St. Joseph meeting summaries, agendas, and minutes

Parks board forwards donation policy and Spooktacular event to City Commission; most St. Joseph agendas still awaiting minutes

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted unanimously on Oct. 8 to recommend a new Donation Policy and the Downtown Spooktacular event, including use of Whirlpool Centennial Park, to the City Commission. Both are recommendations only — the City Commission holds final authority, and no commission action on either item appears in the records provided. Most other St. Joseph meetings in the past two weeks are represented in the records by agendas alone, with minutes not yet published, so outcomes are not yet known.

Parks board: ice arena schedule approved, walking tour sent back for revision

Along with the two recommendations, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board unanimously approved the 2026-2027 Howard Ice Arena schedule and unanimously approved its Aug. 20, 2026 meeting minutes. The board also voted unanimously to direct the St. Joseph High School History Club to refine a historical walking tour project for Lake Bluff Park. A separate agenda entry for the same board lists a 2027 meeting calendar, the History Club community project, a parks and recreation update, and a review of the mission and vision statement.

City Commission: zoning amendments, pavement award, water meter contract

The City Commission agenda for Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 lists a first reading of R3 Mixed-Use text amendments submitted by Clark Logic, the FY27 Pavement Preventive Maintenance Project award, and a contract with Berrien County for Act 185 Borrowing – AMI Water Meter Project. The agenda also includes a Noise Ordinance update and a Special Event Application titled Bond by the Beach. These are agenda items; the records do not include minutes, votes, or dollar amounts for any of them.

Zoning Board of Appeals sets four variance hearings

The Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to hold public hearings on four dimensional variance requests: 1021 Pearl St, 516 Lions Park Dr, 311 Market St, and 2524 Morton Ave. The board also is set to review minutes from its Sept. 10, 2026 meeting. No decisions are recorded in the materials provided.

Cemetery fees, Broad Street sign, election preparation

The Cemetery Board agenda lists a review of cemetery fees, burial and sales reports, an open niches report, the Director's report, and paid invoices. The Downtown Development Authority is set to review financial and monthly reports, discuss the Broad Street sign, and establish 2027 meeting dates. The Election Commission agenda lists ballot approval, appointment of election inspectors, scheduling of a Public Accuracy Test, delegation of duties, and designation of representatives. All three are agenda-only entries.

Sustainability Committee meeting canceled

The record states that the Sustainability Committee meeting scheduled for Oct. 13, 2026 was canceled. The entry is dated Oct. 14 in the listing provided. Agenda topics included an approved Right of Way Tree List, a Bee City Educational Event garden tour, and a Heat Island and Community Sustainability Profile.

A note on the records: several boards appear twice, with agenda entries dated both Oct. 6 and Oct. 8.

Coming up

No upcoming meetings were listed in the records provided for the next 14 days, so this roundup cannot point to specific dates. Items that remain before appointed and elected bodies, based on the agendas above, include City Commission action on the Parks board's donation policy and Downtown Spooktacular recommendations, the R3 Mixed-Use first reading, the FY27 pavement award, and the four Zoning Board of Appeals variance hearings. Residents should check the city's official meeting postings for confirmed dates, times, and locations.

Parks board logs four unanimous votes; St. Joseph agendas take up bonds, zoning and variances

St. Joseph's boards and commissions spent the past two weeks largely on agendas rather than outcomes. The only votes recorded in the summaries provided came from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which acted unanimously on four items at its Oct. 8 meeting, according to official minutes. For the City Commission, Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Downtown Development Authority, Water Service Joint Operating Board, Cemetery Board and Election Commission, the data contains agendas only — minutes have not been published, so no decisions are recorded for those items.

Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: four unanimous votes

• Approved the 2026-2027 Howard Ice Arena schedule (unanimous).
• Recommended a new Donation Policy for City Commission approval (unanimous).
• Recommended the Downtown Spooktacular event and use of Whirlpool Centennial Park to the City Commission (unanimous).
• Directed the St. Joseph High School History Club to refine a historical walking tour project for Lake Bluff Park (unanimous).
• Approved the minutes of its August 20, 2026 meeting (unanimous).

The Donation Policy and Downtown Spooktacular recommendations go to the City Commission for approval. The records provided do not show the Commission acting on either.

City Commission: water and sewer bond notices, zoning, pavement

Two resolutions on the Commission's agenda would give notice of intent to issue water system revenue bonds and sanitary sewer system revenue bonds. A notice of intent is a procedural step; the summaries include no dollar amounts, terms or issuance date.

Other agenda items include a first reading of R3 Mixed-Use text amendments submitted by Clark Logic, an FY27 Pavement Preventive Maintenance Project award, a contract with Berrien County for Act 185 Borrowing tied to the AMI Water Meter Project, and a noise ordinance update.

Special event applications listed are Downtown Spooktacular, Bond by the Beach and Fit 4 Fall 5k. The consent agenda covers meeting minutes, invoice and tax disbursements, a housing commission update, an AMI software contract, a board reappointment and dredging easements. Reports include an MCLASS presentation, an MDOT update and a City Attorney Selection Committee update.

Planning Commission: Harbor Shores Parcel 5 and R3 rules

Two public hearings were scheduled: one on the Harbor Shores Parcel 5 Planned Unit Development (PUD) and one on R3 Mixed-Use Text Amendments. The Commission also was to review a preliminary analysis of the 10-Year Master Plan, discuss draft 2027 meeting dates and continue discussion of Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) text amendments.

Zoning Board of Appeals: four variance hearings

Public hearings were scheduled on dimensional variance requests for 1021 Pearl St, 516 Lions Park Dr, 311 Market St and 2524 Morton Ave. The board also was to consider approving its September 10, 2026 meeting minutes.

Water board, DDA and other bodies

• **Water Service Joint Operating Board:** approval of its August 19, 2026 minutes, the Superintendent Report for August 2026, 591 Water System Fund financial reports, an AMI Project update, and old business on 591 Water System Fund invoice approval and a modification to the WSJOB Agreement term sheet.
• **Downtown Development Authority:** a financial report, monthly reports and staff updates, continued discussion of a Broad Street sign, and setting 2027 meeting dates.
• **Cemetery Board:** a cemetery fees review, burial and sales reports, an open niches report, the Director's report and paid invoices.
• **Election Commission:** ballot approval, appointment of election inspectors, scheduling of a public accuracy test, delegation of duties and designation of representatives.
• **Parks and Recreation Advisory Board** also listed a 2027 meeting calendar, a St. Joseph High School History Club community project and a mission and vision statement review.

Coming up

The data provided lists no upcoming meetings for the next 14 days. Several items described above appear on agendas dated in early October; residents should check the city's posted agendas for confirmed dates, times and locations.

*Note on the record: most entries are agendas without published minutes, and some meeting dates named in the summaries differ from the dates attached to the records. Where that occurred, this roundup describes agenda items without asserting a meeting date.*

Harbor Authority approves 4% slip rental increase; other city boards met June 30 with outcomes pending

The St. Joseph Recreational Harbor Authority approved a 4% increase in slip rental rates for next season and a 2.7% wage increase for marina employees at its June 30 meeting, according to official minutes. The board also authorized drafting a letter to the city regarding maintenance responsibilities for the boat launch property, including tree removal and parking lot upkeep.

Harbor Authority

The Harbor Authority's June 30 meeting produced several confirmed decisions, per published minutes:

• Previous meeting minutes approved unanimously.
• Invoices for payment approved unanimously.
• Authorized drafting a letter to the city about boat launch maintenance responsibilities (motion carried).
• Approved a 4% slip rental rate increase for next season (motion carried).
• Approved a 2.7% wage increase for marina employees (motion carried).
• Accepted donation of a derelict boat named "Rough Waters" to the city (noted).

The board also reviewed financial reports and noted progress on pension accrual deficits.

City Commission

The City Commission met June 30, but minutes have not yet been published, so outcomes are not available. The agenda listed a public hearing on findings of fact for denial of a special use permit for a short-term rental at 520 State/515 Market Streets. Other scheduled items included purchase of public safety squad cars, encryption of Motorola 800 radios, a JWWTP Sanitary Sewer Service Agreement with SJCT East, a fee schedule update, budget amendments, and an HVAC contract.

Because only the agenda is available, it is not known which items were approved, tabled, or rejected.

Library Board

The Library Board met June 30, with minutes not yet published. The agenda included a second reading of the Research Request Policy, FY 25/26 budget amendments, a new policy for outdoor lawn weddings (Garden Events), a bill report dated May 26, and financial reports dated May 26. Outcomes are not available.

Housing Commission

The Housing Commission met June 30, with minutes not yet published. Scheduled items included Resolution 2026-5 adopting 2026 income limits and flat rents, rescinding the lockout policy, an easement for Michigan Gas Utilities, an executive director performance evaluation, and approval of a consent agenda including March and April 2026 financial reports. Outcomes are not available.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of Appeals met July 6, with minutes not yet published. The agenda included a fence variation request at 2310 Langley Ave, a dimensional variance request at 601 Lake St, an organizational meeting to elect leadership, and approval of minutes from June 11, 2026. The meeting was open to the public in person; comments were not accepted via Zoom. Outcomes are not available.

Coming up

No upcoming meetings are listed for the next 14 days. Residents seeking minutes from the June 30 and July 6 meetings should check the city's official postings for updates.