A citizen interest group created to receive opinions about Carbondale and its government will meet with SIUC students on campus this evening.

Bob Harper, chairman of the Citizen Advisory Committee, said the meeting is designed to elicit concerns from Carbondale residents and present them to the city officials. The committee divides the city into five sections:northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast and the SIUC campus.

Harper said the committee wanted a separate meeting with SIUC students even though some students have attended meetings in their areas off campus.

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We wanted to come right to the students, he said. We feel a separate meeting for students on campus is convenient for the students.

Previous meetings brought concerns about poor water conditions, street conditions, lighting on streets and requests for speed bumps to the attention of the city government.

After the last meeting is held, we will draft a letter to the mayor listing the concerns, Harper said. We cannot make the decisions, but this is a way for the city to go to the people.

Delma Frick, a northwest side resident, attended a Citizen Advisory Committee meeting and said she thought the representatives were attentive. She said she attended the meeting to discuss water quality problems in her neighborhood.

I believe after the meeting, progress was made on our situation, she said. I feel the meeting helped.

Harper said the Citizen Advisory Committee has been in existence in some capacity since the 1960s. He said the committee was created to elicit resident opinions and concerns about Carbondale and its government.

He said the committee has conducted surveys and completed Carbondale 2000, a report outlining goals for Carbondale based on survey responses.

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Cleveland Matthews, Carbondale community relations officer, said the city’s philosophy behind creating the Citizen Advisory Committee was simple.

Let the public tell us what concerns them, he said. We are a listening community.

Matthews said the public should be patient when a problem is brought before the city, and city officials will consider each one.

Mayor Dillard takes all of the concerns of citizens seriously, he said. We had better have a plan of action when confronted with a citizen concern.

The Citizen Advisory Committee will meet at 7:00 tonight at Grinnell Hall. Harper said all students are welcome, no matter where they live.