St. Joseph council ends Community Center/YMCA project, terminates contracts and directs closure of state bonding award

The St. Joseph City Council voted to terminate the city's agreements tied to the proposed St. Joseph Community Center and the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA and to direct staff to close the project's state bonding award.

City staff introduced a package of five linked actions: termination of the amended and restated facility lease with the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA; termination of the Rice Consulting fundraising contract; termination of the HMA Architects design contract; termination of the construction contract (identified in the record as WGMAN/Goldman Construction); and authorization for staff to contact the state of Minnesota to close the bonding award for the St. Joseph Recreation Center. Staff asked that each item be taken with a separate motion and vote.

Council discussion centered on years of community input and repeated reductions in the project's scope and fundraising targets. As one council member summarized, the city had secured roughly $4 million in a state grant and approximately $6 million in bonds (about $10 million total), while the privately raised portion of the project fell well short of earlier ambitions. "We rolled up our sleeves and we went for it," the council member said, noting an original project estimate near $24 million that had been reduced over time. "We can ask our residents to pay an additional three million to build a facility that wasn't anywhere close to what we originally envisioned. I wouldn't support that at all."

Councilors repeatedly thanked volunteers, staff and the fundraising committee for their time and effort but said the remaining funding gap made the project infeasible without significant new revenue. Multiple motions to terminate the lease and related contracts were moved and seconded in sequence; each motion carried by voice vote, though the record shows at least one councilor voiced opposition during the first vote on the YMCA lease.

The council adopted the following formal actions: resolution 2026-001 terminating the amended and restated facility lease agreement with the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA; resolution 2026-00002 terminating the contract with Rice Consulting for fundraising efforts; resolution 2026-003 terminating the HMA Architects contract; resolution 2026-004 terminating the construction contract; and a motion directing staff to contact the state to close the bonding award for the recreation center. The meeting record does not specify individual vote tallies or the names of motion makers and seconders for each item beyond the voice votes and the single recorded opposition.

Council members said the decision reflected a financial judgment rather than a lack of desire for a community center. "It's sad that we've come to this point," one councilor said, "but the gap that we need to cover is just too much." The council also left open the possibility of revisiting a community center concept in the future under different terms; no new funding proposals were adopted tonight.

Next steps: staff were authorized to notify the state and take administrative steps to close the bonding award for the project. The council then moved to other business and adjourned the meeting.