jackson county Business Resouce meet Up

 Not sure who "we" are but this takes place tomorrow at the Dunn Richmond Economic Development Center from 9:30 to 11. Apparently a presentation on local services available to local buisnesses.

Primary election

 Stopped in at my polling place this morning around 10 a.m. Had meant to vote earlier but kept putting it off. No one in line when I got there and poll workers said about 20 people had been in before I arrived.

Sewer Lines

 Clearwave has a contract from the city to install underground fiberoptic cable and are currently doing soin the Northwest part of the city. Appears there have been some problems with sewer lines and water mains getting cut into during the installation. One family reported their basement flooded with sewage after a line cut while another had to boil water after a water main got severed

Certificate of Appropriateness

 Sat in on a meeting of the Certificate of Appropriateness subcommittee of the Presearvation Commission, regarding the 5 proposed murals for downtown.  From what I understand, the Certificate of Appropriateness subcommittee determines if a building to which someone wants to make a change, such as painting a mural on it, is historically significant and, if the change is appropriate for the building.

In the case of the 5 building selected for the mural project, only the Varsity Theater and Julia Building fall into the historically significant category and the section of the Varsity for which the mural is proposed is of more recent brick so does not fall under the subcommittee's purview. That leaves the Julia Building, which the subcommittee determined did fall into the subcommittee's jurisdiction, so to speak. However, due to the type of rough brick from which the Julia Building is constructed, the committee determined it would be very difficult to paint a mural on it and, I think, decided to recommned that panels be affixed to the building and a mural painted on them. 

The subcommittee has no say as to whether murals are painted or not and I am not sure what happens if it fails to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for a project.

Murals

 Here is a link to the proposed murals for placement in downtown Carbondale. Voting closes on June 28 and plans currently are to have them finished sometime this fall. I am not a big fan of any of the choices as, save for the comedians of Carbondale,  they do not reflect anything particularly unique about the community. The trains are good, as Carbondale has its roots in the railroad but how about an acknowledgement as to why the trains came here? I know the coal industry is in decline today and for good reason, but the trains came here because of coal.

the only acknowledgement I see of Buckminister Fuller is the geodesic dome behind the two trains on one of the Varsity Centery murals. His thinking and concepts are broad enough that the man deserves an entire mural to himself. 

Why not a reference to Woodlawn Cemetary on the side of the Wallace Building? Some image that reflects the solemnity and history associated with Woodlawn.

I like the one featuring the fruits and vegetables proposed for the side of the Julia building but cannot tell if there is a callout in the image to the Carbondale Farmer's Market, which is one of the oldest farmers markets in the Midwest and which the AAA ranked as one of the top 5 in the Midwest.

Sound Core

Signs in the windows say that June 20 is the last day Sound Core Music will have a storefront at the South Illinois Location. No indication as to where they will move the business after that.

Keepers Quarters

 According to this Keeper's Quarters will close its door permanently on July 2. The article blames it on the epidemic but it seems that other restaurants in Carbondale have weathered it or shuttered their doors early on. I do know the restaurant seemed to have a problem keeping staff as they closed a few times just because they did not have the staffing available.

City Council Meeting

 Attended last night's city council meeting for about an hour, primarily to pick up the proclamation designating June 25 as RPG Day here in Carbondale. A large number of supporters for the reproductive health/abortion clinic coming to Carbondale later this year spoke in favor of the clinic and chastised the mayor for some comments he made during a previous meeting, whihc he did apologize for making. Appears that the overwhelming majority of those who spoke opposing the clinic during previous meetings do not actually live in Carbondale and made the trip here specificlaly to speak against the clinic's opening.

The mayor as well as a couple of council members made the point that Choices, the clinic, is in compliance with both state an dcity law and therefore has every legal right to open in the city.

Grocery Sales Tax Holiday

 Recieved a notice today that the state will suspend the collection of the grocery sales tax from July 1 of this year until June 30 of 2023. That is 1% that stores will not collect. The grocery sales tax applies to food that is to be consumed off the premises where it was purchased. 

Castle Park

 Boo Rochman Castle Park is the only, as far as I know, Dungeons and Dragons themed public park in the US. I have had people stop by the store who stopped off in Carbondale just to visit the park.  A sign up at the intersection of  Highway 13 and Giant City Road would certainly help people find it and pique the interst of those popel who are visiting Carbondale and may not have heard of it.

Bucky

 Since the previous post, I have had it pointed out to me by people that were here during his residency that Buckminister Fuller was called "Bucky" by a number of people during his time here so Bucky's Haven is an approparite name for one of the covered picnic pavillions on campus. However, without a PR campaign re-introducing him to the campus and community, few people willknow who Bucky is.

The univeristy did have Bucky Days, focussing on his accomplishments and writings sometime within the past 5 to 8 years according to one faculty member with whom I have spoken but I cannot find any information on it. Also accoding to second hand information, Carbondale also used to sponsor an event focued on Fuller and his work but that also ended some years ago.

Hazardous Waste Recycling

 If you are a Jackson County resident, you can register to dispose of chemicals and other items at the Bantera Center parking lot tomorrow. Here is the link . 

Bike Signage

 Seeing people riding on the sidewalk in downtown reminded again that the town could use some signage directing riders to the various bike paths around town. If nothing else, one at the town square and another at SIUC pointing riders to the path connecting the two locations. Seems a shame to have spend so much money building the path and not making sure riders know it is there.