Carbondale Main Street Contest

 Carbondale Main Street is currently running a contest. Find the store with the Santa Saluki and fill out an entry form for a chance to win some of a pool $500 worth of gift cards from downtown stores.  if you read this, one of the Santa Salukis is at Castle Perilous until this Friday.  

Lighting

 Appears that part of the T-mobile lighting grant Carbondale Main Street received will go towards illuminating the alley between Cristados and the So Il Syndicate gym. Apparently the hope is to eventually block the alley and turn it into an outdoor dining space, much as was done with the alley running south of P.K.s 

Signs

Since I was discussing signage yesterday, the sign directing people to Carbondale Main Street , the Chamber of Commerce and Station Carbondale needs updating. Ever since it was installed, the only drivers who could see it easily were those turning onto  Illinois from Marion as the arrows were installed parallel to Illinois avenue. Rotate it 90 degrees so that drivers heading North on Illinois can see it.  Also, since the Chamber of Commerce moved its offices to the Dunn Richmond Center, taking its name off the sign is overdue as well.

Lighting

 From what I understand, part of the grant Carbondale Main Street received from T-mobile will go towards lighting the alleys between Mary Lou's and Aban Kitchen as well as the one just north of Rip's Pizza, /there is one other location scheduled to be lighted but I do not remember where it was.

More lighting in downtown is good. The lighting along South Illinois has really improved the appearance and safety of the Strip after dark.

Signage

 Carbondale Main Street announced today a $47,000 grant from T-mobile for downtown signage and lighting. From what I understand the signage will primarily focus on making cyclists aware of the bicycle route running from the square to the SIUC campus. It is there, but most people do not know of it, especially cyclists as I saw a couple riding on the side walks and on highway 51. the new bikeway is much safer than even using the bike lanes on 51 but people need to know about it.

In addition, some of the funding will go towards decorative alleyway lighting. I am not sure where but maybe the alleyway behind Mary Lou's as that one gets pretty dark when the sun goes down but lights along the bikeway would be good as well, especially closer to Mill Street.

Brown Bag Concerts

 The Carbondale Main Street Brown Bag Concerts feature The McDaniels this Wednesday at Noon. If you cannot catch them in person, CMS will stream the concert live on its Facebook page.

CMS Opening

 From an email sent out by Carbondale Main Street. The Executive Director position is still open and pays $40,000-$50,000 a year

Carbondale Main Street seeks a new Executive Director, who manages the day-to-day affairs of the non-profit organization and serves as the organization's spokesperson. The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and is supervised by the Board President on a day-to-day basis.
 
The Executive Director is responsible for facilitating and managing projects that achieve the organization’s goals and works  closely with the City of Carbondale. The Executive  Director is imaginative, promotes excellence in neighborhood revitalization through historic preservation and good business practices.
 
This is an exempt, professional management position; regular full-time 40 hours a week, with frequent evenings and weekends. Work hours are flexible. This job is based at the Carbondale Main Street office and the Executive Director is expected to work on site or in the corridor at least four days a week.
 
The salary range is $45,000 to $50,000.  Three-month probationary period. Benefits include: a stipend of $3,000 from CMS for health insurance of the employee's choice. Twelve paid  holidays, and fifteen paid time off days for the first two calendar years, according to the current Personnel Policy.
 
Qualified applicants should submit the following materials, gathered together as one PDF document:
 

• Cover Letter with phone, email address and your salary requirements.
• Personal Resume/CV
• Three (3) Work References with name, email address and phone number for each
• Two (2) brief (1 to 4 pages) samples of your writing (a grant application, an article, or
• report, or press release, etc.) that you have completed for your current or previous employers.

 
Send materials electronically to Board President and Search Committee member, Adam Fletcher.  Send all materials to Adam at apply4carbondalemainstreet@gmail.com.  Application Deadline Friday January 19, 2024, at 5PM Central time.
 
For a complete job description visit https://carbondalemainstreet.com/executive-director-application/

CMS Director

 It looks as if Carbondale Main Street is looking for a new Executive Director. Pay is around $50,000 per year with paid holidays and time off, along with a $3000 stipend for health insuance.

7-10 Fest

 Consume Cannibis Company and Carbondale Main Street are putting on the first SI 7-10 Fest, tomorrow from 4:20 to 9 p.m. in the Washington Street festival area. Bands include Slappin' henry Blue, Rev. Paytons Big Damn Band and Banjo Joe.  Good to see live music in downtown out on the streets again.

Benches

 CMS receive an $8500 grant to install some more benches in the downtown area. Putting them streetside along Washington next to the concert area would not be a bad idea, providing seating ones events start taking place there again. Hoping the reference to having architecture and design students design the benches meant SIUC students. I have noticed the city, and even the University itself, prefers to pay outside consultants to develop logos and designs rather than turning to the various departments, in some cases among the best in the country, at SIUC

Downtown Cookie Walk

 Apparently Carbondale Main Street will host a downtown cookie walk tomorrow. Cannot find any information about it on their website or Facebook page. The plan is to have a map posted somewhere and tables with cookies set up in front of participating businesses. No idea what time though. 

Friday Night Fair

Friday Night Fair tonight from 6 to 9 pm at the Town Square Pavilion. Really would like to know how much traffic these events draw into downtown. Whenever I walk by them, attendance seems pretty sparse but as long as Carbondale Main Street keeps hosting them and the various organizations continue to show up, they might as well continue.

Design Charrette

The city and Carbondale Main Street will host an open forum to discuss how to best utilize the S. Washington space for future events. This was were most of the Shadowfest Concerts were held and the city would like to turn it into more of a permanent event and concert venue:

Carbondale Main Street is partnering with the City of Carbondale and Southern Illinois University Architecture to host a design charrette from 2-6pm on Tuesday March 6, focusing on the Washington Street event venue (a venue utilized at Shadow Fest and other recent events).

 "We are looking for community input on how the space will be used, how a permanent stage might work, and what would be beneficial assets to have in this space for the community to use”, says Meghan Cole, Executive Director for Carbondale Main Street. “The City of Carbondale has demonstrated a readiness to invest in this downtown event venue, and we are happy to help get community support and impact the development of this venue”.

“The School of Architecture, its faculty and students look forward to engaging community members in this participatory community event for the betterment of our City. This is a great opportunity to embrace what our creative design community can accomplish together”, says Craig Anz, Architect and Faculty at SIUC. Dr. Anz is also the Vice President of Carbondale Main Street. Students and faculty from SIU Architecture will be on hand, with Carbondale Main Street and City of Carbondale staff, to help gain community support. Anyone interested in providing feedback is urged to attend the charrette, have a snack, and learn about plans for the venue. To learn more, call the Main Street Downtown Design Center at 618-529-8040.

City Council Meeting

Tuesday night's city council meeting clocked in at right about an hour.  Not much on the agenda but what was was rather important.:

1.  Carbondale Junior Sports requested a partnership or discussion with the city and the Park Board to upgrade the Superblock complex so it could host regional softball and baseball tournaments. The Superblock  fields are not at the level to host tournaments, which CJS says the city loses to Marion and St. Louis. A number of coaches  have expressed willingness to come to events here if the facilities get an upgrade with  better landscaping and signage. CJS would also need an upgraded concession stand, as that is where the bulk of tournament money would be made to support future events. City representatives will further discuss with CJS next week.

2. SSA tax hearing held. Every 5 years, the SSA tax that funds Carbondale Main Street, 48 cents per $100 of assessed property value, comes up for reauthorization. This was that time. 1 person got up to oppose it because they wanted to see taxes start to go down. 3 others, including me and the Main Street manger got up to support it. Council voted unanimously to reauthorize.

3. Discussion of Public Library property tax levy. Not put to a vote tonight but council seems in favor, noting that the library's funding has not increased for the past two years.

Taxes on the Agenda

City council meets at 7  p.m. tonight. Two tax authorizations on the agenda. One would reauthorize the downtown SSA property tax that funds the Carbondale Main Street program for another 5 years.  City council has to reauthorize it every 5 years. The other tax would increase the property tax to fund the Carbondale Public Library. This tax would increase library funding by about $15000. If my understanding is correct though, the city council doesn't have much say over this increase. Since the library board operates independently of the city, as do  a number of other community boards, it votes on property tax increases and council pro forma approves them. If my interpretation is incorrect, please let me know in the comments.

Trick or Treat on Main Street

Trick or Treat on Main Street takes place tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. 19 locations in downtown will give away candy and other treats, followed by the Great Carbondale Pumpkin Race at the Mill Street underpass at 2 p.m.

More on Signpost

While talking with a friend about the new signpost installed on the town square with signs for the Chamber of Commerce, Carbondale Main Street and Station Carbondale Museum, we both realized that the direction the signboards point mean they are only readily visible to someone driving east on Marion Street (the street heading away from the sign in the picture). Someone driving north on Illinois would not see them until the car pulled abreast of the sign, making it likely they would drive past the entrance to the lot. Hopefully, it is possible to turn the signs 90 degrees and maybe even add arrows to them to better direct people to the appropriate offices (and maybe even an additional sign pointing to the Carbondale Tourism office across the street). Just a thought.

Progressive Patio Tour

Coming next month:

Carbondale Main Street is hosting another Progressive Patio Tour on July 13, 2017 from 6 to 10pm. This will be a chance for the public to visit participating establishments and try popular items off of their menus.

There will be a $20 fee that will include transportation, free samples at each spot and brief histories on buildings and patios from business representatives as the tour goes along. Participants may also purchase cocktails and other menu items in addition to the free offerings. Stops will include Carbondale Community Arts’ Artspace 304, Global Gourmet and Sabor de Mel, all in downtown Carbondale. There will be a free after-party held at the brand new Traxx.  

The intent of the Progressive Patio Tour is to make more people aware of great spaces where then can relax in the spring, summer and fall seasons. This will also help these establishments showcase what they have to offer. For more information or to reserve your spot (there are only fifty- five bus seats available), call 618-529-8040 or email info@carbondalemainstreet.com.

Pumpkin Race

From Carbondale Main Street:

The Rotary Club of Carbondale Breakfast, together with Carbondale Main Street and the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, will host their Fourth Annual Carbondale Pumpkin Race on October 29, 2016. The Pumpkin Race will start at 2pm at the Mill Street Underpass in downtown Carbondale with registration beginning at 1pm.

Participation is free and racers of all ages can get help constructing their pumpkins through the Science Center on October 23rd from 12-2pm by calling 618-529-5431. Prizes will be awarded in a variety of race classes and categories for pumpkins that complete the course.

New elements have been added this year to keep the event fresh and exciting. 2016 Olympic hammer thrower and SIUC graduate, DeAnna Price will be wielding the Mallet-O-Justice and smashing any “Cheater Pumpkins” that don’t follow race regulations. Mayer Branding is hosting a special Grand Prix for more serious racers with a $20 entry fee and a $500 grand prize.

All race proceeds benefit Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale. More information can be found at carbondalepumpkinrace.com. We look forward to seeing you downtown!

Garden tour

In case you like gardens, or tours, or both, Keep Carbondale Beautiful will host a self guided garden tour this Saturday: