Street Bar

Not sure if the Street Bar is for sale or not now. The For Sale sign is off the marquee, which now advertises the bar's New Year's Eve event. I guess we will see after then 1st, as I assume another sign will go up.

Signals

If you are driving west on Walnut, the signals at Main and Poplar have been out since sometime Sunday Morning. No indication as to when they might get restored. Looks as if a car hit the signal control unit.

Update:  Looks repaired now.

Street Bar

It appears that drag shows and karaoke were not enough to save the Street Bar on East Main as there is a For Sale sign on the marquee again and the annual year end drag show has moved to the Varsity Center.

State of the City Address

In case you want to read over the Mayor's state of the city address, you can find it here. It appears the main project for 2019 will be continued pursuit of funding for the downtown multi-modal center. I noticed 2 businesses that kinda opened up under the radar, so to speak:  2 Guys Pizza in the little strip mall on the east side of Giant City Road and Meo Myo Cafe, which, from what I understand, will focus on ramen and is located in downtown Carbondale, just north of the Printing Plant

Carbondale Park Commission

5 people turned in petitions to run for seats on the Carbondale Park District board next April:

Kirsten Trimble, Jane Adams, Jessica Sergeev, Brian Matzenbacher, Dan Anderson III

None of the incumbents chose to run for re-election so the race is wide open and the results will certainly prove interesting in 2019-2020 as discussion continues regarding whether to merge the Park District with the City. Currently, the Park board operates as a separate money losing entity in Carbondale, primarily due to the money spent on Hickory Ridge Golf Course. Its primary funding comes from its share of property taxes and whatever money the city contributes to its budget and there is serious talk regarding either eliminating the board or subsuming it into city operations, probably as a free standing commission. The three new members will likely have a lot to say about the future of the CPD.

Municipal Officers Electoral Board

Pretty sure this will get cancelled since Gary Knoob has withdrawn his candidacy for a spot on the city council

CITY OF CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL OFFICERS ELECTORAL BOARD HEARING ON OBJECTION Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - 9:00 A.M. Continued from Monday, December 10, 2018 City Courtroom, Carbondale City Hall/Civic Center 200 South Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Illinois A G E N D A 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Arguments and Review of Evidence 3. Deliberation and Ruling by Board or Determination of a Date for Ruling 4. Citizen Comments – Four Minutes Each 5. Recess to Date and Time Certain or Adjournment THIS MEETING MAY BE CANCELLED SHOULD A FORMAL WITHDRAWAL BE FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE

Restructuring

From the description of yesterday's SIU Board of Trustees meeting, it appears the plan is to go ahead with the restructuring of the university, despite the lack of support, from what I hear, of most faculty. One of the points mentioned in support of the restructuring is the benefits other universities have seen after undergoing it. I would really like to know which universities have restructured their colleges and departments as is proposed for SIUC. I have heard this mentioned several times but have never heard an actual example cited.

New Chamber Members

Here's a list of new Chamber of Commerce members for 2018. Nice to see businesses joining:
Christina Pisoni of State Farm
Wild Thyme Books
carGO
Southern Illinois Airport Authority
Olive Branding International Educational Services
Illinois Heartland Library System
Salvation Army of Southern Illinois
Cash Store
Sterling Sofa Company
Panic Room
HomeWise Senior Relocation
C. H. Electrical
Omar's Food Mart
RE/MAX Above and Beyond
Illinois Game 7, LLC

VBRO/Homeway

Had a reader of the blog point out that short term rental platform VBRO/Homeway pulled its operations out of the city shortly after the city passed a revision to Title 5, Chapter 17 of the Carbondale Revised Code. VBRO operates similarly to AirBnB, which also operates in Carbondale. Previously, the code required that the owners of short term rental properties collect the sales tax due for the rental and remit it to the city. The revised code moves that obligation to the housing platform, requiring it to collect sales taxes and remit them to the city.

VBRO felt this change in the regulations too onerous, given the size of the Carbondale market and pulled Carbondale listings from its platform after the regulation passed. Currently, AirBnB still lists Carbondale properties on its platform but had indicated it may pull them after the first of the year as well.  The city has indicated this is certainly not the desired outcome and will revisit the ordinance.

Downtown Free Parking

Parking is free for 2 hours in all downtown lots, save the Amtrak lot, now through Jan 6th. I do have to quibble with their definition of it as a "gift" though. Makes it sound as if city government is a separate entity from me. I, and everyone else, pay taxes so that the city can provide me services I want. The government works for me, not the other way around, so it is not giving me anything.

SI Doing Something

Here is a website with a comprehensive proposal to turn around the university. One major problem for SIUC is the 57% drop in funding from the state over the past 20 years. As money from the state has dropped, tuition and fees at SIUC have increased to make up the difference. Universities do not have the PR or the angry parents that cuts to K-12 education generate so there is less of a constituency to argue against cuts to their funding.

Bright Spot Award

From an email from Keep Carbondale Beautiful:

Carbondale, Ill. – Peggy and Andy Polovich’s home at 304 South Oakland has earned a Bright Spot Award from the Keep Carbondale Beautiful board.  Directly in front of the house is a Japanese-style rock garden, inspired by Andy’s two tours of duty in Japan.  Sculptures include one large and several small pagoda statues, plus two cranes and a fish around the pond, shaded by a Japanese maple tree. A Gold Mop Cypress provides a backdrop to the large pagoda.  Along the sidewalk, large pots overflow with lilies and pansies in the summer.   Observers may see the rocks and think, “no need to mow,” but Peggy Polovich warned, “It’s a little more maintenance than I thought.”

The KCB Board selects businesses or residences to receive the Bright Spot Award for enhancing the beauty of our community by means of revitalization of property, new construction, plantings and beautification, upkeep and maintenance, or rehabilitation.

Liquor Advisory Board

The LAB has a meeting this Thursday at 6 p.m. If you have an interest in knowing which bars in town violate city regulations regarding serving alcohol to underage patrons or other violations, this is the meeting to attend as the Board will look at the first quarter's reports. Remember, the city's year runs from July to June or thereabouts so the first quarter just ended. The following is also on the agenda:

Review and Recommendation Regarding Possible Title Two Change in City Code that Would Permit the Delivery of Sealed Alcohol by a Licensed TNC/Taxi Driver

Given the increase of delivery services in Carbondale (CarGo comes to mind), I guess home delivery of alcohol is the next step. Probably makes things safer for people, since we won't have the people planning to consume the alcohol also driving out to pick it up.