District auctions poles previously installed at Estancia High School baseball diamond

Sixteen, 20-foot poles previously installed at Estancia High School as part of a netting structure to help prevent foul balls from hitting nearby homes were auctioned off in February, according to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

Officials did not respond to requests from the Daily Pilot regarding how much the poles fetched, but Newport-Mesa spokeswoman Annette Franco said the school district did not recover the purchase price.

Franco instead underscored the district’s willingness to listen to neighbors who wanted the structures removed.

Newport-Mesa installed the poles in August 2016 along the first- and third-base sides, but nearby homeowners on Joann Street quickly raised concerns, which led the district to remove them within the same month.

The $640,000 project was then decommissioned. District officials had said materials would be re-purposed at other sites.

Some residents had said the poles would negatively affect their backyard views and property values at community meetings with district officials.

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