City Council

CITY OF ST. JOSEPH www.stjosephmn.gov St. Joseph City Council Work Session July 20, 2026 5:00 PM 1. 2027 Budget – Capital Improvement Plan, Council Wages 2. Council Agenda Generation Discussion 3. Arbor Task Force Discussion “A safe and welcoming community valuing open communication and civic trust while maintaining the enduring spirit of small-town life.” 75 Callaway Street East | Saint Joseph, Minnesota 56374 Email: cityoffices@stjosephmn.gov | Phone: 320.363.7201 | Fax 320.363.0342  STAFF MEMO Prepared by: Meeting Date: ☐ Consent Agenda Item Agenda Item # Lori Bartlett 07/20/2026 ☐ Regular Agenda Item Work Session Reviewed by: Item: 2027 Budget Draft Capital Improvement Plan/Council Salaries Council Priority: ☐ Community Center Funds ☐ Industrial Park Expansion ☐ Housing ☐ Public Safety Facility ☐ Boutique Hotel ☒ N/A BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Boards are discussing their project priorities over the next few months. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: Council approved the updated Pavement Management Plan in 2019. Council set priorities and core values of the city together with department heads in June 2026. The priorities include the following: 1.Industrial Park Expansion 2. Housing 3. Community Center Funds 4. Police/Fire Building 5. Boutique Hotel BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The city invested into a software program to track capital projects called Plan-It. A couple of the projects were shifted to years where funding is available. The community center/YMCA was removed from the project listing. Project costs still need to be updated for inflation. The amounts listed give the council a ballpark of the amounts anticipated. The CIP is another planning tool for the city to manage the infrastructure replacements and additions. The 5-year CIP helps us understand financing needs including utility rates and debt levies. Having the picture of what is planned helps minimize large swings in the budget. It also drives other budget items such as the debt management study and utility rate studies. The city’s priorities were considered in developing the CIP. The project summary list will be presented at the workshop to give departments the opportunity to describe the upcoming projects. Staff are requesting input from council at the meeting. For the 2027 street improvements, the streets included in the improvements are listed below and were taken from the pavement management plan. If the 2027 streets are agreed to, SEH will bring forward the feasibility contract in the next month or two to start the process earlier. The hope is to let bids early in the year to be at the front-end of the contractor’s workload. Street mill and overlay: Alley between CR121 & 1st Ave NE, 2nd Ave E, 1st Ave SE, Able St E, 3rd Ave E, 320th St Full Depth Mill & Pave: Hickory St E, 3rd Ave NE, 2nd Ave NE, Gumtree St E, 4th Ave NE, 5th Ave NE, Fir St E In addition to project planning, Councilor Kluesner requested to discuss council salaries. Increases in the salaries can only occur in an election year before the general election. David gathered some information on what other cities pay their Mayor and Councilmembers. The council salaries have not been increased since 2021. The current salaries are as follows: Mayor $650/month Councilmember $435/month ATTACHMENTS: none REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Discuss and provide feedback on the capital projects and council salaries.  STAFF MEMO Prepared by: Meeting Date: ☐ Consent Agenda Item Agenda Item # David Murphy 07/20/2026 ☐ Regular Agenda Item Work Session Reviewed by: Item: Council Agenda Generation Discussion Council Priority: ☐ Community Center Funds ☐ Industrial Park Expansion ☐ Housing ☐ Public Safety Facility ☐ Boutique Hotel ☒ N/A ACTION REQUESTED Discussion with Staff on the process for generating City Council agendas. There has been some feedback about items ending up on the agenda without prior notice which results in Council Members not having time to gather background information. Staff has some ideas on how to help alleviate this concern and would like to discuss with the Council these options and any ideas the Council may have to help ease the concern.