Questions for Nathan Columbo

 I emailed some questions to candidate for city council Nathan Columbo.  Here are his responses:

1. Why are you running for city council?

I'm a fourth generation Carbondale resident with a vision for our town and the motivation to put in the work. 

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

I intend to contribute to the restoration of a functioning council that is less combative with the public, city staff, and one another.

I also intend to drive the resurgence of Carbondale's notoriety as a scrappy, fun, cultural destination in the Midwest.

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?

While financially unviable, I wish we could find a way to fix the sidewalks again. The current sidewalks are nearly impassable. If our intent is to increase downtown foot traffic our freshly built sidewalks are not proving a way, they're in the way.

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?

A viable working relationship between SIU and the city has been a sought for several decades to no avail. I don't believe the city should continue attempting to invest a significant amount of time and energy into an institution that is focused on its internal operations.

The best thing the city can do is work on making itself more appealing for those who wish to attend or work at SIU, and the best thing SIU can do is continue appealing to those they hope will attend or work at SIU.

We should focus on our individual efforts, understanding the mutual benefit of our individual efforts, and quit worrying about the long-standing myth of the city and university working together. 

We already know where our individual institutional interests align and we should do our respective jobs.

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

When we write tickets to enforce our codes we should see that more than 10% of those enforcement tickets are fully exercised through the court systems.

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?

Tear out the parking meters.

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

I see Carbondale as the Midwest’s best little routing stop for music, movies, and merchandise. 

We should be attracting artists to live here and leverage our cost of living and major metro accessibility to build their creative careers. 

We should be attracting movie and television production to operate out of Carbondale, work with the Illinois Film Office, SIU College of Media Arts, and a local workforce, and leverage the wide array of scenery throughout Southern Illinois and the Midwest. 

We should be retooling our empty retail spaces to adapt to the world of creator economies and live shopping.