Light is coming to the wilderness in Alpine.

The electricity will power either temporary or permanent lighting at the site, and will allow for concessions at the city's annual rodeo during Alpine Days.

Not everyone is pleased about the plan.

Planning Commissioner Troy Stout said he was opposed to the plan for several reasons.

The rodeo grounds are only used once or twice a year, and the thousands of dollars it will cost to bring electricity and lights to the area would be better spent on other city parks with a higher usage, such as a new park on 100 South, he said.

In addition, lights will bring light pollution and increased use to an area that residents want to protect and preserve, Stout said.

By adding lighting and a cell phone tower to the area, "Lambert Park is losing some of its pristine quality," Stout said. "There are people who value the darkness of Alpine at night."

Lighting will turn the area into "a beacon on a hill," he said.

Jim Tracy of the rodeo committee said the rodeo has always been a profit center for the city and those who put on the rodeo would like to use some of the money to improve the area.

Money for the project "is not coming from the general fund or taxpayers" Tracy said.

The committee has no money now because the proceeds of last year's rodeo were turned over to the city but the group is "actively getting donations and they want to have the right to spend those donations on the facility. It's like the library. If they go get donations, they want to spend them at the library."

When Stout asked Tracy if the committee was going to save money for the project or the city was going to front money for the project, Tracy said it is unclear how much money the committee is gathering.

Stout said the public should be informed about any plans to light the area "because the potential for uprising [against the idea] is pretty big."

Tracy said it is hard to inform the public without a lighting plan. One plan would light just the arena and another would light the surrounding area "and if we do either one, people will complain."

Council members were originally told it would cost as much as $30,000 to bring dozens of light poles to the area, but Council members questioned whether permanent lights were necessary, and if so, how many. Any plan for permanent lights at the site would have to be brought to the Planning Commission for discussion at a later time.

All lighted events will be advertised to prepare the public in advance, Tracy said.

Councilman Jason Thelin said money from the rodeo goes to help the city offset the expenses of Alpine Days. Using the money to bring electricity and lights to the rodeo grounds will force the city to pay more for Alpine days.

"It is robbing Peter to pay Paul," he said, noting Alpine Days will now be "more in the red" as a result.

Commissioner Steve McArthur called lighting the rodeo area "a step in the right direction. It is an underused facility. We talk about an uprising, but with all the public hearings we have, no one comes, so that is the kind of uprising we can handle."