Lee Fronabarger

 Here are council candidate Lee Fronabarger's answers to several questions about his candidacy.

1. Why are you running for city council?

I am running for City Council to get Carbondale BACK ON TRACK for growth and progress. Council

needs to focus on those issues which will make Carbondale more attractive to new and expanding

businesses and services in order to create more jobs and money flowing throughout the local economy.

Will continue advocating for fiscal responsibility, providing quality city services, and for the city operating

with a balanced budget.

2. What do you hope to accomplish during your term on council?

I want to work with city staff and fellow councilmembers to tackle the issues of a stagnant economy with

many empty commercial buildings in town, housing issues and boarded up properties in highly visible

areas of town, reduction of crime by working with the Public Safety Department and other area law

enforcement, focusing on stopping the illegal supply of guns to underage juveniles and felons.

3. The city has embarked on some major projects during the last several years. (multimodal transit

station, demolition of blighted properties, entertainment plaza, upgraded downtown lighting, upgraded

downtown sidewalks). Is there a project you would like to see the city undertake?

I would like the city to intensely concentrate on economic development and job growth for Carbondale.

Diversifying the local economy is of major importance, as everything revolves around the economy. Work

closely with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, making sure Carbondale

meets all the criteria and has everything in place a new and expanding business is looking for to relocate

in or move to Illinois. Also work with other local economic development groups like Jackson Growth

Alliance, SI Now, and the SI Airport Development group to present a unified approach.

Would also like the City to set up a Business Start-Up Grant with Seed Money which would have

stipulations attached, like completing the Business Start-Up Program at the SIU Small Business

Development Center.

4. Given how much the health of Carbondale and SIUC intertwine, how can you see the city and

university working together for the benefit of each?

Work on a unified marketing campaign/strategy, highlighting the many pluses and advantages of

attending school at SIU and residing in Carbondale. Note the lower cost of living in Carbondale area,

close proximity to major cities of St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, most beautiful scenic landscape in the

three-state region providing for a variety of outdoor adventures, student focused approach to education,

practical experiences immersed into classroom instruction, internship programs, multiple opportunities to

join and volunteer with student and community organizations.

5. What additional steps (if any) should the city take regarding rental properties?

Research what other cities in the Midwest have done to tackle the issues of rundown or abandoned rental

properties and how to deal with bad landlords that have the reputation of being slumlords. Stricter

enforcement of ordinances already on the books and make changes to intensify ordinances if needed to

be more effective and produce results.

6. In the 90s, downtown Carbondale was a shopping district. Today, most visitors to downtown

Carbondale visit one place and leave. Is there anything the city could/should do to change this or is this a

natural progression of behavior?

The city should do everything it can to encourage local developers to invest in constructing commercial

buildings on vacant lots in the downtown district to present a more contiguous business district. There

are too many open spaces that cause visitors or shoppers to not venture throughout the downtown

business district. More retail boutiques and specialty shops are needed in downtown area to add to the

mix of restaurants and bars.

7. How do you visualize Carbondale and what steps can the city take to achieve your vision?

I visualize Carbondale to continue as the center or hub of the Southern Illinois Region for shopping,

education, healthcare, transportation, arts & entertainment. City staff should survey the community to find

out what outages we experience for products and services, causing citizens to go elsewhere for those

items and thus that revenue leaving the Carbondale community to be recycled into the community.

There is no longer any retail establishment in Carbondale to purchase finer lines of clothing for special

occasions and high school students have no place to shop for prom attire locally are just two examples of

outages and revenue lost to Carbondale. Within a 20-mile radius of Carbondale, which is easily within

the local trade area, the 2020 population reaches the figure of over 76,000. The 30-mile radius figure is

just under 125,000 residents. Carbondale has the potential, but it will take a refocused effort to make for

a thriving, healthy, growing community. Let’s Get Carbondale Back on Track.