State of the City

 Finally got around to reading over the State of the City address and came away with a feeling of mild encouragement.

Normally, when I listen to these, the speeches are full of concrete achievements by the city and staff over the past year. Infrastructure, finances, tangible things that can be pointed to. I think the budget has a $24 million surplus but, from the way the Mayor phrased it, I am not sure.

A number of streets were resurfaced during the year, all of which really needed it. The bike path was extended further to New Era Road, with plans to eventually have a bike path extending from Marion to Murphysboro. It would certainly be nice to see more signage around town promoting Carbondale as a bike friendly city. One of the major cross country bike routes passes directly through town on Highway 13 but no signage indicates it.

The multimodal transporation station is coming along nicely and we should see a permanent outdoor entertainment venue at the corner of Washington and Walnut completed later this year. Eva Fisher, the city's relatively new Public Relations person also mentioned the Fuller Dome Home Museum Visitor Center, which should see completetion later this year. Carbondale also started a Shawnee Challenge this month, intended to get more people to visit locations in the Shawnee National Forest. The Carbondale Tourism office, which appears part of the Soutnermost Illinois Tourism organization and replaces the shuttered Cabondale Tourism office, will have an office in the multimodal transportation office

We can expect to see more of the Off the Rails Concerts and 2 weeks worth of Carbondale Halloween activities. Expect to see 75-100 trees and shrubs planted to replace the ones removed from Evergreen Park and more work at the Superblock, making the grounds more accessible, improving the ballfields and adding a new concessions and restroom building.

There was also a good chunk of the presentation devoted to Carbondale's new Violence Prevention Programs Director who stated three goals:  Community Engagement and Support, Data Driven Decision Making, and Prevent/Reduce Gun Violence and Promote Safety. I assume someplace the office has specifics on the goals, including what they will consider success.