well organized.”

The town and county entered into a memorandum of understanding on March 19, 2024, to create the Sharp Road Park subdivision.

The location at 320 Sharp Road was subdivided, with the county assuming the fees to transfer 7.54 acres and a right-of-way from the town of Denton. The county’s parcel is located behind Choptank Community Health and the Food Lion shopping center on 5th Avenue, but is accessible from Sharp Road.

The town retains ownership of the remaining two-thirds of the park, or 16.33 acres, which currently contain a basketball court, lacrosse field and soccer field.

Caroline County Commission President Travis Breeding and Parks and Recreation and Parks Director Jamie Beechey spoke in favor of the proposed site plans.

“We would like to maximize the use of the complex if the board sees fit,” Breeding said.

“With this kind of investment that the county is making, I hope it gets used a lot by the Little Leagues, and I think they'll be there most nights,” Breeding said. He noted that the lighted field at Lockerman Middle School is adjacent to residences with scant tree coverage.

Beechey asked the commissioners to consider aligning the lighting cut-off time to the town’s noise ordinance limit of 11 p.m. The lighting “is a really large investment for Caroline County. It's to the tune of about $400,000,” she said. The lights’ operation will be connected to secure WiFi “under lock and key” at the department’s office.

Preston Town Commissioner Dan Mulford is president of Caroline County Softball. He said the program “is growing at an amazing rate.”

“I guarantee you, playing under the lights is the ultimate goal in any sport,” Mulford said. “It's just an awesome opportunity.”

“We are excited,” Hansley said. “We're excited for our boys and the girls will be able to play and have more fields.”