Brook Thomas has been reappointed mayor of St. Joseph as city commissioners held an organizational meeting on Wednesday following elections earlier this month.
New Commissioner Lisa Vetne took her seat on the body as part of the meeting, Commissioner Michael Fernandez was named mayor pro tem, and Commissioner Michael Sarola nominated Thomas to serve another term as mayor. The vote was unanimous.
Thomas told us her priorities remain the same.
“We’ve been doing so much here in the city as far as different projects, development, trying to increase population,” Thomas said. “I’m so excited to continue that progress. We’ve got Mayor Pro Tem Fernandez, who’s also enthusiastic about some of the same goals. So I think this commission, all of us together, are going to move St. Joe and Berrien County into the future and get some stuff done.”
Thomas said now that she has two years under her belt as mayor, she can springboard off that experience into the new term.
Mayor Pro Tem Michael Fernandez told us he looks forward to moving into a new role.
“I’m excited,” Fernandez said. “We’ve got a lot of good things going. We’ve got the ball rolling on a lot of projects, and kind of participating in our own rescue of just doing our part to solve the housing situation. And I’m just excited to see some of those projects through and start some new ones.”
Commissioner Vetne told us her priority is to listen to the community and follow through. At Wednesday’s meeting, she was appointed to the audit committee and the parking subgroup.
Thomas said heading into the new year, she’d like to organize some tours of city facilities for commissioners, something they’ve found helpful in the past.
