Well, the city can move fast. following up on the vote to authorize putting in a warming center on the grounds where the Holiday Inn used to stand on East Main, the city will open the facility next week. However, based on feedback and complaints from businesses in the East Main area and a desire for a more centralized location, the city decided to move the location to 705 East College, about 2 blocks east of the Carbondale Police/Public Safety building.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Warming Center
This week, the city council approved a permit for a temporary warming center to locate on the grounds of the old Holiday Inn/ Horizon Inn in the 800 block of East Main. The plan is to move mobile trailers onto the property during the winter months and remove them April 1st. The city doesn't appear to have had much luck selling the property after seizing it for unpaid taxes and razing the mold infested building, so at least this puts the grounds to beneficial use.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Meet the Mayor
In case you want to meet the Mayor (and city manager in most cases), here is the proposed schedule for the year. Generally about 6 to 10 people turn out for the event.:
Sessions will be held every month on Thursday. Times will alternate between 8:30-9:30 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m. Citizens will have the opportunity to talk to Carbondale Mayor John “Mike” Henry, Carbondale City Manager Gary Williams and a Carbondale City Council member at various eateries throughout the city.
The locations will be as follows:
Date Location Time
January 10 Quatro's 1:30-2:30 p.m.
February 7 Neighborhood Co-op Grocery 8:30-9:30 a.m.
March 7 Italian Village 1:30-2:30 p.m.
April 4 Kroger Starbucks 8:30-9:30 a.m.
May 2 Fazoli's 1:30-2:30 p.m.
June 6 Harbaugh's 8:30-9:30 a.m.
July 11 Dairy Queen 1:30-2:30 p.m.
August 8 McDonald's (East Main Street) 8:30-9:30 a.m.
September 5 Longbranch 1:30-2:30 p.m.
October 3 Common Grounds 8:30-9:30 a.m.
November 7 Keepers Quarters 1:30-2:30 p.m.
December 5 Gloria Jean's Coffees 9:30-10:30 a.m. (special time due to mall hours)
If you have questions or would like more information, contact Carbondale Public Relations Officer Amy Fox at (618) 559-1939.
“Carbondale prides itself on providing its visitors, students, businesses and residents with a unique mix of edge and ease. It’s a cultural town, yet free of pretense, embracing the great outdoors as readily as urban sophistication. Here, we are open to new ideas, experiences and cultures, so you are encouraged to both express yourself and be yourself, in all ways. That’s Carbondale…All Ways Open… for family, fun, business, new ideas and a bright tomorrow.”
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Monday, January 7, 2019
EZ Street Station Open
The EZ Street station on West main has moved into the Old Dollar Family/Hollywood Video storefront at the corner of Main and Oakland. Open now although the gas pumps will be removed and replaced with more "modern" ones. The station will have access to the pumps from both Main and Oakland with a drive up to the store on the south side.
Friday, January 4, 2019
Rental Propery Percentages
One of the big problems Carbondale is the high percentage of absentee landlords and rental properties. I have seen data indicating that 71% of housing in Carbondale is rental property and only about 28% is owner occupied. That means we have a whole lot of housing in the city that is lived in by people who do not own it and have no vested interest, aside from their security deposit, in maintaining it. Meanwhile, we have comparatively few owners of property in Carbondale who are responsible for maintaining a lot of the housing in the city.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
International Students
Why go after international students so strongly? According to a meeting I sat in on today, each international student recruited to SIUC injects $10,000 per year into the local economy. In addition, each international student generates 2 additional jobs in the community during their tenure at the university.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
LAB Agenda
Only thing on this week's Liquor Advisory Board agenda is a proposal to allow taxi and similar compensated drivers to purchase and deliver alcohol to customers. Really not a bad idea as it would keep people who are going to consume the alcohol off the roads. Big concern I see is checking for underage purchases. How do you make sure that the people who order the alcohol are of legal age to consume it. When you buy it in a store, ID is required. ID would still be required but there is a lot less oversight of a taxi or Uber driver than a checker in a store.
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