Three Rivers City Commission shifts meeting time to 5 p.m.

The Three Rivers City Commission is adjusting its meeting time on a trial basis, starting next week.

Regular meetings, typically held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, will now begin an hour earlier at 5 p.m. The change was suggested by city staff, who noted that the previous schedule often required them to stay after their regular work hours. A majority of the commission agreed to test the earlier time.

“We’re going to do a trial period for now,” said City Manager Joe Bippus. “We’ll monitor the presence of the people and see if it works.”

The new meeting time will remain in place through the summer as city officials evaluate its effectiveness.

However, the shift creates a scheduling conflict with the St. Joseph County Commission meetings, which are also held at 5 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. This change will prevent county residents and local media from attending both.

“We do not have to consider that too much,” Bippus said when asked about the conflict.

Watershed also contacted Mayor Tom Lowry regarding the issue. He said he believed it was wrong to create a conflict with the county commission meeting, but the proposal moved forward because it had the support of the majority of city commissioners.

Najifa Farhat is a staff reporter with Watershed Voice.