As the official start of summer draws closer, and the governor’s executive orders allow for more freedom in moving about the state, the City of St. Joseph is continuing to resume activities on multiple fronts, from the reopening of public restrooms, to re-installation of parking kiosks and rentals of public pavilions. However, City Hall remains closed, and there is still no timeline for re-firing the Whirlpool Compass Rose Fountain below the bluff.
St. Joseph City Manager John Hodgson has provided an updated list to the City Commission which he will share at tonight’s regular City Commission meeting, including details on how to arrange for parking passes at city lots and more.
Here is a list he has prepared for the commission in light of changing executive orders from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:
- Park restrooms have re-opened, and are being cleaned under guidelines coordinated with the Health Department. Hours may be reduced, and they will be closed in order to be cleaned and sanitized periodically during the day.
- Parking kiosks have been re-installed but the city will not begin enforcing parking passes until June 13th.
- Residents and property owners can obtain parking passes through the city website, using a computer or likely more conveniently a mobile device with a camera, at the following address: https://sjcity.com/parking-pass-application That web address is also a button at the right hand side of the home page on the city web site.
- Residents and property owners can also print out a form, provide the requested information, and drop it off at the drop box in the entryway to City Hall, or fax, mail, or e-mail the information. Here’s a link to that form:
City_of_St._Joseph_Resident_Park_Pass_Request_042520
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- Non-residents can obtain passes at the parking kiosks, or by using the Passport Parking app on a mobile device.
- The Whirlpool Compass Fountain remains closed, the city will continue to consult with the Health Department on this.
- City buildings remain closed at this time; the changes to the Governor’s Executive Orders do not open up offices as much as they do restaurants and retail establishments. Offices are still required to perform all work remotely that can be done remotely, and are prohibited from allowing non-essential visitors to enter. City officials have material on order for physical changes to City Hall to comply with the Executive Orders, such as installing windows and sneeze guards to provide physical separation between employees and customers at service counters and at employee workspaces.
- Based on the levels of traffic this spring, the city has not yet implemented the one way portions of the summer traffic pattern, but are monitoring traffic daily.
- With increased limits for social gatherings, pavilion rentals are becoming possible again.
