Here is the agenda from last week's city council meeting. Council voted to impose a fine for sleeping or camping on public property of $25 for the first offence, increasing with subsequent violations, with a 48 hour notice before the city will clear a campsite.
Council also voted to continue discussing increasing free public parking in downtown but that has been under discussion since 2020 so I doubt anything will get decided quickly.
I swung by tonight's off the rails concert just before the last band ended their performance. According to one of the vendors I spoke with sales were really slow early in the day. apparently no one wanted to come out in 95+ F degree weather. Crowd seemed a bit sparse too but it was still pretty muggy and warm even at 8:30 in the evening. Hopefully the weather is cooler for the August 29th event.
From what I have heard from a member of the SIUC staff, unoffical numbers put fall attendance up about 2000 students from last fall. That is certainly a good number but on average about 45% of them will drop out before they graduate. the unviersity is currently at about 12,000 with a goal of 15,000 by 2030. That seems like a highly reachable number.
Hangar 9 is scheduled to reopen this Thursday. For those that do not get downtown that much, the music venue/bar has been closed for remodeling since May so a lot of people are looking forward to what the interior looks like.
I really like the bright green bike lane in front of the SIMMS (Southern Illinois Multi Modal Station). it really stands out and makes the lane visible. I hope the city, over the next few years, applies a similar bright paint scheme to other bike lanes throughout the city.
I see new lighting has been installed and turned on in the alley next to Aban Kitchen, to adi with customer pickups and in Friendship Part at the intersection of Mill and Illinois. If I remember correctly, the plan is to install similar lighting next to Rips' Pizza and in the alley between So Ill Syndicate and Yesteryear's Tobaccoist, making an outside dining spot for Cristaudo's.
The city has updated its recycling drop off locations. There is still one in the Exodus Church Parking lot on S. Oakland and the one on East College is now in the parking lot half a block east of the fire station.
