Mayor Rick Schultz, St. Joseph
Facility changes:
With the recent selection of a site for a community center, the Council has taken an important step toward improving the quality of life and increasing the amenities to our residents. It comes with added benefits, including land and improving the visibility to our downtown district.
During the past couple of months, the council has been discussing the recommendations of the community facility task force, whereby they indicated the first priority was a community center, followed by city hall. At its June meeting, the council and I authorized the city administrator to enter into final negotiations to acquire the site known as Colt’s Academy. The purchase of this property is consistent with the many years of planning for the present and future success of our community. The dedicated work toward our community center has not been a hasty process. By contrast, several times throughout the course of 25 years, the city and its dedicated groups have carefully considered a community center.
I am very proud of the selection of this site for our community center. This exciting step reflects community visioning, careful planning and prudent use of city half-cent sales tax funds. Our next step(s) will be to host an open house, including tours of the facility and begin planning for its use.
The council continues to make steps toward a decision on a city hall. Just 12 months earlier, after many meetings, the council and I came to a project conclusion which was not received very well by residents. The outcome was the formation of the community facility task force whose mission was to review the needs of the community from a facility perspective.
Part of the initial issue was price tag. I urge all of us to not limit our view of city hall as “how cheaply can we get it.” We need to view city hall as a long-term investment in the delivery of quality services to the people of St. Joseph. Price, availability and sites are equally important, but the future is now to make its choice.
At a recent mayoral conference on the subject of city-owned property, a speaker identifying himself as a real-estate professional suggested the best time to buy a property is when you need that property. Well, clearly we need to upgrade our facility and we have just purchased a facility with land. The Council has correctly positioned us to the point where we have options.
A healthy business district requires a healthy community base. By moving forward with an updated city hall, we are taking the lead on investing in our city. An integral part of our plan recognizes a civic-center campus would be beneficial. I would argue against any argument that now is not the time to build. To the contrary, we have a responsibility to take action and invest in our civic government buildings, to demonstrate confidence in the strength of our plan and to pronounce that now is, in fact, a good time to invest in our future. How can we expect private investors to consider investing in St. Joseph, if the government itself does not have the same commitment, refusing to make similar investments?
Moving forward with the city hall project, will drastically improve the value of the surrounding community, and demonstrate confidence in our city.
This combination of both city hall and community center will allow us the ability to provide state-of-the-art meeting facilities for the council and community. These facilities will be made available for community groups to hold suitable events. My hope is this city hall and community center will be so much more than mere “bricks and mortar.” These two facilities will blend a vibrant community with quality government services, accessible by all residents and businesses.
None of this happens by accident. None of this happens by waiting. With the purchase of Colts Academy, your council and I are exhibiting positive leadership, proper planning, nurturing and good investment. Our community will be much improved by this very important step in the right direction – with this very important investment in the right area of St Joseph.