A Sturgis city commissioner plans to step down next month, and the next step in the process to open an extreme weather center was greenlit Wednesday by the Sturgis City Commission.
St. Joseph Community Co-Op
The Sturgis City Commission will hold a second reading for the Extreme Weather Center (EWC) on Wednesday evening during a regularly scheduled meeting. For eight months a local Sturgis group has worked to organize and assemble a location for individuals in need during extreme temperatures, and have faced challenges with zoning, building, and fire codes.
The potential of establishing an extreme weather center for the unhoused of Sturgis was further explored at Wednesday evening’s Sturgis City Commission meeting. Kristi Boughton of the St. Joe Community Co-Op said it could be months before an ordinance is passed that allows her to open the center.
At a Sturgis City Commission meeting Wednesday proceedings included an award for the city’s wastewater treatment plant, an update on the needs of the unhoused in the community, and new developments with the Sturges-Young Center for the Arts, among others.
On Tuesday, January 10, over 40 individuals from Sturgis and surrounding communities gathered at the St Joseph Community Co-Op to address plans for an Emergency Weather Shelter.
For most of the population in St. Joseph County a dry and warm home is the solution to combating inclement weather. However, a large number of unhoused people in this community are being left out in the cold. The City of Sturgis is working on its own solution, potentially creating a blueprint the City of Three Rivers could also implement.