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Home My WebLink About11.01.23In the Know in St. Joseph November 2023 Truth in Taxation Hearing The City Council will present the 2024 budget and projected property tax impact on Monday, December 4, 2023, at 6:00pm. The public hearing for the proposed 2024 fee schedule will be held at the same time. The preliminary levy was set in September. The final levy cannot be increased. The preliminary levy and tax rate are summarized below. Residents of St. Joseph... For those of you that haven't heard, Stearns County will be replacing the County Road 75 bridge over the Sauk River near Waite Park. The project is slated to begin in November with the bridge being torn down in December. Construction is ex- pected to last until late June 2024. During construction, detours will be required. Traffic from St. Joseph to Waite Park will have two basic choices: Option one is to travel north, on County Road 134, County Road 3, or County Road 2 to County Road 4 (Veterans Drive), before returning south to Division Street in St. Cloud, which can be taken west towards Waite Park. Option two is to travel south on County Road 121 (College Avenue South) to County Road 138, which will bring traffic to the Fleet Farm area. Expect to see increased detour traffic and longer commute times in these areas during the winter months. The Community Center/YMCA project has experienced high and low tides where there seems to be lots of activity and ener- gy, and periods when it appears as though nothing is taking place, with little or no communication. Currently, the Capital Campaign Committee is diligently working toward the fund- raising goals set to begin and complete this project. We contin- ue to make positive progress and move the needle forward. The St. Joseph Jaycees will be hosting their Beer and Wine tasting fundraiser. Bring some friends for a fun night of sam- pling various beers and wines! This event will be on November 16, 6pm – 9pm at the La Playette. Pre-sale tickets will be avail- able at The La Playette and Uptown Styles. Also taking place this November is the annual Shop Small Crawl. We seek to recognize and patronize our local business- es. Saturday November 25 from 10am – 4pm. Please come out and show your support. There have been recent discussions about rental fees for the use of city facilities and park shelters. After some research, we discovered a very subjective method was in place for determin- ing which parties are required to pay for building/facility rent- als and which ones are exempt from paying the rental fees. While we try to partner with all organizations in our communi- ty, it has become more and more difficult to establish guide- lines for facility rentals. Therefore, starting in 2025, all organi- zations/groups/individuals will need to comply with the city building rental policy and fees. Mayor Rick Schultz, 320.260.0393 Rschultz25@msn.com or rschultz@cityofstjoseph.com 2024 Proposed Levy Net Tax Capacity Preliminary Levy Preliminary Tax Rate Urban Properties $6,048,448 (↑9%) $3,839,864 (↑16%) 63.4851% (↑3.7%) Annexed Commercial $711,430 (↑7%) $390,382 (↑21%) 54.873% (↑6.6%) Annexed Rural Residents $516,360 (↑9%) $116,928 (↑16%) 22.6446% (↑1.3%) Holiday Tree Collection When: January 4th & January 11th Limit of 1 tree per household. All trees must have deco- rations and stands removed. Place the tree on the ground next to the refuse cart by 6AM on the day of pickup. Recycling Holiday Lights There are two locations residents can take holidays lights to recycle. • WACOSA, (320) 251-0087 310 Sundial Dr. Waite Park, MN 56387 • Stearns Co. Household Hazardous Waste Facility (320) 257-0087 3601 5th St S, Waite Park, MN 56387 2023 WinterWalk will take place on Dec. 1st starting at 4PM. Event details at https://www.facebook.com/ joetownwinterwalk Notice to Refuse Customers: Refuse will be collected on Thanksgiving Day! We Need Your Input The City of St. Joseph is participating in a free online survey of city services. Please take a few minutes to an- swer 14 questions about your city services to help us bet- ter meet your needs. Question 14 is to help us name the nature park south of the city along the Sauk River. The survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/St_Joseph2024. The survey link will be available until November 30, 2023. Park & Recreation Events Dodgeball, Dec. 21st & 28th, 6:30-7:30PM Kennedy Community School, $10 https://www.cityofstjoseph.com/FormCenter/Epayment - Forms-4/Dodgeball-for-Grades-36-62 Felting a Snowman, Dec. 6th, 6-8:30PM, St. Joseph Gov- ernment Center, $50/person Join Karen Storkamp for a fun evening of needle felting. The class includes materials, tips, tricks, and a large cookie. Karen will guide you through all the steps neces- sary to complete your felted snowman. Register by Dec. 1st. https://www.cityofstjoseph.com/FormCenter/ Epayment-Forms-4/Felting-a-Snowman-Activity-61 BINGO, Jan. 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, 6-7PM St. Joseph Government Center, Free 10 free games of BINGO each night. A variety of prizes will be offered. If you would like to donate a prize or two, please bring them to the Government Center be- tween 8AM—4:30PM. Snowshoeing Club Dates: Bring your own snowshoes and join the group for some exercise and good conversa- tion. January 13th at 10AM at Klinefelter Park January 20th at 10AM at Wildwood Park, 12857 County Road 51 January 27th at 10AM at St. John’s University Senior Walking Pass Seniors have the opportunity to use the walking path at the Haehn Campus Center. M-Fri 6:30AM—11PM; Sat & Sun 8AM—10PM from Nov. 1st—Mar. 31st. Cost is $55. Senior Yoga & Enhanced Fitness Classes Heritage Hall, Wednesdays at 1:30PM; and Enhanced Fitness on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 1:30PM. Cost is $3.50 if a member of Whitney Senior Center, or $5 for non-members. To become a member and/or register for classes, call 320-255-7245 or apply online at https:// www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/93/Whitney-Senior-Center. Senior Bus Trip, December 18th Join us on a trip to the Vikings Museum in Eagan. Bus will leave the Whitney Senior Center at 8:00AM. After touring the museum, we will make a two hour stop at the Mall of America and return around 4:00PM. Contact the Whitney Senior Center at whitneysen- iorcenter@ci.stcloud.mn.us or call 320- 255-7245 to sign up. $40/person. Elf Hunt, Dec. 4th—10th Four elves will be hidden in four differ- ent businesses in St. Joseph. Take a picture of the elf and name the loca- tion. Check the website and Facebook for clues. Send the pictures to rjuell@cityofstjoseph.com or 320-557-8140 to be eligible to win a prize. SNOWFEST 2024, Jan. 27th Event includes: Sledding, ice skating, hot cocoa, cookies and the Game Crawl at The Middy, Bad Habit Brewing, Sal’s Bar, and the La Playette. Cards for the game crawl can be purchased at the locations for $5. Get a bunch at each location and have your name put into a drawing for a cash prize. More information on Snowfest will come in the January 2024 newsletter! Attention Snow Birds Are you planning on heading south for the winter? A resident that is absent from his/her resi- dence for at least 30 consecutive days may qualify to temporarily suspend garbage/ recycling ser- vices. Please complete the Application to Suspend Gar- bage and Recycling Services on the utility billing sec- tion of our website. You can also request a house watch from the St. Joseph Police Department while you are away and that service can be indicated on the form. Call City Hall at 320-363-7201, option 1. New Facility Reservation & Recreation Pro-gramming Software for 2024! The City will be launching a new software for facility reservations and recreation programming. All rentals and registrations will now be made through CivicRec, offering easier access for reserving city facilities and registering for activities and programming. Facility res- ervation requests for 2024, will be accepted beginning at 8AM on January 2nd. Watch the website and city Face- book page for updates as we near the software rollout. Snow Removal Property owners are required to clear sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours after a snowfall event. If the owner fails to do so, the city may remove the snow or ice and the owner will be charged for the service. It is unlawful to blow snow into a street or alley. Adopt a Fire Hydrant When clearing your drive- way of snow, please take the time to clear the snow around any fire hydrant on your property or in your vi- cinity. Winter Parking Regulations No parking is allowed on any City street from Nov. 1st to Apr. 1st during the hours of 2 AM and 7 AM. Any vehicle parked in violation of this ordinance is subject to a fine and immediate towing at the owner’s expense. City Hall Closed November 23rd-24th—Thanksgiving December 22nd—Christmas Eve observed December 25th—Christmas Day January 1st—New Year’s Day January 15th—Martin Luther King Jr. Day