City Council delays vote on Halloween resolution

By Gus Bode

A resolution requiring South Illinois Avenue businesses to close additional hours during Halloween was dropped from tonight’s Carbondale City Council agenda, a city official says.

The council delayed a scheduled vote on a Halloween resolution Jan. 27 and again on tonight’s agenda, City Manager Jeff Doherty, said. He said the council has other pressing issues with the city’s budget and said the Halloween resolution could wait until March 19.

The Halloween resolution would require businesses to close on Halloween night, as well as the weekend following Halloween. Last year, the businesses were allowed to remain open on Halloween but were required to close the weekend before the holiday.

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City officials said they want the additional day because they are concerned with the number of partiers on South Illinois Avenue on Halloween night, despite the weekend closings and the SIUC Halloween break.

Also the council is scheduled to cancel a public hearing on a city annexation agreement on 63 acres purchased by Charlie Brown and Associates LTD. The company asked for more time to review the agreement.

The council is scheduled to vote on a contract for parking lot reconstruction for the new City Hall/Civic Center, located at the northwest corner of South Illinois Avenue and Walnut Street, and an Automatic Teller Machine lane for the Bank of Carbondale’s drive through, 216 E. Main St.

If the council approves the resolution for the bank, the bank will be provided a stop sign and additional lighting for the area between the bank building and the ATM.

The Carbondale Planning Commission unanimously approved the resolution Feb. 7, and bank officials said the addition would be consistent with the community’s goal of downtown redevelopment.

E.T. Simonds Construction Company had the lowest bid for the parking lot reconstruction for the City Hall/Civic Center. The company bid 11 percent under the city engineer’s estimate of $247,505.

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