HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 [03] Mar 19March 19, 2013
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the St. Joseph City Council met in special session on
Wednesday, March 19, 2013 at 5:OOPM in the St. Joseph City Hall.
Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Renee Symanietz, Dale Wick, Steve Frank, Bob Loso
and City Administrator Judy Weyrens
City Representatives Present: Police Chief Pete Jansky and City Engineer Randy Sabart
Others Present: Dick Taufen, Mary McCarney, Mike McDonald, Brad Cobb, LaNae Cobb, Mary
Nimmerfroh, Margy Hughes
Mayor Schultz stated the purpose of the forum is to allow for community dialogue on future plans for a
community center. The City has retained an architect and engineer to work with a committee to design a
community facility. The Council has reviewed the possibility of purchasing the former Kennedy School
and converting the building to a government campus including recreation center, considering a new
facility near the Wobegon Trail on CR 75 and expanding the existing City facility to include a community
room. During this process questions have arisen as to why the City is looking a new City facilities and
what is the goal of the community center /room.
Wick stated that he is the chair of the Facility Committee and the committee was charged at looking at the
footprint of the City for today and the future. While the term community center may be misleading, the
committee has been looking at a community room where it could be rented for meetings and special
events, similar to Sauk Rapids. This concept would add to the existing facility and while the intent was
not to create a new government center, it was reasonable to look at expanding the existing building
without first determining if the future needs could be met. The City also bonded for the needed
improvements of re- roofing and upgrading the HVAC for the City Offices. If the City were to add on to the
existing facility, the size of the HVAC may change. Therefore it is necessary to look at the existing facility
for today and the future.
The following is a summary of comments:
• Questions as to why the community center has turned into the creation of new City Offices or a
government center
• Before moving forward the type of programing for the City must be determined. Active recreation
versus a community room have different needs, attracting different residents.
• This meeting is the third such meeting on the community facility and it still seems undetermined
what the City is looking for or needs.
• Questions as to additional staffing levels needed if an active recreation center is pursued and the
cost to the tax payers. It is one thing to pay an initial capital expenditure for the facility, but the
operating expenses are ongoing and in a tough economic environment the practicality needs to
be considered.
• Discussion on commercial kitchen versus catering kitchen. There may be an advantage to a
commercial kitchen as the City could rent the facility to those who need a commercial kitchen for
catering or for groups that want to conduct a food event.
• Questions on whether or not the School District has been contacted to see if they would be willing
to rent the gym to the City. The district currently leases the facility to two business ventures. This
would allow the City to review the use of the facility before expending a large capital outlay. The
Council clarified that sales tax revenue can only be used for capital and rent would not qualify.
Any rental fee would have to be paid through general taxation or user fees or a combination
thereof.
• Philosophical question as to whether it is appropriate for the City to compete with local
businesses such as the El Paso, Sal's Bar and American Legion. All of these businesses provide
space for events and food. They all pay taxes and have already seen a reduction in business
due to the CSB dining and event facility.
March 19, 2013
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• Other Cities such as Maynard have a community center that is used for special events, education
and athletic events. The facility is modest but effective.
• It is difficult to determine the needs /wants of the residents when only a small portion of residents
attend information meetings.
• Kids today are programmed heavily with school activities and work leaving little time for other
activities. It was questioned who would really use the facility.
• Parking concerns were also discussed if the current facility were to be expanded.
• Questions if this is really a need at this time or a wish, especially given the tough economic times.
Additional questions arose as to whether or not the St. Joseph Parish has been contacted to see
what their facility is geared for and if it would be available for rent.
• The existing facility is over 40 years old and everything has a life. It was questioned at what point
does the City stop investing money in the building and start over. The current site of the City Hall
is limited and it may be prudent to either look at a new site or look at demolishing the existing
facility and starting over with a multi -level building.
• A suggestion was made to start with expanding the current City facility to add a meeting room
and upper level conference. The Council could then gauge the use of the facility to see if
additional programming is needed.
The Council agreed that programing for active recreation versus renting a room are two different concepts
requiring different types of facilities. Before building a facility it must be determined the target market and
the facility committee should reconvene to continue the discussion. The Council also agreed that the 1/2
sales tax should be spent wisely and a building should not be built to simply use the funds.
Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM
Judy eyr ns
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