Talk of the town… Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges

Every week we will ask a village mayor, trustee or school administrator three questions. This week it is St. Joseph Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges.

What was the Village’s biggest accomplishment within the last 12 months?
1.  I would say that the biggest accomplishment in 2018 for the village was getting the Kolb Park project finished.  The village has talked about doing upgrades to that park for a couple of years and we finally were able to get them done.  In 2019 we will complete some of the finishing touches and we will have a beautiful facility to be proud of.  This is St. Joseph’s oldest park in the village and we should be excited to show it off to those in our community and those visitors that come to town on the KRT.  The park will make a great trail head for the bike trail.

What do you have planned for 2019?
My list for 2019 is pretty ambitious and I don’t know how far we will get with most of the items, but it doesn’t hurt to aim high.  Making sure that the village trustees share the same goals as I have will also determine how successful we will be in getting some of these things accomplished.  Budgeting constraints are also a major factor!  The sewer plant is in need of some modernizing, repairs and expansion for the future.  The village has not had any kind of a rate increase for 12 years, so the village has had a sewer rate study done and will be putting together a plan to move forward with what we need for our future needs.  We also will be working out some kind of a plan for financing, so that the village can set a time line for storm water improvements for our existing neighborhoods and to allow growth in the village.  Some of the things that would be nice additions to the village would be some condos or townhouses, assisted living facility for our seniors and we always are looking to encourage more economic growth.  For our downtown businesses to be successful we need to get creative to help make more parking available.  We also have plenty of potential in our commercial area north of the village near the interstate that I would love to see some new growth activity there and do what we can to help those businesses succeed also.  The village board also has a few unfinished items leftover from 2017 and 2018 that will take some effort and cooperation to complete.  My plan is to work hard with my board to see them completed because I feel strongly that they are important for the future of St. Joseph.  

What would you like people to know about St. Joseph?
One of the most important things that I think should be known about the village of St. Joseph is that the people in this community are absolutely the best!!  There are so many great stories to be told about the people that live in this community.  We are fortunate to live in such a welcoming and supportive community.  Being given the opportunity to serve as mayor along with so many wonderful people in this village makes me very proud.