Marijuana consumption lounges will not be coming to a downtown Three Rivers storefront near you, at least not any time soon. The Three Rivers City Commission voted 4-2 against an amendment to the city’s marijuana ordinance Tuesday that would have allowed such an establishment in the central (B-3) business zoning district following a public hearing.

Three Rivers City Commissioners received an update Tuesday evening from the Three Rivers Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) regarding the July 7 force main break at the Constantine Street Lift Station. The break spilled approximately 500,000 gallons of untreated wastewater from the WWTP at the intersection of Constantine Street and Broadway Street near the St. Joseph River.

The Three Rivers City Commission appointed Bobbi Schoon as the city’s new finance director/treasurer in a unanimous vote Tuesday evening. Currently serving as the Three Rivers Public Library (TRPL) Director, Schoon must now acquire additional municipal accounting skills for her new position, and has already met the prerequisites to be accepted into those training programs. 

The Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday adopted a resolution to apply for the Michigan Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for its Public Gathering Spaces Initiative (PGSI) to help pay for a downtown outdoor amphitheater on the Portage River. The city is requesting $1,953,445 in CDBG funds along with local funds from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) budget in the amount of $195,344.50.