Background

Daffin Park is a historic public green space in continuous community use since 1907. The City of Savannah has committed $330,000 to install stadium-grade lighting in this park — despite the fact that:

• An existing lit ball field within the park provides a fully operational $0 solution that has not been made accessible to the community;
• Independent assessments place the cost of appropriate new park lighting at 1/4 that cost;
• The $330,000 contract has been awarded to Musco Lighting, a multinational corporation headquartered in Iowa, and no local business participation;
• The City appears to have bypassed its own environmental review, historic preservation, permitting, and community engagement requirements in advancing this project.

We therefore demand:

1. The immediate opening of the existing lit Morris Field ball field to community use — a $0 solution that requires no new spending
2. The immediate suspension of all new installation activity pending completion of a full, independent review
3. The public release of all contract documentation explaining how a project with a $0 existing option was awarded at $330,000
4. The completion of all required environmental review, historic preservation assessment, and permitting processes before any further spending is authorized
5. A genuine, structured community input process giving Savannah residents meaningful participation in decisions affecting this historic public space, similar to the Master Plan for Forsyth Park in 2021
6. If new lighting is ultimately deemed necessary after proper review, a competitive rebid scoped appropriately to the park's character and actual needs including companies that make park lighting

Daffin Park belongs to the people of Savannah. The community should not have to fight for access to lighting it has already paid for — nor should it be asked to accept a $330,000 expenditure when a free option exists. Peewee sports do not require a half million dollars of installed lighting.