Adam Scepaniak Running for St. Joseph Mayor

ST. JOSEPH (WJON News) -- Three people are running to be the next mayor of St. Joseph.

Current city council member Adam Scepaniak announced his intention to run back in the spring. He's been on the council for two years, before that he was on the planning commission. He has also been a member of the St. Joseph volunteer fire department for five years.

Scepaniak's family owns the Guns and Gear Store.

Scepaniak says the city has been working to address parking issues in the downtown area as new businesses continue to open.

There's not a lot to be done to pull extra parking out of thin air in our downtown area, but as new businesses come in we are very cognizant that we need to have ample parking. People love St. Joe because it's a beautiful walking town, we have a three to four-block area that is just robust with businesses.

As for new housing developments, Scepaniak says there is an opportunity for the city to grow south of town near the Kennedy Community School and also in the Gateway District on the west side of town along the County Road 2 corridor.

Bringing a community center to the community has long been on the city's 'to-do' list. Scepaniak says the project has taken so long to get off the ground because they haven't been focused on fundraising. He says they've finally got that piece of the puzzle figured out.

We need to fundraise around $14 million, that is an enormous number, but we are well on our way.  Our fundraising committee is optimistic that by the end of the year, we could achieve that goal.

Scepaniak says the committee has told him, pessimistically they could hit their fundraising goal by the middle of next year.

St. Joseph is also positioning itself to be the first city in Minnesota to open a municipal dispensary, a plan Scepaniak says he fully supports. They've been working with a group that has opened municipal dispensaries in other states. He's optimistic it could be open as soon as next spring.

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The other two candidates running for St. Joseph Mayor are fellow council member Bob Loso and former county member John Hazen. Current mayor Rick Schultz is not running for re-election.

If you'd like to listen to the conversation with Adam, it is available below.

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