We're Number 14

 According to this round up from Broke Scholar, Carbondale is the 14th most affordable college town in the country. Carbondale actually ranks bettter than most of the other communities surveyed in terms of demongraphics (high percentage of single young people) and and is also more affordable than all but two of the other cities ranked higher on the list.

Carbondale gets hit badly in terms of entertainment and opportunity though. We ranked poorly in terms of density of bars, unemployment rate and Walking and biking availablity.

Notcho Fries

 However there is a new restaurant open in the old China Express location at the south end of the Strip:  Notcho Fries. Build your own bowl appears the focus of the establishment as customers start with a base of fries or chips and add toppings. 

Kirkland's

Joining other businesses that have recently announced closure, such as Party City and Bed Bath and Beyond, I hear that Kirkland's on the east side of Carbondale will soon close its doors. Granted I was never its customer base but I never saw the demand for the store here.

Similarly, I am suprised that Party City stayed open as long as it did. Even when Carbondale's population exceeded 25,000, there never seemed enough demand int he region for a superstore dedicated to party supplies. I figure such a store would need a city with at least a pupulation of 50,000 to 100000 to provide enough customers to justify the store's continued operation

Sidewalks

 Were the sidewalk upgrades worth it?  I know somebody questioning the money spent on them. I think money spend improving the appearance of downtown is money well spent and, since the city was upgrading them, they also had to make them ADA compliant, which does make it a bit more difficult to get to the sidewalk from a parked car. 

What I will like to see is more infills in place. The city has a bad habit of allowing landlords to let buildings run down to the state that they cannot be repaired and raizing them is a cheaper option, leaving downtown with more open space. We have lots at the corners of Mill and Illinois and College and Illinois that have set empty for years. Buildings there fill in the space and make the downtown more walkable.

Gas Prices

 Driving east to west across Carbondale today, I was struck by the change in gas prices. I did not got so far out as the Reed Station area, which tends to be higher than in town, but prices on Giant City road were $3.44 a gallon. Stations on East Main and East Walnut had prices about the same while they jumped to $3.70 a gallon at the Shell station on the West side of town.

Mayor and City Council Candidates

  Here is the list of candidates for the position of Mayor (4 years term) and the three open council seats  Mayor Henry has elected not to seek another term in office

Mayoral Seat

1)      Harold J. Visser

2)      Nathan Colombo

3)      Carolin Harvey

 

City Council Seats (3)

1)      Adam Loos

2)      Clare Killman

3)      Justin Zurlinden

4)      Lee Fronabarger

5)      Nancy Maxwell

6)      Thomas Grant

7)      Joshua Dalton Liechty

 

SSA Renewal

Received a certified letter from the city informing me that the Downtown SSA is coming up for renewal. Money from the SSA tax helps fund Carbondale Main Street and a number of other city projects. Council will have to vote to extend the SSA so if you are in favor (or opposed), contact city council members.