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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.01.23In the Know in St. Joseph March 2023 Annual Spring Cleanup—May 20th Residents who participate in the City Refuse Program are eligible to place additional refuse curbside at no additional charge. All refuse must be out curbside by 6AM on the 20th and items are limited to a 6ft x 6ft area. Exceptions (include but are not limited to): Appliances, electronics, tires, pollutants, yard waste, construction waste, computer monitors, and televisions. Appliance & Electronic Dropoff May 20th, 8AM—Noon The appliance & electronic drop-off is at the St. Joseph Public Works Facility located at 1855 Elm St E. There is a limit of two items per household. Please be prepared to present your ID to confirm residency. Clean Water Starts with You! Safely Deposit Pharmaceuticals – A 24/7 accessible drop box for unused prescriptions is located at the Gov- ernment Center. Keep a Lid on Trash – Refuse carts left open cause gar- bage to fall out into storm drains. Avoid over-filling and properly bag your garbage. Keep Fat, Grease & Cooking Oil Out of our Plumbing – Grease and oils clog up not only your pipes, but also the city’s pipes. Properly dispose leftover fat in sealable containers and then into the trash. Compost Permits Available! The compost site will open May 1st, weather permitting. Site hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday 4 -7 PM; Saturday 8:00 AM—Noon. Community Center/YMCA Donations Donations for construction of the new Community Center and YMCA in St. Jo- seph can be made to the nonprofit’s ac- count established at Sentry Bank. Dona- tions can be made in person, via mail, or by scanning the QR code. Mark Your Calendars April 7th—City Offices Close at Noon April 20th—Tornado Drills at 1:45 PM & 6:45 PM Severe Weather Awareness Week May 29th—Memorial Day, City Offices Closed Residents of St. Joseph… It’s been a wild winter and I want to give special thanks to our Public Works snow removal crew. The challenge of removing snow from streets, alleys, down- town sidewalks, and other public places is a daunting task that has been met with great resiliency. A big shout out to Ryan, Jim, Joe, Gary, Derrick, Mike, Randy, Eric, and MJ for the excellent job they have done this year. A great team effort. I want to welcome David Murphy to St. Joseph. If you haven’t heard yet, David accepted the City Administrator position and will be starting late April. David comes to us with seasoned experience and broad knowledge in city management. With David’s arrival, we will soon say goodbye to Jeff O’Neill, our Interim City Administrator. Jeff has done a wonderful job of keeping this city running and preparing for the transition to David. Than you very much Jeff. The City has been advocating our local legislators for state and federal assistance to fund several projects with- in the city. We are seeking state funding for the exten- sion of our main sewer line. This capital investment will allow us to extend the city’s infrastructure west towards the I-94 corridor. If we did nothing, we wouldn’t be able to absorb the additional debt without causing severe fi- nancial hardship for our residents. We have hired a lob- byist to aid in acquiring these funds through this legisla- tive session’s bonding bill. I thank our legislators and senators for their assistance in providing visibility and advocacy for our projects in the state funding and budg- eting processes. Mayor Rick Schultz 320-260-0393 We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes to answer 13 questions about your City services to help us better meet your needs. The survey is availa- ble until March 31st and can be found at https:// www.surveymonkey.com/r/St_Joseph2023. Enforcement of Nuisance Violations On March 6th, the City Council approved Resolution 2023-012 Adopting Enforcement Approach toward Nui- sance Violations associated with large gatherings. Spring time gatherings with friends are wonderful and should never be infringed upon. However; every year, gatherings occur that exceed the capacity of the hosting property, generate numerous public complaints, and involve activi- ties that negatively impact neighborhoods, the City at large and thus require diversion of expensive Public Safe- ty resources. With the resolution adopted by the City Council, such get togethers will result in prosecution. In the case of rental properties, the property owners will be fined including paying the cost of police response and/or the rental license will be subject to revocation. Through this resolution and the notice of firm enforcement ap- proach, the City Council and Police Department strive to foster peaceful and harmonious living throughout the community. Community Development Update As construction season approaches, we would like to re- mind you of the types of projects that require a permit with the city. Projects include: fences, accessory struc- tures, parking pads, decks, roofing, windows and siding. Permit applications and additional information can be found at www.cityofstjoseph.com under the Building De- partment tab. Updates to Your Utility Bill In February, the city began transitioning over to a new financial software system. The new software has more capabilities and will create a number of efficiencies for city staff. There will be some changes reflected on your utility bill. • Account numbers have been shortened & reformatted • Updates to names, addresses and billing formats • Commercial accounts with compound meters will now have one combined bill, not two. • If you are on auto pay, you should not see any chang- es. However, there is a chance that if you are signed up with Payment Service Network [PSN], you may have to manage your profile with PSN. Again, it would be unlikely as we are minimizing any impact on residents and businesses. We have been working closely with our implementation team and vendors to provide the most seamless transition possible. 2023 UTILITY RATES/PER BILL CYCLE Water Usage $5.40 per 1,000 gallons Water Line Charge $25.00 Sewer Usage $6.28 per 1,000 gallons Sewer Line Charge $35.00 State Surcharge $1.62 60 gal Recycling $17.50 90 gal Recycling $28.00 30 gal Refuse $21.00 60 gal Refuse $24.00 90 gal Refuse $28.00 Refuse Tax 9.75% Street Light Utility $4.80 Stormwater $14.00 Park & Recreation Events More information on each event can be found at www.cityofstjoseph.com or the City’s Facebook Page. Cribbage and 500: March 22, 6PM at the St. Joseph Government Center. Bring a cribbage board and/or a deck of cards and some friends. Let’s play some cards! Flashlight Dash Egg Hunt $5 (Ages 21+): April 7th, 8PM at Milk and Honey Ciders. Bring a flashlight and find as many eggs as possible. Many eggs contain prizes from local businesses. Register at https:// www.cityofstjoseph.com/FormCenter Art Classes in April $10/class: Tues, April 4, 6-7PM- create and take home, your very own pet rock; Tues, April 18, 6-7PM- use different fibers to create wall hangings; Sat, April 15, 10-11AM- create aluminum foil sculptures; 1-2PM create Styrofoam prints; Sat, April 22, 10-11AM- create greeting cards for all occasions; 1-2PM decorative fiber weavings. All classes held at the St Joseph Govern- ment Center $10/class. Pay at the door. Please register at https://www.cityofstjoseph.com/FormCenter Coding on Campus: April 20th, 6-8PM in the main building on the College of Saint Benedict. All K-8 stu- dents and parents are invited for a night of coding (computer programming). Class is free, but registration is required. https://www.cityofstjoseph.com/FormCenter Kids Bike Safety Event: Join the St. Joseph Women of Today for the 3rd Annual Bike Safety Event on May 13th from 11AM-1PM at Klinefelter Park. Free bike helmets for the first 100 kids. Kids can enter their name into draw- ings to win a free bike and other fun prizes. Movie in the Park: May 20th, 8:30PM at Millstream Park. Bring your blankets and chairs. Concessions will be available for purchase or you can bring your own. Pickleball: Sundays 9-2:00, Mondays 6-9:00PM, Tues- days 6-9:00PM at Kennedy Community School; $2 Open Gym at Kennedy: Sundays from 11-2:00PM and Tuesdays from 6-8:00PM. Come play basketball, volley- ball, soccer, or whatever you choose $2 Summer Recreation Sign-ups: t-ball, soft-toss, softball, coach pitch, soccer, basketball, toddler triathlon. Sign up by April 28th or until all spots are filled, at www.cityofstjoseph.com or at City Hall. Twins Game vs Giants: Wednesday, May 24th $65 (non- refundable) includes coach bus, seating in section S, Rows 9-14, hotdogs, burgers, chicken tenders, popcorn, soda, water, etc. Adults 50+ have first priority. Reserve your spot by May 3 by contacting Whitney Senior Center whitneyseniorcenter@ci.stcloud.mn.us or call 320-255- 7245. Plastic Eggs Needed: If you have unwanted plastic eggs, the St. Joseph Recreation Department is collecting them to use for future activities. Drop them off at the St. Joseph Government Center from 8:00AM-4:30PM. The following chart is a summary of the 2023 utility rates for an urban single-family residential user. Rates were adjusted to cover the cost to operate and maintain the City’s water, sewer, storm water, refuse and street light utility costs. Welcome to the City of St. Joseph! A big welcome to the City’s newest employees, City Administrator David Murphy and Police Officer Madison Honer .