Stopped in at this week's city council meeting. A number of supporters of Anna's Choate Mental Health Center spoke during public comments, asking the council to go on record supporting Choate remaining open, which the council seemed inclined to do, saying it would bring up a proclamation at a later date. Speaking of proclamations, the council issued another one in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
A public hearing with no comments from the public followed, asking for comments on the sale of property along East Highway 13 to IDOT so the state may continue work on 13 in the Crab Orchard area.
The consent agenda passed without much discussion, authorizing the aforementioned sale of property as well as submitting grant proposals to IDOT and the Illinois EPA.
Most of the evening's discussion concerned changes to parking regulations in downtown Carbondale. At the time I left, the council appeared leaning toward the following:
1. two hours free parking with a charge of 75 cents per hour after the second hour.
2. a permitting system providing free parking in the SIMMMs parking lot for those travelling on Amtrak
3. unlimited free parking throughout downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Current signage says only Sunday is free although there is no parking enforcement on Saturday either.
4. Increased fines for overtime parking, somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 if paid promptly. Yearly parking permits will go up in price $10 to $15.
