by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
It’s an idea whose time has finally come.
City officials and city representatives are brainstorming as to what to include in the time capsule that will be part of the new government center at 75 Callaway St. E.
“We’ve reached out to some people and asked them to submit some items,” St. Joseph City Administrator Judy Weyrens said. “But I don’t have anything other than the (Jan. 6 and 13 editions of the) Newsleader (including Parts 1 and 2 of the Year in Review of 2016) in there yet, so I’m waiting.”
A dedication plaque will be part of the new 18,000-square-foot facility located less than a mile from the current St. Joseph City Hall, which formerly housed a bank and drive-through and is now for sale.
“Behind the dedication plaque, there is going to be the time capsule, so in the event – in 50 years, if they do a remodeling or tear it down or whatever – there’s going to be a time capsule people can get a glimpse of what was going on in 2016 or 2017,” Weyrens said.
She said input as to what to possibly include in the time capsule was sought from Kennedy Community School, the College of St. Benedict, community members and local service clubs.
“We just in passing talked to people,” Weyrens said last week. “We’ve just thrown it out there as we’ve been talking to people, but we’ve not received anything yet.”
Last year, the St. Joseph City Council authorized the issuance and the sale of $4.28 million in bonds to build the new government center that will open next month near Colts Academy.
“The time capsule is a wooden box,” Weyrens said. “It’s probably about 18 inches tall, maybe, and 10 inches wide, and it’s maybe about 3 inches deep, so it can fit into the wall.”
The limited volume of the time capsule restricts what would fit within its confines, so whatever is included in the time capsule would have to be relatively small, Weyrens said.
“You can’t do imagery because you don’t know what the technology is going to be like in the future,” she said. “Some people thought it would be fun to have a video in there, but what are the odds, for example, that DVDs are going to be around or a flash drive?” she asked rhetorically.
The St. Joseph Government Center will hold an open house starting at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, with a dedication ceremony later that evening. Also on that day, the St. Joseph City Council will hold its first meeting in the new facility.
It will provide more space for the police department and city administration, and may someday be connected to Colts Academy, which is slated to be converted into a community center.
“As instructed by city council, an architect was brought on board to match the community center programming needs, with that of the building,” Mayor Rick Schultz stated recently in his end-of-year message to the residents of St. Joseph.
“ISD 742 will still be a tenant in this building until such time as their facilities come into place,” he said. “However, our intent is to utilize the facility as we can, and expand where we must.”
Community Design Group, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm, was recently awarded a $60,000 contract by the city council at its Dec. 19 meeting to update St. Joseph’s comprehensive plan for the future.
“Country Manor and Fortitude housing continue their construction on senior-dwelling facilities,” Schultz said. “These units will be a much-needed boost to our senior-citizen demographic, which continues to grow and has both living and service needs.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of St. Joseph was 6,534 in 2010, with an estimated population of 6,864 in 2015, and the city is home to the College of St. Benedict.
“The College of St. Benedict has begun its construction on new athletic fields,” Schultz said. “I see this as an attractive community asset and certainly a resource which will bring people to our city.”
As of Tuesday, Weyrens said the only item that has been dropped off at St. Joseph City Hall for consideration to include in the time capsule is a group photograph of Kennedy Community School students that was taken in front of the school building at 1300 Jade Road.
“It’s really hard trying to figure out what to put in the time capsule, but people can certainly contact me; we would be willing to entertain ideas,” Weyrens said.
“But I think it would be fun to have some pictures or if there was some memento that some group had that showed a significance to St. Joseph,” she said.
