Dan Fette, Community Development Director for Berrien County

Dan has been with the County for 22 years. He is a Wisconsin graduate and attended Wayne State for his law degree. 

Dan reviewed all the recent activities for maintaining the St. Joseph Harbor and River, ensuring they remain open for both commercial and recreational boating. The Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the Inner and Outer Harbors by keeping them dredged for commercial traffic. The Bicentennial Bridge separates the two harbors. The Outer Harbor is relatively uncontaminated, and the cost to dredge is much less than dredging the Inner Harbor. The silt from the Inner Harbor must be trucked out to the Airport.

That dump area will be filled up soon, but no one has had the authority to find a new spot. The Inner and Outer Harbors are essential for our local economy. To remedy this problem and, in addition, to handle dredging for recreational boating from the inner harbor to the Napier Bridge, the St Joe Harbor Authority was created. It consists of Benton Harbor, St. Joe Township, and St. Joseph, with Berrien County as the Administrator. This body has the authority to identify a new fill site for the Inner Harbor and to manage the dredging of the St. Joseph River, up to the Napier Bridge. They will be able to obtain all the permits necessary and assess boat owners for the cost of dredging the river. The good news is that the St. Joseph River is not contaminated, and the dredging costs are relatively low. The Inner Harbor is also gradually becoming less contaminated over the years.