Aug 1, 2011 By Steve Ferrisheraldstandard.Com 3 min read

All six 40-year-old light standards at Bailey Park in Uniontown will be reinforced after a small crack was recently found in one of them.

Four of the 90-foot, heavy steel standards were relocated and the lights on all six were repaired or replaced as a part of the city’s plan to enlarge the larger ball field and renovate the park.

A small, hairline crack and lose bolts, which secure the standards to concrete foundations, were discovered on one of the standards that was not moved.

While preparing a plan to repair the crack, the city engineer contacted a stadium light standard manufacturer in Chicago, Ill., and learned that the company reinforces the bases of its poles by welding steel gussets between the bolt holes on all the standards they produce, said Uniontown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Mark Yauger.

So the city instructed the contractor working on the project to weld gussets on all six standards.

“Then we’ll never have to worry about them,” Yauger said.

The additional work will cost about $5,500, he said.

The authority agreed to pay Miller Company Electrical Contractors of Uniontown $46,000, $205 for each ballast that had to be replaced and $105 for each light bulb that had to be replaced.

Each of the six standards, which were installed in the early 1970s, has 15 lights and Yauger said many were replaced and all the lights are working. He said he didn’t know the exact number of the lights and ballasts that were replaced.

“They look good,” he said.

The bottom portions of all six standard were painted to help prevent corrosion. In addition, the nuts and bolts on the four standards that were moved and the damaged one were replaced, Yauger said.

He said the sturdy poles have stood tall for many years and reinforcing them will make them stronger and safer.

“They are well-built poles. They’re really thick,” Yauger said. The reinforcing work will start next week, he said.

The next step in the park renovation project will be to move the bleachers so the ball field can be enlarged to WPIAL standards and then install new fencing and a backstop.

Yauger said concrete pads for the bleachers will be poured as soon as the new location for the bleachers has been selected.

The authority awarded a $38,212 contract for the fencing.

Later this summer, the city plans to seek volunteers for a work day at the park. The work they will be asked to do includes painting the bleachers, building dugouts and working on the field, Yauger said.

The next phases of the park renovation project involve removing the tennis courts and replacing them with youth soccer fields, paving a walking trail that would connect to the Sheepskin Trail and building a concession stand, restrooms and a press box.