May 26, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, March 26, 2024

Pickleball and Tennis are here tonight. PB nets got damaged over the winter. PB Is asking where they see PB going.

The village doesn’t plan on putting the PB nets back up at the sports complex. PB saying if they do go back up, they want to make some changes, ect.

Someone tried to steal a pickleball net. #reallyguys?

350 people are in the St. Joseph PB group.

Discussing the signage, windscreen, ect at Kolb.

They are discussing tennis courts. They would like four tennis courts for the girls tennis team at SJO so the team doesn’t have to rent out Atkins.

Discussing how many pickleball players are from St. Joe. Estimating 75 percent.

I can’t get over someone trying to steal a pickleball net. What would you even do with it? Don’t you think someone would notice your super fancy new pickleball net set up in your driveway?

Just so everyone knows- the parks have cameras. They can see you trying to steal stuff.

Basically, PB is booming in St. Joseph. For real. They take care of a lot of the upkeep on the court, ect.

Discussing Elm Street drainage project. Awarded Phase 1 project to Stark. It’s over a Million dollars.

The entire project could cost more than 7 million. This project will take some pressure of drainage district 6 and should help slow the flood of the Salt Fork, ect.

An update on the sewer plant: Still have a years worth, at least, of construction. But making progress.

.
Discussing the signage, windscreen, ect at Kolb.

They are discussing tennis courts. They would like four tennis courts for the girls tennis team at SJO so the team doesn’t have to rent out Atkins.

Discussing how many pickleball players are from St. Joe. Estimating 75 percent.

I can’t get over someone trying to steal a pickleball net. What would you even do with it? Don’t you think someone would notice your super fancy new pickleball net set up in your driveway?

Just so everyone knows- the parks have cameras. They can see you trying to steal stuff.

Basically, PB is booming in St. Joseph. For real. They take care of a lot of the upkeep on the court, ect.

Discussing Elm Street drainage project. Awarded Phase 1 project to Stark. It’s over a Million dollars.

The entire project could cost more than 7 million. This project will take some pressure of drainage district 6 and should help slow the flood of the Salt Fork, ect.

An update on the sewer plant: Still have a years worth, at least, of construction. But making progress.

discussing the proposed projects for the streets, sidewalks, ect.

Joe giving Public Works some props for how they handle sidewalk repair.

Here’s the list. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZaiknNYGjWRwhYOkKpSQGJ7rz43tXzwp

This is just informational. They will vote on it the first meeting in May.

BUDGET ITEMS: This is just all ideas. They aren’t really doing budgeting right now. Discussing festival funding, how much they spend on advertising, ect. Discussing a brush drop off where the public brings their own brush to a spot ,ect. Discussing a possible sales tax increase to fund parks, ect. What do you think about that? It would be half a cent and would go towards the parks, ball fields, ect.

You guys! I read ahead and the Comprehensive Hotel Market Feasibility Study is back. The study found that there is a clear demand for an upper-midscale hotel in St. Joseph to serve local
businesses, events, and visitors.

Recommended Hotel Characteristics: The study recommends a hotel with 45-55 rooms, offering both
single and double occupancy options, and modern amenities to attract a broad range of guests.

Economic Benefits: The development of a new hotel is projected to significantly boost local tax
revenues, increase dining and entertainment spending, and create new jobs.

Ideal Sites: Two potential locations have been identified that offer excellent visibility and access, making
them suitable for hotel development.

Community Support: Majority Feedback from the community survey respondents indicates support for a
new hotel, highlighting a need for quality accommodations.

I will find the survey and break it down more.

TIF update:

In detailed discussions involving the village’s TIF consultant and the superintendents of both school districts, a consensus emerged around the necessity of incorporating a residential component into the proposed TIF District. As currently understood, the agreement outlines that natural growth from existing residential areas will be fully reimbursed to the schools, preserving their revenue base. Additionally, a provision will allocate a 10% surplus payment from all new Residential and Commercial EAV directly to each school district.

Addressing concerns over potential rapid enrollment increases, it was noted that in 2012, the
schools had 176 more students than the current count, suggesting ample existing capacity. This historical perspective challenges the notion of insufficient space being an issue anytime soon, especially considering the average annual enrollment decline of 12.5 students since 2012. Projecting this trend forward to 2034 implies a potential decrease of 301 students from the 2012 peak.

To accommodate any unexpected enrollment surges, a proposal has been developed for staggered reimbursement rates to the schools, triggered by specific enrollment benchmarks. This approach aims to ensure school readiness for expansion, aligned with actual growth patterns. This evolving agreement marks a critical step towards reversing the trend of declining enrollments, with optimism for a formalized plan soon. The consultant is incorporating the staggered percent increase tied to student enrollment numbers, and will send them to the schools after it is completed.

Having a moment of silence for Dan Wright. “He was a very active person in our community,” Fruhling-Voges said.


meeting adjourned.
.

Banner
Related Posts

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022

I am here early and we are discussing the lines to vote today. Today at 5 p.m. there was a...

St. Joseph Village Board, June 27, 2023

June 27, 2023

June 27, 2023

Special event permit for Pickleball tournament during Community Festival. Proposal is to do a tournament at the festival. Either doing...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board July 12, 2022

July 12, 2022

July 12, 2022

Jim Page, Synthia Snydor, Tracy Sharp, Craig Harper and Mike Voges are here with the usual crew. MX electric sponsors...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, July 9, 2024

July 9, 2024

July 9, 2024

Here at village hall. They are discussing how village board wants the bills broken down more. They want to know...

LIVE AT ST. JOE VILLAGE BOARD

September 24, 2019

September 24, 2019

Tonight they are finalizing the vote to not allow dispensaries. Sewer main in the alley behind old firehouse that feeds...

Live Blog, St. Joseph Village Board May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021

We are here at village board. Van Buskirk is absent as is Davis. Rapp, Cummings, Painter and Wagner are here...

Haan hopes to help Ogden grow

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021

Jim Haan wants to help Ogden grow.  “Ogden is a safe, affordable, and friendly town and I want to keep...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 25

January 25, 2022

January 25, 2022

Tonight at St. Joseph Village Board we will get some honorary street designations, a discussion and vote regarding special event...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board March 23, 2021

March 23, 2021

March 23, 2021

We are here. This could be a pretty amazing meeting. LIQUOR LICENSE TIME. We are moving the agenda around so...

‘Julie has been the backbone of this village for a long time’

December 28, 2021

December 28, 2021

Julie Hendrickson loves St. Joseph. And a piece of the small town’s footprint will soon step away from a long-time...

Talk of the Town.. Ogden Mayor Gabe Clements

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019

Every week we ask a village mayor, trustee, school administrator or school board member three questions. This week we talked...

Board to decide on new liquor license classification tonight

January 28, 2020

January 28, 2020

Tonight, the St. Joseph Village Board will discuss and vote on whether to create a new liquor classification that would...

5 Questions with Republican Caucus candidate Terri Cummings

December 2, 2024

December 2, 2024

What made you want to run?  When my husband and I moved to St Joseph 14 years ago I felt...

St. Joseph addresses brush pickup

May 30, 2019

May 30, 2019

The Village of St. Joseph is suspending brush pick up for a second month in a row. The wet Spring...

Live at Ogden Village Board

May 5, 2022

May 5, 2022

I am here so you don’t have to be. The village just voted to purchase lime for the baseball diamonds....

Comments
Leave a Reply