The Zoning Board of Appeals held a continuation of a public hearing on the proposed lighting at the unfinished athletic fields at Tabor Academy, commonly referred to as Hoyt Field, at the Music Hall July 28.

Tabor Academy plans to build four, 90-foot lighting towers on the new athletic fields.  Tabor says the lights will not stay on past 10 p.m. and that the lights will only be used for sporting events and will not be rented to any third parties for other uses.

A tense meeting kicked off when Zoning Board Chairman Bob Wedge started the meeting by asking Tabor Headmaster Jay Stroud if he would withdraw the application for the lights due to Stroud's comments at an earlier selectman's meeting. At an earlier meeting the Tabor head said he did not intend to be a bad neighbor in Marion and that he would withdraw the dugouts and lighting plans and would take down the backstop, if necessary.

"Do you remember saying 'I don't care if we put up lights...I won't build the dugouts...I'll take down the backstop. I just want to say we need to get the fields done," said Wedge. "Will your actions match your words?"

"I will not withdraw that," said Stroud.

"I'm disappointed he's reneging on his words in a public forum," said Marion resident Steven Grima once the floor was opened to questions and concerns from the community. Referring to the letter Stroud sent to the town of Marion regarding the field Grima said, "Here you have this guy preaching about healthy minds and bodies but can't conduct himself that way."

With community concerns ranging from how late the lights would remain on to how much noise could be caused by the night games, Tabor's counsel Mark Bobrowski asserted that Tabor's curricular needs dictated the use of the field and that the Dover Amendment allowed Tabor to see to its educational needs as it wished.

Town Counsel Jon Witten said that the town must question whether Tabor's proposal to build the lights can be considered an educational need.  If so, it will be covered under the Dover Amendment.

The Dover Amendment, a law that provides a broad exemption to essentially all zoning laws for certain types of uses, including solar power, daycare, religious, agricultural, and educational facilities.

"[It is] not the place of the town or this board to determine what Tabor's curricular needs are," said Bobrowski.

"My daughter graduated as an athlete from Tabor," said Janet Barnes, an abutter to the proposed field. "Did she receive less of an education because there were no light posts?"

The ZBA closed the public session and will continue deliberations when they meet August 25 and will render a decision on the light posts by the end of September.

The ZBA will also hold a public hearing September 15 to hear Tabor’s appeal against Building Commissioner Scott Shippey’s June 30 and July 12 orders to obtain site plan approval.