Caught Mayor Fritzler's State of the City Address this afternoon. Apparently we have a McAllister's Deli coming to town and can expect to see (hopefully) Bandana's BBQ opening by the end of December. 2013 should see a new fire station open on the west side of town (and apparently, by some measure, Carbondale's fire department ranks in the top 10% of fire departments nationwide), work started on a bike path along the railroad tracks from campus to Town Square and long needed repairs and upgrades to the city's sewer and water systems.
Sales tax receipts have increased slightly but pension requirements still require substantial funding from the city and are of major concern.
The thing that really caught my attention was the mayor's reference to developing downtown as an "entertainment district". Others have proposed such a focus before, with talk veering betwix looking at downtown as the heart of Carbondale, as a shopping area or an entertainment district. The entertainment district concept always seemed highly viable, especially given the concentration of bars and restaurants in the area, along with the Varsity Center for the Arts. What really struck me though was the mayor's reference to proposing some funding to actually develop the proposal in the form of an entertainment or food and drink tax or fee. It will be interesting to see if anything actually comes of this, especially in conjunction with Carbondale Main Street's storefront rehabilitation projects.
Sales tax receipts have increased slightly but pension requirements still require substantial funding from the city and are of major concern.
The thing that really caught my attention was the mayor's reference to developing downtown as an "entertainment district". Others have proposed such a focus before, with talk veering betwix looking at downtown as the heart of Carbondale, as a shopping area or an entertainment district. The entertainment district concept always seemed highly viable, especially given the concentration of bars and restaurants in the area, along with the Varsity Center for the Arts. What really struck me though was the mayor's reference to proposing some funding to actually develop the proposal in the form of an entertainment or food and drink tax or fee. It will be interesting to see if anything actually comes of this, especially in conjunction with Carbondale Main Street's storefront rehabilitation projects.
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