School and county facilities staff said they expedited replacement of stadium lighting at Liberty High and Westminster High after a structural inspection raised safety concerns about light poles.

Facilities leaders told the joint meeting that initial attempts to provide temporary lighting failed to meet performance needs, so crews moved to install permanent LED systems. Contractor and county staff work put the poles and fixtures in place within weeks; staff said the fixtures are LED systems with programmable controls, long rated lifespans and modular LED modules that can be replaced without work on elevated catwalks.

Facilities supervisor Joe Morningstar and assistant supervisor Dave Valentine (project manager) were singled out in the meeting for working long days to get the installations completed and tested. County and school staff said Liberty’s lights were tested and ready for a Thursday night game and Westminster’s testing was scheduled immediately afterward.

Why it matters: officials said the old poles were judged structurally unsafe to host crowds and continuing to use those stands without remediation would have risked canceling an entire season. Staff emphasized there was no intention to cancel scheduled events and that the expedited procurement and installation avoided that outcome.

Technical details discussed at the meeting included LED fixtures’ instant on/off capability, programmable light levels (low/medium/high), and modular LED components (replacement modules are small and light). Staff also noted the county’s prior use of the same vendor and product in parks facilities sped procurement and reduced vendor evaluation time.

Quotations from staff: Dr. McCabe said the board and county were “very surprised” by the report and that officials “thought the first thing we thought is there is no way we can give up this whole season for our students.” Facilities staff added that “a couple weeks after that, all 8 poles are up for each stadium” and the fixtures had been tested at Liberty.

No vote or formal action was taken; staff completed the work through emergency procurement and project management. The athletic seasons at both schools were expected to continue as scheduled, with testing and any final checks completed within days of the meeting.