Carbondale Bytelife

Sat in on most of last night's City Council meeting. Missed the Liquor Control Commission meeting but was told by city council candidate Kevin Clark that Fair Days designations for the Southern Illinois Irish Festival and an A2 liquor license for Spotlight Bar and Grille passed.

Several community members spoke about concerns regarding the proposed annexation of the property on East Park Street, which includes Snider Hill Cemetery. A representative from the Presbyterian Church, which owns part of the property, was particularity concerned since the city and developers had promised a protective buffer from all the development taking place nearby during the past few years. The promised buffer apparently was not provided and now there are problems causing the cemetery to settle and tombstones to fall over.

The consent agenda, items normally passed as a group, had 4 items voted on separately when Councilmen Lance Jack and Steven Haynes had questions about the Snider Hill annexation and utility easements at Prairie Living subdivision, respectively. Councilman Joel Fritzler had questions about two items including payment for some of the mayor's travel expenses (Shades of the last race for mayor.) Mayor Cole appeared mildly irritated when responding to Fritzler's questions, while Fritzler sounded rather hesitant when posing them.

The council moved through general business pretty quickly. The resolution declaring Fair Days for the Southern Illinois Irish Festival passed with only Corene McDaniel voting no because alcohol would be served. I assume this means she'll also vote no when the Sunset Concerts and Main Street Pig Out come up for a similar vote.

The Stadium Grille going in on East Main got approved for a TIF agreement, which will save them about $500,000, according to my notes. In response to a question from the council, the owners said they were indeed using local union contractors and expect to open mid-April. I'd lay money it opens before Lance Jack gets his Fat Patties' place open.

Finally, during council comments, another city council candidate made an appearance as Justin Stofferahn, (yeah, he's on Facebook too) who, along with three companions, all attired in dress shirts and ties, had sat in the back during the entire meeting. I'd thought they were members of a fraternity come to ask the city for funding for some event, but Stofferahn asked the council if the city would implement the findings of the energy audit it was undertaking and if the lobbying group the city hired had produced results worth its fee.

At 8:50, the council retired to closed meeting to discuss sale, purchase or lease of real property and pending or imminent litigation as well as the planned conquest by force of Marion, the Hub of the Universe.

Labels: Brad Cole, Carbondale, City council, development, Joel Fritzler, Lance Jack

Noticed the Egyptian One Hour Photo Lab, in the 400 block of West Main, finished its remodeling and has reopened as the J. Hugh Shelnut Apartments. Not sure how they will compete with the raft of new development going up over on South Washington and on the southside of town. Compare to the other complexes that have one up in the past year, the Shelnut is small, only about a dozen units, and one story. Parking may be a bit of a probem also, as I don't see any direct access off of West Main.

Labels: business, Carbondale, development

If you haven't seen this story in today's Southern, this Saturday is the last day for Mugsy's. I spoke with a local realtor who said she had heard (so this is at least second hand) that Maier was looking at the Pioneer Cabin restaurant location over in Carterville as a possible location as well as several other spots. Also, supposedly, the local Kia dealership is planning to expand onto the Mugsy's property.

There's also a lively discussion in the comments section of the SI article regarding who's fault it is that Mugsy's is closing. The property owners, Mugsy's owner, the city, Kevin Baity, Mayor Cole are all trotted out as having a hand in it.

Labels: development, Mugsy McGuire's

Was driving by the old Kroger West location over the weekend and noticed the interior has been cleared out. It looks like something may be getting ready to move in. Hopefully, we'll see CVS Pharmacy doing their long desired expansion.

Labels: development

Was out driving around town this morning and noticed that Central Plaza, over on Giant City Road, still only has the original four businesses that went in when it originally opened. No work has even started on the Shops at University Mall the Gator Automotive building was pulled down to make room for and the Silver Screen Video and Tanning space in the little strip mall at the corner of Grand and Wall is still empty.

Labels: development

The downtown Dairy Queen is getting a new layer of asphalt on the the parking lot to the north of it. Apparently using non-union labor as there were a couple of pickets leaning on signs on the sidewalk. I have to wonder, given this, if they are actually union members?

Labels: development, downtown Carbondale

Apparently there's no business for the C'dale Planning Commission to conduct as this month's meeting has been canceled.

Labels: city government, development

Looks like an application to demolish the Dillinger Feed Store building is on the agenda for the Preservation Commission's meetiing this Monday night. Here's the agenda if you don't feel like clicking on the link:

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes - April 21, 2008 (attached)

3. Communication and Reports:

Education and Technical Assistance Committee

4. Old Business:

2008 Bus Tour review
5. New Business:

A. Lincoln Middle School Site

B. Dillinger Feed Store Demolition Application

C. Potential review of Preservation Ordinance as it relates to demolitions

6. Comments by the Public, Commission Members or Staff:

7. Adjournment

Labels: development, downtown Carbondale

Looks like something may finally be going in the old Saluki II Bookstore across the street from Dairy Queen. There's been a significant amount of construction and remodeling going on inside over the past week. Carbondale Main Street and the city will certainly be glad to see something in the spot after about 2 years of it sitting empty.

Labels: development, downtown Carbondale

Back in 2004, Allen Gill, one of C'dale's candidates for city manager and city manger for Pittsburg KS, worked to use eminent domain to take property from one developer turned it over to another developer who in turn leased it to Home Depot. The Supreme Court affirmed such a taking was a legal use of eminent domain in 2005. You can read an article about the Pittsburg taking here. Here are some details from the piece:

Mr. Trent, the Kansan, had a special hardship fighting his case: When it was filed, he was serving as a U.S. ambassador with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He says the case began after he rejected a "low-ball" offer from Home Depot's developer, then flew to Baghdad. His lawyer tried to fend off the taking, but a state court in Pittsburg let it go forward this spring. Mr. Trent is challenging the compensation. That case is pending.

Allen Gill, Pittsburg's city manager, says Mr. Trent was well compensated, receiving more than $1 million for his property -- a large sum for rural Kansas. He also says Mr. Trent and another owner's opposition blocked a badly needed project that has already sparked other development in town.

"Does the greater good outweigh the inconvenience to the two?" Mr. Gill asks.

In a statement, Atlanta-based Home Depot said the project would bring "good paying jobs and economic development," adding that "the City of Pittsburg identified this site as an area in need of redevelopment, and the Home Depot was receptive to working with the developer who was negotiating with the city."

In 2006, the Kansas legislature enacted a law putting severe restrictions on the use of eminent domain to transfer property to a private developer, as did 26 other states..

Labels: city government, development

I see this idea is bubbling up again. You'd think with Hastert and Poshard trucking around the state selling people on the idea the infrastructure in the state needs repairing, we wouldn't be looking at more roads to build, especially one through such an ecologically sensitive area as the Cache River wetlands. As for development, look at all the development that's popped up along I24 and I 57. Do we really need to get from Paducah or Cairo to Cape Girardeau that quickly? Or maybe I'm just being grumpy.

Labels: development, southern Illinois

Interesting item on tomorrow night's council agenda: a moratorium on building any more medium and high density developments for the next eighteen months. The arguments advanced by the city manager are :

1. There has been a decrease in student enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in recentyears, thus reducing the number of prospective tenants for rental housing.

2. As prospective tenants gravitate to newer housing developments, it will become harder to fill the older,existing housing in certain neighborhoods. This may lead to a high rate of vacancy, which in turn wouldhave an adverse impact in the neighborhood and on the local economy. A high vacancy rate in aneighborhood creates safety issues and can have a long-term negative impact on the quality of a neighborhood.

3. The City’s Comprehensive Plan is outdated and recent multi-unit housing developments have beenoccurring in areas that were not designated for multi-unit developments when the current ComprehensivePlan was approved in 1997.

4. The large developments place a new demand on the City’s infrastructure. The City must ensure that it canprovide adequate public services to the growing supply of multi-unit housing developments in the community.

Labels: City council, development

Bleyer Field is the former football and track fields of Carbondale Community High School. When the school closed and moved to the east side campus, the land was sold off through closed bids. That included the buildings as well as the 12 acres that constituted the athletic fields. The school buildings are not part of the present discussion. A corner of the property is just across from Hickory Lodge which is owned by the Carbondale Parks District. Hickory Lodge went through its own convulsions after the Parks Commission tried to sell it off.

The mass of the property sits just a few dozen yards from Main St. across from where Schnucks Grocery store is located. The property is now up for sale for $1.9M (Tuesday's Southern Illinoisan quoted a figure from the realtor of $1.5M) according to the realtor, though it was bought for around $175,000. Significantly, this includes several parcels that are directly on Main St and are contiguous with Bleyer Field. It is important to know that Bleyer Field is zoned R-1-8. Which means that the planning office of the City envisioned large, single family homes on the plot. Adjacent parts of it are zoned differently.

Last year Bleyer Field was named as an "enterprise zone". It follows a pattern, however, of the Carbondale School Board selling the property cheap, and then government agencies making it attractive to developers. The folks who own the property, Gelco Management of Vienna, Illinois, have lived a particularly charmed life. They allowed the property to fall into disuse and become a magnet for homeless in the ramshackle buildings on the site. Only after one of the homeless stabbed another on Main St., and the nearby community became incensed, did the City force Gelco to clean up the site. At about the same time, Gelco was cited as a polluter in their demolition of Lincoln School In Benton. In that case they were referred to the Illinois Attorney General by the EPA for their apparently criminal mishandling of asbestos.

In order to realize the highest possible profits from the site, it is logical that the owners would want the R-1-8 zoning to be changed to something commercial. How else could one ask $1,900,000 ($1.5M?) for land that was originally $175,000? I don't even want to go into the obviously inept Carbondale School Board's method of selling land. To that end I suggest that neighbors talk to Lawrence Dennis who actually questioned the school board's reasoning at the time of the sale. His tale is hair raising.

We asked Kevin Baity who is the Assistant City Manager for Economic Development to give us any information that he had. Kevin was especially forthcoming and should be commended.

However, the rumors are all over the neighborhood that Hollywood Video, which adjoins Bleyer Field, has lost its lease because the landowner wanted to sell to a developer. There is also the rumor that Mugsy McGuire's has been sold, or soon will be. Is it CVS or is it Ward Chrysler? No one knows for sure. In addition there are empty lots and abandoned fast food restaurants all along W. Main St.

I believe that the neighborhood is supportive of development as long as it is appropriate to our area. We are entering a very difficult period with the possibility of gas prices in the $5 to $7 range - a potential killer for regional shopping centers. Development on the West Side should be done carefully to avoid the mistakes that have plagued economic planning in too many Southern Illinois Communities. I adher to Rod Dreher's view that "Small, Local, Old and particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New and Abstract". Walkable neighborhoods with excellent services that end our need for an automobile for every errand seems not just attractive, but in light of skyrocketing fuel prices, absolutely necessary. That is at least one crucial element of appropriate development.

I will state unequivocally that the development of Bleyer Field and the areas along Main St. will affect our neighborhood for the next several decades. If it not done in a way that is appropriate, we will suffer loss in our property values, not to mention our quality of life. Bleyer Field can reasonably be said to be the key to our entire West Side.

D Gorton

Labels: Bleyer Field, development

In response to some questions (not from me) about the plans for the old CCHS football and track fields, Kevin Baity, Assistant City Manager for Economic Development sent the following email:

Good Morning,

The former Bleyer Field was acquired by Mr. Lloyd by way of a sealed bid
format from the Carbondale High School District #165. It is my understanding
there were only two bids and his was twice the lower bid amount. The
property contains approximately 12.63 acres more or less and contains three
zoning districts (Secondary Business - SB, along Main Street; Residential -
R-1-5, along Linden Street at the north end of the track; and R-1-8 for the
majority of the property between Bleyer Drive and Oakland Avenue). The owner
has listed the property with Ann Colborn and Associates of Marion, IL.
Members of the Planning Department and myself have met with Ms. Colborn to
discuss the current zoning, points of access and utility availability for
the property. Ms. Colborn is actively pursuing developers for the property
in her capacity as RE agent. Currently we are not privy to such information
and in the event we do become involved that information is generally bound
by a Confidentiality Agreement. The City has not received an application for
any potential rezoning of the property.

In November 2007, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity approved our application to extend the Enterprise Zone to areas
along West Main Street, including the former Bleyer Field. I am attaching an
informational brochure that explains the incentives offered through the EZ.

I hope this information answers some of your questions. I would be glad to
discuss this further if needed.

Kevin Baity
Assistant City Manager for Economic Development
200 South Illinois Ave.
Carbondale, IL 62902
618-457-3233
kbaity@ci.carbondale.il.us

Labels: Bleyer Field, development

Got a phone call a few minutes ago informing me that Hollywood Video was closing its store and that videos were on sale for $5 each. Good for your DVD collection, bad for the economic well being of Carbondale, especially the west side. The last think that side of Carbondale needs is another empty storefront.Publish Post

Labels: Carbondale, development

Heard a rumor this afternoon that the property Mugsy McGuires is located on has been sold to CVS Pharmacy, which plans to raze the building and build a new pharmacy building there. In late 2006, CVS sought a rezoning to move from its current location to a spot on S. Oakland between Walnut and Main. That atttempt failed, this one, if true, should be more successful.

Labels: Carbondale, development

Apparently, GELCO Management & Developers, LLC, out of Vienna Il, the company that bought the old CCHS football and track fields a few years ago for $175,000, and have left them sit and deteriorate since then, is being investigated by the Illinois AG, regarding the demolition of Lincoln School in Benton. Here's the press release from the state EPA's website

Illinois EPA refers GELCO Management & Developers to Attorney General for enforcement
Agency taking action to stop illegal handling of asbestos containing material at former Benton school building

SPRINGFIELD--- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott has asked the Illinois Attorney General to take the necessary legal actions to prevent GELCO Management & Developers, LLC, headquartered in Vienna, from performing any further demolition activities at the former Lincoln School in Benton, and to require that GELCO take actions designed to protect the public and workers from exposure to asbestos contamination. During a June 2007 inspection, the former school was found to contain regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM). The Illinois EPA found that GELCO improperly proceeded with demolition activities disturbing a significant amount of RACM. The Agency also observed that GELCO conducted the demolition without proper inspection, and without taking necessary precautions when handling and removing RACM materials. Illinois EPA was not notified prior to the demolition, as required, nor were the proper emission control procedures followed. In the referral, the Illinois EPA recommends that, before resuming demolition activities, GELCO retain a licensed asbestos abatement project designer to design and submit a plan to remove all asbestos-containing materials and remediate all asbestos contamination. Once the Illinois EPA has accepted a program, a licensed asbestos abatement contractor will be hired to implement the program. The Illinois EPA will continue to provide the Attorney General with technical and legal support as needed.

Labels: CCHS, development

In case you didn't find a copy in the Carbondale Times, here's a link to the current Carbondale Communique. Looks like the city received over $6 million in sales tax revenue last year and manager Doherty credits a lot of that to the Enterprise Zone. I'm not sure if I do, since a lot of businesses are looking to expand into smaller markets like Carbondale, and the tax benefits are just icing on the cake.

Labels: Carbondale, development

Sorry for those of you looking to invest but according to the sign in front of the building, this Saturday's auction of the Sunset Motel complex has been canceled.

Labels: development, downtown Carbondale

The Southern has an editorial in yesterday's paper supporting both of the upcoming proposals before the city council: the rental inspection fee and the single family grant.

The Chamber of Commerce is also polling its members to get a feel for how they stand on the rental inspection fee.

Labels: Chamber of Commerce, City council, development