Over the last three months our community along with the rest of the world has experienced something that none of us could have ever imagined. Each of us will remember this time in different ways. For some it’s been a time to reflect on where our life priorities should be and may have been able to enjoy the time to slow down their pace of living, but for others it’s been a troubling time either for health, financial, business survival, or concerns of living in a free society.

As we navigate our way through the next few days, weeks, and months ahead please be patient with each other. You will begin to see many things begin to open to the public. To allow some of our businesses to take advantage of the Governor’s announcement to move into Phase 3, the village has worked out a plan to give them some space temporarily in our downtown.

Unfortunately, our downtown has limited parking, but accommodations have been made to try and make the best of the situation. Please take extra precautions as you drive through the downtown on Lincoln Street. This portion of Lincoln Street will remain one way while we allow outdoor seating for those businesses.

Our community has done a great job so far to give the village’s businesses their support. I encourage you to continue to shop local, support the curbside services, take advantage of some outdoor dining and be sure to thank those business owners for doing an extraordinary job serving our community during this time. St. Joseph is fortunate to have every one of them.

The Village is continuing to monitor the guidelines set forth by the State of Illinois to open the parks slowly and safely. Beginning next week, we can allow practices at the ball fields, the tennis courts will be open and within the week we will open the restrooms. The pavilions and picnic tables are available for use, but large gatherings and the playgrounds are still prohibited. The Municipal Building will open to the public during regular business hours but renting the meeting room will still be limited.

We encourage our community to continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the State and Local Public Health Departments.

I also wanted to thank our village residents for taking the time to complete your Census response.

The Village of St. Joseph has a comfortable lead in our response rate. Currently, we hold the lead at 81%, the best in the County. Great Job St. Joe! Thank you for being such a great group of residents. Continue to share those welcoming smiles, lending a helpful hand, saying a kind word and please work with us as we make those steps to bring our lives back to a healthy and safe normal.

God Bless and Enjoy your Summer, Tami Fruhling-Voges, Village President/Mayor. 

The post St. Joseph Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges updates residents as Illinois moves into Phase 3 first appeared on SJO Daily.

BY HEATHER SCHLITZ

During a Tuesday night St. Joseph Village Board meeting, trustees voted 3-2 against a motion that would’ve allowed gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores in the municipality to operate gambling machines.

Jack Flash, a chain of convenience stores with a location in St. Joseph, had pushed for the creation of a Package/Pour license that would’ve allowed the store to serve alcohol poured on store premises in addition to bottled alcohol. 

In order to nab a video gambling license in Illinois, businesses must have a liquor license that allows them to serve alcohol that is consumed on-premises. Jack Flash currently only has a package liquor license and is restricted from operating video gambling machines.

Trustees worried that expanding gambling to businesses in town that currently only have package liquor licenses would damage the town’s image. 

“My thoughts are that they (the gambling machines) are too trashy,” village trustee Max Painter, who voted against the package/pour license, said. 

“I’m concerned about the branding of the community,” Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges, who cast the tie-breaking vote against package/pour, said. “We do allow it (gambling machines) for our restaurants. Those are very small, local restaurants and if they need a little bit of help to subsidize their business to make it, I want to make sure they have that opportunity. By adding that additional license classification, you’re opening it up for another business to do that.”

People attending the meeting said that amending the liquor license would increase the possibility of drinking and driving, allow too many businesses in the village to operate gambling machines and negatively influence the children who frequent convenience stores. 

Lisa Wortman, co-owner of Jack Flash, showed the trustees a petition she claimed had more than 100 signatories in support of the package/pour license. Though she declined to make the petition viewable to the public, some trustees pointed out that many of the signatory’s addresses were from outside of St. Joseph. 

“I didn’t have anyone come into my store saying they supported the gaming in the community,” Jim Wagner, village trustee and owner of Wagner Signs + Graphics, said. He also raised concerns that the gambling machines would drive away potential residents.

Wortman attempted to assuage the concerns of trustees and audience members, saying that Jack Flash would build a gambling section walled off from the rest of the store and that poured alcohol makes up less than 1% of their sales in other Jack Flash locations that operate gambling machines. 

Roch’s Place is the only business in the village with a video gambling license and operates four gambling machines in a cramped space walled off from the rest of the bar and restaurant. The village received $12,408 in taxes from the Roch’s gambling machines in 2019, money that the mayor said has gone toward the stormwater fund. 

A letter from the owners of Roch’s Place was read aloud during the meeting, where the owners expressed worries that allowing additional businesses to profit from video gambling would eat into the bar’s revenue as a small, family-owned business. 

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Fruhling-Voges said. “I’ve been tossing around with pros and cons for two months about what would be best for the community.” 

The post St. Joseph board votes down Package/Pour license first appeared on SJO Daily.

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com

What’s the next move for St. Joseph?

Jim Page and a committee of four volunteers are looking into how the development of the St. Joseph Community Sports Complex could impact the village.

Over the last year, Page has worked on a “living document” that eventually will set a clear vision for the 34-acre park located on the east side of town.

He knows that vision should not only be his, the committee’s or that of the Village staff and board, though. Earlier this week, Page sent out a survey to collect feedback on a Community Center in order to begin the discussion.

“We want to gauge the support for engaging in the process to begin with,” Page said. “If there is significant push back on the concept, we need to understand what it is in order to be successful.

“We are also looking to see if there are ideas that the citizens may have to offer that never occurred to us. “

The committee is also touring other community buildings throughout the region to see how they are laid out, how much they cost to operate and to pick the brains of the owners to see what they missed or would do differently.

Once the survey and the tours are done, the committee will produce a report for the Village of St. Joseph to help guide the necessary next steps.

Page said discussions about financing have not taken place, either at the committee level or at the Village board level.

“Our operating philosophy is that we are researching what the citizens want, what can reasonably be built, what that would look like and get a preliminary cost estimate from professionals,” he said.

“Once we have reached that stage, then the discussion about paying for it will fall to the Village Board.

“I am convinced that by further developing the Community Park including the expansion of facilities and the addition of a community building will attract money to St. Joseph from the surrounding area,” Page said.

“Increased activity there would also increase motor fuel tax receipts, sales taxes and other secondary fiscal advantages to the Village. This also includes the money that is currently spent by St. Joseph residents at other community centers in the area staying home in the first place.

“I believe that the community building will make sufficient funds to keep it maintained and managed; hopefully, arranged so that its existence is not a burden on the Village.”

While the Village has not been involved in the process, Page has updated the Village throughout the year at public meetings. They have been assisting with the efforts, but citizens are the ones leading the efforts.

At this point, gathering information about the community center is the only task the committee has.

Part of the overall plan for the park includes sidewalks or multi-purpose paths like a one-mile walking path around the park and a finished path from the park to the future extension of the Kickapoo Bike Trail.

Page applied for the Open Space and Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant, but the Village did not receive it. Instead, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) told the group that the Bike Path Grant would be much more applicable.

The Village of St. Joseph Board of Trustees voted on Jan. 14 to proceed with the application.

“Other than the Kickapoo Rail Trail, there is not much of a dedicated trail system in St. Joseph,” Page said.

“However, I feel it would be nice to start developing a trail system in St. Joseph to keep kids and walkers from sharing the roadway with vehicles.”

Page encourages those who want to volunteer or offer suggestions to contact him.

“There is always some work to be done,” he said.

The post St. Joseph community center survey to help build vision first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Village of St. Joseph Board of Trustees will take action on amending the existing liquor license to allow for a Package/Pour License which would allow the opportunity for additional business owners to pursue a video gaming license.

In Feb. 2012, Village Trustees passed an ordinance to allow restaurants that serve food and liquor on-premises to apply for a video gaming license and have machines on-premises if the total gross revenues from video gaming do not exceed 50-percent of the total gross revenues from the combined sale of food and alcoholic liquor and video gaming on the premises in any calendar year.

According to Illinois Gaming Board Reports, Roch’s is the only establishment within the Village of St. Joseph that has a video gaming license at this time.

In 2019 the municipality tax revenue the Village of St. Joseph received totaled $12,408.19. Since 2012, the Village has collected $113,707.51 in video gaming tax revenue.

La Luna Cafe also had video gaming available until 2018.

The Village of St. Joseph uses video gaming tax money to make improvements to the stormwater system.

Nearby local municipalities have expanded liquor and video gaming ordinances that meet the state standard and allow for a variety of establishments that serve liquor to also provide video gaming.

In 2019, nearby Ogden, which has six establishments and 27 video gaming machines, collected $39,497.06 in video gaming taxes. One establishment in Homer, which has four machines provided $4,115.54 in tax revenue. Royal’s one establishment with three machines collected $2,293.07.

In 2019 the State of Illinois increased the number of video gaming machines an establishment can have from five to six. Truck stops on three acres of land within a 3-mile distance from a freeway interchange with a convenience store and a sales average of at least 10,000 gallons a month are allowed up to 10 terminals.

The State also increased the maximum wager from $2 to $4. Within SB 0690, the maximum cash award increased from $500 to $1,199 and allowed an in-location progressive jackpot up to $10,000.

The Village of St. Joseph’s board meeting will also include action after a presentation from Clark Dietz on the 2020 MFT Resolution and an update from Jim Page on a new grant application proposal for a bike path at Woodard Community Park.

The post Village of St. Joseph to look at liquor license to broaden video gaming establishments first appeared on SJO Daily.

Here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Curbside pick-up
• Remove all Christmas decorations
• Do not put a plastic slipcover on your tree
• Protect your tree from the elements until the scheduled collection date

The post Village of St. Joseph to pick up live Christmas trees first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph, Ill. – The Village of St. Joseph Board of Trustees on Tuesday decided to stay within their timeline of having an ordinance on whether to allow the sale of recreational marijuana drafted by its self-imposed October deadline, but will not vote on the measure on Sept. 10, giving residents more time to make their opinions known.

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges said that she was happy to see approximately 70 people attend the public forum at St. Joseph Middle School on Aug. 20.

She felt that the majority of the people talked in opposition to the measure, citing concerns about the availability of marijuana locally.

Fruhling-Voges reiterated some of the points she made at the public forum, stating that it would be costly for the Village to change its zoning and to consider limitations on the sale, just like the Village did when it decided to allow the sale of alcohol in 2006.

She did note at the public hearing that some wanted to see a referendum and that others were interested in the free market.

Fruhling-Voges said that she feels that the Village has been transparent in the matter and that it provided an opportunity for constituents to voice their opinions.

All municipalities will have to make a decision on whether or not they will allow the sale of recreational marijuana within their limits by Jan. 1. The October deadline that was set earlier in the summer was to ensure that there was enough time to get the paperwork done in time for the deadline.

Whether or not the board votes to pursue the measure or to reject it, an ordinance will need to be passed.

Art Rapp said that he felt that the speakers at the public meeting overwhelmingly stated reasons why they did not want to see the trustees create a pro-sale ordinance.

But he said that before the trustees make their decision, the Village should look into the cost of having a referendum and let the public know what that looks like.

He is also concerned that recreational marijuana is still illegal federally and said there are questions as to whether a federal agent would be able to enforce that federal law.

Fruhling-Voges said that there are a lot of unknowns, including whether local governments will be allowed to collect an additional three-percent sales tax on top of the state sales tax.

She also said that she read an article that stated distributors in the black market will sell their product for less than those who are selling it legally. For that reason, she does not feel it will eliminate the black market.

Jim Wagner asked if allowing the sale of recreational marijuana within Village limits would hurt the Village’s chance of getting federal grants. The Village clerk said it might.

He also stated that the sale of alcohol increased patronage at local restaurants.

Trustee Roy McCarty said that he was in favor of creating an ordinance that would not allow the sale of marijuana within Village limits because of all of the unknowns.

Max Painter, who was appointed as Trustee Tuesday night, said that he attended the public meeting, and agreed that the majority of those in attendance were not in favor of the measure, but he continued to say similar arguments about crime and drug use were made when the discussion about allowing the sale of alcohol within Village limits were ongoing.

He said that people within St. Joseph are already using marijuana in their homes, and he did not think it would be different if they purchased it in Champaign or in St. Joseph. Painter believed that conversation was one to be had while legislators were discussing the issue in Springfield.

Village attorney Joe Lierman said that if the board votes on the measure Sept. 10, it will give him the time he needs to create an ordinance based on its decision by October.

The board agreed to continue to listen to constituents, collecting viewpoints until that time.

The post St. Joseph Trustees to vote on recreational marijuana ordinance on Sept. 10 first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph, Ill. – What do residents in St. Joseph want their community to look like?

This is the question posed by Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges at Tuesday’s town hall meeting to gather opinions about the legalization of the sale of recreational marijuana within Village limits. 

All municipalities within the State of Illinois must decide on whether they want to follow the application process to be considered to be one of the towns that are allowed to host one of 75 new licenses to sell recreational marijuana after May 1, 2020. There will be a second wave of licenses issued.

The 55 existing medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state will be allowed to open recreational dispensaries on their site, and apply to open a second dispensary if the local governments allow it. 

Board members Jim Wagner, Art Rapp and Dan Davis listened to comments at the meeting. Fruhling-Voges said the discussion would continue at the Aug. 27 Board of Trustees study session, then potentially voted on at the Sept. 10 meeting. 

The Village of St. Joseph was a dry town until 2005 when, by request of community members, the Board of Trustees opened up limited liquor licenses for packaged alcohol, restaurants and wineries. The Village continues to not issue bar licenses.

Unlike other states that put the legalization of recreational marijuana on the ballot, Illinois legislators made the measure legal on March 29, 2019, leaving municipalities not with the decision of whether or not marijuana could be used recreationally, but whether or not the municipality would allow the sale within its limits.

Fruhling-Voges said if the state had taken the ballot approach, St. Joseph could understand what the community wanted.

“But now we need to decide what’s best for our community,” she said.

Fruhling-Voges believes that St. Joseph is not a good candidate to be approved for one of state-approved the licenses being in close proximity to Champaign-Urbana and Danville, where medicinal marijuana dispensaries are already located.

She also stated that the cost of the application and registration fees, annual fees and licensing fees are expensive. The Village would also have to consider the costs of enforcing its own rules and regulations, alongside unintended consequences such as drug abuse, mental health issues and possible access by minors.

The community of approximately 4,000 has a hard time supporting local businesses, Fruhling-Voges said. 

“The biggest thing St. Joe needs to consider, even if we thought there was a demand, our local businesses have a hard time making it because of our proximity to Champaign and Danville,” she said.

Fruhling-Voges continued to say that the local IGA struggles because people use it like a convenience store and that establishments like the hardware store went out of business because it’s hard to pay the bills when customers are buying one nail at a time.

Towards the end of her remarks, the Mayor pointed out that Naperville already opted out of applying for a license because the board said that a recreational dispensary did not fit in with the Naperville brand.

Fruhling-Voges said that the St. Joseph brand is a church, family, small-town atmosphere where neighbors help each other. 

“Is this a business that will fit into that image and that brand?” she said. “That’s what the trustees need to decide. 

“What is your brand? What brand do you want the Village of St. Joe to be?” 

Jim O’Brien was the first resident to take the microphone, stating that he believes the Village should take the same path as it did with alcohol and put the issue on the ballot. 

“Then everyone gets a vote,” he said.

Mark Maddock said that the Village made it a priority to change its ordinance in respect to use of golf carts on public roads even though there are not many residents who use them. 

“We permitted the adults to drive them,” he said. “Why limit an adult the ability to buy and sell it in our town.”

Maddock also said that aside from tax revenue the Village would see, the research he did showed benefits to communities that had legalized the drug: 11-percent drop in traffic accidents, people don’t die from marijuana use, the availability of legalized marijuana cuts down on black-market and cartel sales and that violent crimes decrease. 

He implored the trustees to listen to the constituents and find out what the community wants.

Jim Sandquist objected to the idea of going through the licensing and legal process to attempt to get a license because he believed the process and enforcement was a waste of tax dollars. Sandquist believes tax dollars are better spent when used in schools and public infrastructure.

Jackie Martin moved to St. Joseph 20 years ago from Champaign to raise her family in the St. Joseph-Ogden School District. Martin said that families move to St. Joseph to escape the environment in Champaign-Urbana, and the trustees should consider why families move to the town.

Sandy Paprzyca plans to retire in St. Joseph after moving from Chicago in May. A nurse who helped take care of babies who were born with drugs in their system, she also watched her sister pass away from drug addiction.

“I don’t want this to be another Chicago,” she said. 

After working with children for 50 years, Gary Garrison said that he has seen a lot of heartache from drug abuse. He doesn’t believe that marijuana dispensaries will serve St. Joseph economically or socially. 

Garrison said that he has seen marijuana ruin lives, including a man get a 12-year prison sentence over a fight for drugs, and a woman who had black teeth from meth use after beginning on marijuana. 

Les Cotton followed Garrison with his story of redemption to sobriety after going through the Lifeline Connect program. 

Cotton talked about the adverse statistics showing that the first states that legalized marijuana recently issued reports that show an increased in traffic accidents, homelessness and school expulsion.

Urbana resident Vincent Sims said that anyone can find reports that say anything. 

“But can you get buzzed on marijuana?” he asked. “Will that impair you when you get behind the wheel of the vehicle? Yes, it will.” 

Sims was frustrated because he believes Chicago politicians make decisions for downstate Illinois. 

“Just because they say it’s okay, doesn’t mean it’s okay,” he said. 

Greg Smith talked about the increase of children becoming poisoned after ingesting brownies, lollipops and other candies and snacks laced with marijuana.

“What kind of town do you want to leave for your children and grandchildren?” he asked. 

“This isn’t about tax revenue, the Village of St. Joseph is about people.”

John Kenneth Young said St. Joseph residents won’t want their children or grandchildren crossing the street when a driver is impaired. 

“They are putting a price on people’s lives. Every life is valuable. The only reason to have sales is to make money,” he said.

Young said that the St. Joseph community has tripled in size since he moved there, and he attributed that to the town’s values.

“Much of the growth of St. Joe happened because people were escaping the vices of Champaign-Urbana,” he said.

One resident was concerned the proximity of exposure to a marijuana dispensary will make residents of St. Joseph feel the effects of the drug in a greater way than they would if it were not there.

Ryan Anderson said that the discussion of whether or not marijuana would be used in St. Joseph is mute because that State of Illinois has already legalized it.

Anderson believes in the free market, and while he said he does not believe that a marijuana dispensary would thrive in St. Joseph, that is not for trustees to decide.

“If they want to do it, the should be able to try,” he said.

Angela Page agreed that the measure should be put on the ballot, but Fruhling-Voges said that it would not be possible prior to Jan. 1.

“The people who are against it are so passionate about being against it,” said Angela Page. “And the people who are for it are equally as passionate about being for it. I don’t know how anybody would not welcome this to be on the referendum.”

St. Joseph does not fall under the same freedoms as Champaign because it is a non-home-rule community.

Amber Anderson said that even though it cannot be on the ballot this year, it should be a priority for the Village to get it on the ballot. 

She pointed out that the Village made it a priority to make sure that the golf cart ordinance was passed. 

“Maybe it depends on who wants it pushed versus who doesn’t want it pushed,” she said. 

A math professor, Anderson encouraged the Village not to take a straw poll as was suggested by some in the crowd because the 60 attendees did not represent a good sample size. 

“If we actually want the community input, then we should put it on the ballot,” she said. 

Anderson called for a commitment.

Sara Buttjer, a teacher, said that it is the responsibility of adults to set an example for the children they serve.

“We are an example for our children, the children will take that example,” she said.

Amber Anderson said that arguing the good and bad of marijuana is beside the point because it has already been made legal within the state. 

She said that like alcohol, there are limitations that have been set and consequences put in place to provide regulations.

“This isn’t a free-for-all,” she said.

Sandquist said he pays four-times what any of his family members pay for property taxes, and he reiterated that he does not want to see that money wasted on studies and legal fees for marijuana. 

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St. Joseph. Ill.- The Village of St. Joseph will pick up brush presently on Village street curbs from June 18 to June 21, weather permitting.

“Brush” includes accumulations of grass or shrubbery cuttings, leaves, tree limbs and other materials accumulated as the result of the care of lawns, shrubbery, vines and trees. All landscape waste that has been chipped, shredded or composted, or otherwise processed shall not be considered as landscape waste.

While the Village sees value in providing brush pick up services to its residents, the Village also plans to review the policy to pick up brush and possibly make revisions, as it looks at man-hours spent and issues that have come up over recent years.

No further pickups are scheduled at this time beyond the pickup for this week.

The Village has committed to make every effort to keep their website up to date as constituents look for information. Village office hours are Monday thru Friday; 7:00-3:30, closed between 12:30-1:00 for lunch and the phone number is 217-469-7371.

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