by Heidi L. Everett
All things considered in a pandemic, St. Joseph is doing OK. In an interview prior to Mayor Rick Schultz’ annual state of the city address to the Chamber of Commerce April 14, he talked about how COVID-19 impacted this small town.
“We did some projects, but it just wasn’t normal activity by any means,” he said.
The list of accomplishments includes updating Millstream parking and lighting, purchasing a new public works storage facility that will provide capacity as the city grows, completing infrastructure for a new affordable-housing apartment complex in east St. Joseph, and allocating money for downtown streetscapes that needed to be replaced.
When talking about the usual hustle and bustle of the town, though, that’s a different story.
“There just wasn’t that much there,” Schultz said. “We didn’t have a single event in downtown last year – no parade, no JoeTown Rocks, no Millstream Arts, no Oktoberfest. Every event was cancelled.”
And these events typically fuel business in downtown as well as serve as fundraisers for non-profit organizations.
Schultz talked about how the CARES Act and Coronavirus Relief Fund came in two waves to help St. Joseph businesses in the form of grants and low-interest loans.
“Just about every one of our businesses applied for these grants and loans and got money in the first or second wave,” Schultz said.
Schultz noted the city budget is in good shape, despite reducing licensing and lodging fees during the pandemic. “We had reserve to cover some of those losses,” he said.
He also gives credit to city government for frugally managing funds when it came to hiring, purchasing and maintenance.
One positive piece from the pandemic is revisiting an ordinance on outdoor dining and patios in St. Joseph.
“We started opening up the restaurant patio business, so they could get more business during the pandemic,” Schultz said. “It was just so popular, and it helped businesses. People loved it.”
The city council and city administration are working through ordinance language now to formalize outdoor dining and patio parameters outside of pandemic emergency orders at the local and state level.
“We consider ourselves a small, friendly town where you can grab ice cream or a coffee or food and sit down somewhere,” Schultz said. The ordinance will help maintain walkability and keep downtown walk friendly.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, Schultz said some changes are on the horizon.
First, the city now has six interested investors in purchasing both the former fire hall and police station for development, double the number since the city council voted to sell both buildings as a package in March.
On the public safety side, St. Joseph police are expected to implement the use of body cameras this year.
The city also is researching a building surveillance and security system for city government, parks and downtown.
“This is the third time we’ve presented it, and it might become a reality this year,” Schultz said. “It’s not a big brother kind of camera system. If there’s an incident, it allows us to go back and see what happened.”
Schultz said the police chief is currently drafting policies related to use and public information.
In terms of revitalizing St. Joseph, the convention and visitors bureau will be paying a firm to do a strategic marketing plan for the city. The plan will explore demographics, lifestyle marketing and messaging.
“We’re not sitting still,” Schultz said. “We are in high demand.”
All things considered in a pandemic, St. Joseph is doing OK. In an interview prior to Mayor Rick Schultz’ annual state of the city address to the Chamber of Commerce April 14, he talked about how COVID-19 impacted this small town.
“We did some projects, but it just wasn’t normal activity by any means,” he said.
The list of accomplishments includes updating Millstream parking and lighting, purchasing a new public works storage facility that will provide capacity as the city grows, completing infrastructure for a new affordable-housing apartment complex in east St. Joseph, and allocating money for downtown streetscapes that needed to be replaced.
When talking about the usual hustle and bustle of the town, though, that’s a different story.
“There just wasn’t that much there,” Schultz said. “We didn’t have a single event in downtown last year – no parade, no JoeTown Rocks, no Millstream Arts, no Oktoberfest. Every event was cancelled.”
And these events typically fuel business in downtown as well as serve as fundraisers for non-profit organizations.
Schultz talked about how the CARES Act and Coronavirus Relief Fund came in two waves to help St. Joseph businesses in the form of grants and low-interest loans.
“Just about every one of our businesses applied for these grants and loans and got money in the first or second wave,” Schultz said.
Schultz noted the city budget is in good shape, despite reducing licensing and lodging fees during the pandemic. “We had reserve to cover some of those losses,” he said.
He also gives credit to city government for frugally managing funds when it came to hiring, purchasing and maintenance.
One positive piece from the pandemic is revisiting an ordinance on outdoor dining and patios in St. Joseph.
“We started opening up the restaurant patio business, so they could get more business during the pandemic,” Schultz said. “It was just so popular, and it helped businesses. People loved it.”
The city council and city administration are working through ordinance language now to formalize outdoor dining and patio parameters outside of pandemic emergency orders at the local and state level.
“We consider ourselves a small, friendly town where you can grab ice cream or a coffee or food and sit down somewhere,” Schultz said. The ordinance will help maintain walkability and keep downtown walk friendly.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, Schultz said some changes are on the horizon.
First, the city now has six interested investors in purchasing both the former fire hall and police station for development, double the number since the city council voted to sell both buildings as a package in March.
On the public safety side, St. Joseph police are expected to implement the use of body cameras this year.
The city also is researching a building surveillance and security system for city government, parks and downtown.
“This is the third time we’ve presented it, and it might become a reality this year,” Schultz said. “It’s not a big brother kind of camera system. If there’s an incident, it allows us to go back and see what happened.”
Schultz said the police chief is currently drafting policies related to use and public information.
In terms of revitalizing St. Joseph, the convention and visitors bureau will be paying a firm to do a strategic marketing plan for the city. The plan will explore demographics, lifestyle marketing and messaging.
“We’re not sitting still,” Schultz said. “We are in high demand.”
