Three Rivers City Commissioners Clayton Lyczynski and Alison Haigh questioned whether Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority Chair Andrew George should be reappointed during Tuesday’s commission meeting. Lyczynski cited George’s involvement in a suit filed against the city concerning a petition to place a marijuana ordinance on last November’s ballot, questioning George’s “integrity” and “desire to do what’s best for the city.”
Joe Bippus
The Three Rivers City Commission approved the hiring of former Kalamazoo City Clerk Stephen French to fill its clerk vacancy left by Melissa Bliss, who left the city for a deputy clerk position with St. Joseph County earlier this month.
After a lengthy discussion Tuesday, the commission and city staff were satisfied with French’s explanation of his checkered past.
The TRDDA Board chose to delay the evaluation of its Executive Director Tricia Meyer, as well as a decision on whether it will renew its Master Level membership with the Michigan Main Street program during its regular meeting Friday.
First term St. Joseph County Commissioner Jared Hoffmaster, 38, sat down with Watershed Voice Wednesday (virtually, of course) to answer questions about his new role.
Three Rivers City Clerk Melissa Bliss told Watershed Voice Wednesday she has taken a deputy clerk position in St. Joseph County’s General Clerks Division. Bliss’ resignation as city clerk was announced during Tuesday’s city commission meeting. Her last day will fall on January 8, 2021.
At the tail end of an hour-long Three Rivers City Commission meeting Tuesday, City Manager Joe Bippus announced City Clerk Melissa Bliss had tendered her resignation.
Following a regular meeting of the Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday night, representatives of several city boards and staffs held a joint meeting and presentation on current planning and development activities in the city. The meeting is required going forward as part of something called the Redevelopment Ready Communities process (RRC), which is a program of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The RRC process is designed to help municipalities around the state improve their processes, laws, and planning documents to better facilitate and manage development.
At an annual organizational meeting Monday evening, members of the Three Rivers City Commission heard about a year’s worth of work and progress from the city’s various department heads, ranging from the fire and police chiefs to the mapmaker and the grant writer. Commissioners also passed a series of measures to set various procedures for the coming year. City Manager Joe Bippus said the city has gotten “a lot of things accomplished” in the past year, and has been “very resourceful,” delivering “quality services” to the public through diligent frugality and with “very little waste” of money or other resources.
During closing comments at a regular Three Rivers City Commission meeting Monday, City Manager Joe Bippus said the Three Rivers Woman’s Club (TRWC) is seeking alternatives to its current space in the Carnegie Building, which it shares with the Carnegie Center for the Arts (CCA). The City currently owns the building but leases it to TRWC, which subleases it to the CCA. Earlier this year, the CCA and the city entered into a Buy-Sell Agreement that set initial terms for the CCA to buy the building. That agreement stipulated that the CCA and TRWC agree to a new lease, but the parties have been at an impasse for several months over questions of building access.
Three Rivers City Commissioners approved a motion Tuesday to proclaim the city as the “Center of the Universe.”
At a regular meeting Tuesday, the Three Rivers City Commission approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding sewer service for the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) dairy in Constantine.
The Three Rivers City Commission continued a contentious discussion over the sale of the former Carnegie Library building Tuesday.
Old Town Treasures on North Main Street is receiving a loan to help it recover from the shutdown and move forward with some rebranding efforts.
Three Rivers City Commissioners voted Tuesday evening to draft marijuana ordinance language for the first available ballot next year. If passed, the ordinance would permit the establishment of a set number of marijuana retail businesses inside the city.
Wendy Hochstedler, a former Three Rivers City Finance Director who was fired and subsequently settled a lawsuit with the City has pled guilty to embezzlement from the City of South Haven in court.
Petitioners and city officials confirmed a lawsuit has been filed against the City of Three Rivers during the regular Three Rivers City Commission meeting on Tuesday.
Following a request by City Attorney J. Patrick O’Malley, Three Rivers City Commissioners voted Monday to retain special counsel regarding two marijuana-related petitions. O’Malley said the firm of Miller Canfield is handling a number of such petitions around the state, which would place permitting marijuana establishments in cities on local November election ballots.
The Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority (TRDDA) and Main Street Program voted to cancel HarmonyFest 2020 based on uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic at its regular meeting Friday.