City of Kirkwood acknowledges Vianney had permits for the field project and approval to install lights. Dear  Vianney  Family:     This  letter  provides  information  regarding  the  Vianney  athletic  field  issues  that  have  received  some  coverage  in   the  media  and  recently  was  addressed  in  a  communication  posted  by  the  City  of  Kirkwood  on  its  web  site.     Vianney’s  goal  is  to  keep  you  informed  of  the  details  of  this  situation.     St.  John  Vianney  High  School  respectfully  acknowledges  the  City  of  Kirkwood’s  recent  letter  outlining  the  City’s   comments  regarding  the  renovation  of  Vianney’s  athletic  field.  Vianney  appreciates  that  the  City  of  Kirkwood   has  recognized  in  the  City’s  letter  that  the  City  determined  that  Vianney  did  not  need  a  variance  from  lighting   requirements  and  that  the  City  approved  the  lighting  plan.    Of  key  importance:    at  present  the  City  will  not  allow   Vianney  to  use  the  installed  lights  at  the  level  of  illumination  that  was  approved,  saying  now  that  the  City  made   the  approval  in  error.     As  the  City’s  letter  states,  the  majority  of  issues  with  the  project  have  been  addressed  by  the  parties  involved.     Nevertheless,  Vianney  believes  several  statements  in  the  letter  need  further  clarification  and  that  the  remaining   concerns  are  field  lighting,  sound  system  and  tree  removal.     FIELD  LIGHTING     Vianney  sought  and  received  approval  from  the  City  for  its  lighting  system  before  the  lights  were  installed.     As  background,  Vianney  followed  all  procedures  outlined  by  the  City  to  Vianney  with  regard  to  lighting.  Prior  to   construction,  Vianney  representatives  asked  the  City  if  field  lights  were  a  permitted  use  under  applicable   provisions  of  the  Kirkwood  Code  and  Vianney  was  told  by  the  City  representative  that  they  were.  This  was   confirmed  by  the  City  in  its  recently  published  letter.    As  such,  this  is  NOT  an  issue  as  to  whether  Vianney  can   have  lights  on  its  field,  but  is  rather  an  issue  of  the  amount  of  light  that  can  be  projected  past  the  property  line.     Vianney  engaged  MUSCO  Lighting,  a  nationally  recognized  sports  field  light  company  to  complete  a  lighting   design  that  among  other  requirements,  allows  for  safe  visibility  during  night  games.  MUSCO  Lighting  was   concerned  that  the  light  design  could  not  conform  to  City  ordinance  regarding  light  spillage  past  the  property   line.    Accordingly,  Vianney  submitted  an  application  for  a  variance  from  the  City  with  respect  to  the  light  design   and  paid  the  required  $500  fee.  A  complete  lighting  plan  and  a  photometric  plan  were  included  in  the   submission.      

    Following  submission  of  the  variance  application,  Kirkwood  city  staff  members  and  the  Kirkwood  city  attorney   informed  Vianney  that  a  variance  was  not  required,  returned  the  $500  fee  and  stated  Vianney  could  proceed   with  the  lighting.    The  City  followed  up  this  approval  with  an  email  stating  “Please  accept  this  email  as  official   record.  Please  proceed  forward  with  the  project.”    Further,  a  packet  containing  the  lighting  plan,  warranties,  and   site  drawings,  was  hand  delivered  to  the  City  by  Vianney  in  connection  with  a  building  permit  request.  On   October  15,  2015,  Vianney  received  a  building  permit  issued  by  the  City  to  install  the  lights.   After  receiving  the  approval  and  permit,  Vianney  installed  the  lights.  Vianney  would  never  have  knowingly   installed  the  lights  absent  such  approval  and  permit.  Throughout  the  entire  lighting  process  Vianney  relied  on   the  guidance  and  approvals  from  the  City.  The  City  does  not  deny  that  it  had  responsibility  in  this  matter.   Vianney  finds  it  unacceptable  that  the  City  gave  approval  to  install  the  lights,  now  admits  that  it  made  mistakes   but  in  hindsight,  will  not  tolerate  any  violation  of  its  codes.    That  means  Vianney  may  not  use  the  lights  as   Vianney  intended,  after  lights  were  approved  by  the  City,  and  installed  at  considerable  expense.  The  use  of  the   lights  is  essential  to  the  planned  economic  operation  of  the  field.     Per  the  City’s  request,  Vianney  has  not  used  the  lights  while  the  parties  continue  to  work  through  this  process.     Vianney  continues  to  try  to  find  a  reasonable  compromise  with  the  neighbors  and  the  City  that  is  respectful  of   the  neighbors  while  providing  a  safe  facility  for  its  students  and  the  community.  Vianney  wants  to  forge  a   resolution  with  our  neighbors  and  the  City  that  will  be  reasonably  acceptable  to  all.  Vianney  realizes  that  this  will   require  compromises  from  all  sides  and  is  willing  to  implement  reasonable  limitations  on  the  use  of  the  lights.       SOUND  SYSTEM   In  a  letter  dated  March  22,  2016,  the  City  acknowledged  that  Vianney  is  allowed  to  use  the  sound  system  within   the  limits  of  Kirkwood  Code  Sections  17-­‐36  and  17-­‐37.  Vianney  has  and  will  continue  to  honor  those  provisions   when  using  the  system.    Vianney  recently  took  steps  to  reduce  the  amount  of  sound  projected  toward  the   neighboring  property  by  both  turning  down  the  volume  and  redirecting  the  speakers.  Vianney  believes  that  a   reasonable  solution  can  be  reached  that  balances  both  Vianney’s  use  of  its  property  for  activities  for  its  600+   students  and  the  privacy  of  its  neighbors.         TREE  REMOVAL   It  is  unfortunate  to  see  a  loss  of  trees.  Vianney  only  removes  trees  when  necessary.    In  fact,  Vianney  has  planted   more  new  trees  on  its  campus  than  it  has  removed  in  the  last  several  years.  Vianney  did  not  seek  to  have  trees   removed  near  the  athletic  field  because  they  interfered  with  the  design  of  the  field.  Rather,  the  trees  were      

    removed  because  Vianney  was  required  by  the  City  to  move  an  existing  waterline  that  ran  under  right  field.  The   movement  of  this  line  was  due  to  its  depth  and  the  resulting  inability  to  properly  service  the  line  by  the  City  in   the  event  of  a  problem  with  the  waterline.    The  removal  of  the  trees  and  subsequent  grading  of  the  area  where   the  trees  were  located  was  part  of  the  grading  permit  approved  by  the  City  in  March  of  2015.  Vianney’s   contractor  only  proceeded  with  the  tree  removal  after  having  a  permit  from  the  City  in  hand.  Moreover,  Vianney   is  ready  and  willing  to  plant  trees  according  to  the  landscape  architect’s  plan  upon  receipt  of  approval  from  the   City  to  do  so.       NEXT  STEPS   Vianney  has  been  a  good  neighbor  and  good  member  of  the  Kirkwood  community  for  over  56  years.  Vianney  has   invested  more  than  $15  million  in  improvements  to  the  campus  over  the  past  10  years—all  with  appropriate   permits  and  approvals  from  the  City  for  each  project.  This  renovation  of  the  athletic  field  is  no  different.     Regardless,  Vianney  remains  more  than  willing  to  compromise  in  coming  to  a  resolution  that  is  satisfactory  to  all   parties.  Vianney  has  the  expectation  that  the  City  will  hold  itself  to  a  high  standard  of  accountability  as  the   citizens  of  Kirkwood  would  expect  and  provide  an  acceptable  remedy  as  a  result  of  the  City’s  mistakes.         As  always,  I  am  available  to  you  for  questions  or  comments.    Vianney  will  continue  to  keep  you  apprised  of  the   issues  associated  with  the  athletic  field.     Sincerely,       Michael  Loyet  ‘77   President