By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The city of St. Joseph is seeking public input, as the city gets ready to try and renew the Capital Improvement Program half-cent sales tax.
The CIP half-cent sales tax, which has been voted on and approved every five years since 1989, generates about $7 million annually and is a major source of funding for public projects.
Mary Robertson, the city's public information officer, says any project requests that are made are better off coming from a group of people rather than an individual.
"It would be better served, while it is a public request, if the (requests) are associated with a group or organization," Robertson said. "For example, The Wyeth Tootle Mansion is a great public request that we had. The Chamber of Commerce has submitted proposals in the past."
Any project request submitted by the public must be for a public facility and it can be anything from roads, bridges, sewers and the like. Anyone who's interested in submitting a public project for consideration can access a form on the city’s website. The deadline for submission is February 23.
Robertson says the more thought and detail that goes into a project suggestion, the better.
"It has to come with the form that has been filled out," she said. "Thought has to have gone into it and something that is ideally maybe in another community. Like the Swim Club. They go out of town to swim meets. They think the city of St. Joseph needs to have its own swim club."
Past projects funded through the CIP sales tax include the building of three new fire stations, reconstruction of the Riverside Road and Gene Field intersection, the new splash park at Hyde Park, city street maintenance and other things.
Any project request submitted must be for a public facility, and that can be anything from roads, bridges, sewers and the like.
Robertson says once all of the project submissions are in, the city council will take the next steps.
"We have on the city council agenda for Monday night a resolution to approve a citizen's committee," she said. "That committee will begin meeting in late February and they will review all of the projects that have been submitted, including the public proposals and ones that other departments (in city hall) have submitted as well."