Repaying Grant Money for Driving Range Lights Would Satisfy Park Grant Commission

At a University City Park Commission meeting on Tuesday, if the lights are permanently shelved.

In June, the Municipal Park Grant Commission of St. Louis County wrote University City expressing displeasure over the city's decision to disable the range lights and indicated that the city's decision could jeopardize future grant funding opportunities.

At Tuesday's meeting, Walker emphasized that keeping the lights off is a worst-case scenario. However, he said, at that point the city would reimburse the grant money.

"That would not jeopardize our future grant access," Walker said.

In an email to University City Patch, St. Louis County Municipal League Executive Director Tim Fischesser concurred that reimbursing the commission would negate any future funding complications.

"According to commission policy, failure to both use and maintain a facility would likely result in halting any future grants until the matter was resolved. Repaying the funds would be one resolution," Fischesser wrote.

However, he noted that, "To date, we have funded over 200 projects and this is the only one that I am aware of that has run into a problem, but there could be others that have not come to my attention."

Fischesser said the commission would not award funds without expecting the facility to be used and maintained for at least 10 years.

"That is pretty logical and always been implied," he said

Also at Tuesday's meeting, Walker said University City has hired the landscape architect firm Austin Tao & Associates to look at the lighting issue and make some recommendations to the city. Walker said he doesn’t want to make any decisions on the lights until he hears back from the architect in a month or two.

"Hopefully some successful resolution of the matter can be reached in U City as the research continues," Fischesser said in his email.