St. Joseph council approves consent agenda, funds park restroom designs and demolition

The St. Joseph City Council on May 30 approved its consent agenda and several project contracts, including a $9,500 donation from Best Friends Animal Society to support the community cat 'return to field' program, a $203,200 contract for design engineering of five park restrooms and a $68,597.10 demolition contract for a hazardous building on Frederick Avenue.

Council accepted the published agenda and then voted unanimously, 8-0, to adopt the consent agenda and the listed ordinances and resolutions. The clerk read multiple items covering banking and legal service contracts, airport runway consulting, FEMA-funded street repairs and other budget amendments before the public-comment portion drew attention to four specific items on the consent list.

Resident Guillermo Pena spoke during the item concerning animal control, urging the council to address dangerous-dog incidents that he said had blocked mail delivery on his block and questioning coordination between animal control, the city manager's office and the postmaster. "I had an incident where my whole block on my street was literally blocked off from receiving mail due to a dangerous dog," Pena said. He told council he supported the cat program donation but pressed officials to resolve dangerous-dog complaints so residents would not have streets closed to delivery.

On the parks item, the council approved an agreement with Lisonbee Aukshear Architects for $203,200 to design restrooms at Hyde Park, Corby Grove, Eagles Field Complex, Hockman Park and Northeast Park. Pena said some residents were concerned about the cost and wanted transparency; a council member reminded the chamber that the restroom project was part of the city's 2018 capital improvement program.

Council also approved a resolution to contract with Central Disposal Service for $68,597.10 to demolish the structure at 1906 6 through 1910 Frederick Avenue. Stephen Grimes, owner of the adjacent D and G Cafe Acoustic Concert Hall, described repeated building failures and falling facade pieces that damaged his property and created pedestrian hazards. "Portions of the wall next to my building have collapsed, putting large holes in one of my roofs," Grimes said, and he thanked Council member Randolph for pursuing the demolition.

Other consent items approved include banking and merchant-card service agreements, legal-services contracts, a $1.7 million consultant agreement for airport runway reconstruction at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, FEMA-funded street and stormwater repairs, and authorizations related to transit management and capital improvements. The council recorded an 8-0 vote on the passing items.

The meeting concluded after city manager updates and a public-comment period; no additional votes were taken on these items. The council is expected to follow through on program implementation steps described in the approved contracts and resolutions.