Good evening. It's 6 o'clock and we will call the Carbondale City Council meeting to order. First on the agenda is roll call, please.
Council Member Colombo.
Present.
Council Member Kilman.
Present.
Council Member Lowes.
Present.
Council Member Maxwell.
Present.
Council Member Roberts.
Present.
Council Member Stanfield.
Present.
Mayor Harvey.
Present.
and next on the agenda, citizens comments and questions.
City council meetings are deliberative sessions
by members of the governing body.
Civility and decorum are expected
and will be required at all times.
Public comment is encouraged at all public meetings,
but the primary purpose of the meeting is for the council
to discuss and determine public policy for the city.
Members of the public may address the city council
during the public comment agenda item
for only those items that are relevant to city business such as information about city events.
Issues that the municipality has the authority to address, previously debated items,
and items that the council may consider in the future.
The mayor shall strictly restrain comments and questions to matters that are relevant to city business
and shall not permit repetitious comments.
All other agenda items will also include an opportunity for public comments in accordance
with the rules adopted and codified by the city council.
Speakers should wait to be recognized before they proceed to the podium and should begin
their statement by first stating their name and whether or not they are resident of the
city.
A speaker who represents an organization or other person must identify the organization
or person.
Public comments are to be directed to the city council as a whole and not to individual councilmembers or individual city staff.
The city council and staff are not required to respond to comments and questions.
Speakers may comment up to four minutes per item once per person.
No speaker may give their allotted minutes to another person or group.
A maximum of 30 minutes will be permitted for public comments and a maximum of 20 minutes
per agenda item will be allowed for public comments on all of the items except public hearings.
Are there any citizens who wish to comment?
Mr. Cooper?
My name is James Cooper Jr., Carbondale Citizen.
I'm a medical discharge diagnosed with asthma, mental health disorders, disabled, afro-american
retic.
I want to thank anyone, black, white, brown and others, continuing to stand up
for democracy.
I have a mixture of a question or two prepped by a brief comment or to what I say is city business first amendment
Right freedom speech my speech is well under four minutes allowed for each of the speak
This is an update from last 16 city council meetings
I've received no summits appearing court from Jackson County court knowing the rest of me regarding the February 22nd 2018
Carpenter police report against me saying I'm breaking the law. I dispute it for the wreck for the public TV
audience and city council. Simple question. Respectfully, what's the reason why
Carminell Black Preachers, Carminell NAACP, say they offer everyone's due process,
law rights, equal rights, and against discrimination, haven't demanded slash
assisted in writing as I requested that Jackson County court prosecutors and
judges to exonerate me or take me a black man to jury trial regarding the
1992 Jackson County wrongful case against me, etc. This is city business.
the city council. The FBI
headquarters in Washington DC
internal revenue service.
Jackson County State
Attorney Marcia Case, Ohio
Carminell City Manager, U.S.
Attorney for the Southern
District of Illinois. Illinois
Governor J.B. Pritzker, Carminell
NAACP, Carminell Police Chief,
Carminell Postmaster, Jackson
County Court Christian Hill,
Carminell Black Churches and
others are being certified mail
from Carminell Post Office
for court records and others.
My October 27, 2025 declaration
after David that I, James
James Cooper, Jr. was told by a library resource that various white
thoughts told Carmelette NWSP, Carmelette Black Preachers, being
intimidated and scared to shut up, don't talk against white
authorities to continue allowing me, black men, to be
persecuted by authorities and if they're being together and
assist the man in writing as I requested to Jackson County
Court prosecutors and judges to immediately summons me to
Jackson County Court and design them or take me to the
jury trial regarding the 1992 Jackson County Rome for
excuse me, case number 92 CF-85.
The file, Carminell Police Report,
they would kill them too.
This is a copy of that affidavit.
Also included with my October 27th affidavit
for records for the FBI, Carminell, NAACP,
all Carminell Black Churches, Carminell,
City Mans, Carminell Police, the courts
and others are copies of the Jackson County Court
Dock Sheet Entrance, case number 92 CF-85
as follows, 926 Docket Entry,
my September 22nd, 2025 Declaration Affidavit.
that some Jackson County court judge and prosecutors U.S. Attorney for some just
Illinois Stephen White winehole a racist and others operate like they include
clubs plan still trying to frame me James Cooper junior for any felony to
keep hitting the mask cover-up of me by the director and assistant director the
1992 Jackson County room for conviction against me case number 92 CF 85
involvement process to a misunderstanding this copy of that
Dr. Sheet. And the 715.2025 Dr. Sheet entrance to my June 21st, 2025 declaration of affidavit that
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen Wynnehoff and other
authorities have several Carmeldale Post Office employees and others in on the
corruption against me who are submitting statements for an affidavit for
search warrant although no crime to try to justify to a judge to issue an
illegal search warrant on my resident and go on a fishing exhibition for the
right violation and my June 23rd 2025 decorations that I told the FBI, Illinois
State Police and other authorities their confidential informants in on
corruption and others that my fifth amendment right is invoked at all times
maybe me being subject to the state and federal prosecution slash
persecution since for any felony including tax evasion these copy of
those doc doc sheet entries question
didn't some authorities go all around
Complaining making a big shout now see it work it out. That's county juror trial or is on rate me immediately
All glory goes God. Thank you.
Anyone else?
Yes,
no, no, no in the back
Hello, I'm Jennifer Lampkins. I am a resident of carbonyl and today I'm representing carbonyl United
We are having a free day drive
And we are collecting items from now until November 10th such things as hats and gloves hand warmers
hand sanitizer, duffel bags, blankets, sleeping bags,
clothing, shoes and boots, tents, small furniture,
toiletries, coats and jackets, household items and toys.
This will be for our free community day,
which will be Saturday, November 15th
at the Collaboration Center in Carbondale.
Homeless services will be from 11 to one
and that will include a hot meal, warm clothes,
hygiene kits, resources and referrals,
support and compassion.
Community services will be from one to four
for free groceries, community resources, raffle prizes, winter items and local
agencies and vendors. Let us come together and uplift our community. Thank you.
Okay, now Erika.
I'm Eric Bukers. I live here in Carbondale and I am speaking
today on behalf of the homeless community within Carbondale. Could you
adjust the mic please? Is that better? Okay, I'm speaking today on behalf of the
homeless community in Carbondale here. The first thing I'd like to address is
the recent escalation and aggression toward the homeless that has been going
on with city workers and the police. I've witnessed the systematic dehumanization
of the most vulnerable social strata of our society. My own home that I've been
living in since March was Bulldozed just last week and I don't even know
how many others were along with it.
We're told this is due to the refuse that accumulated,
but the truth of the matter is the garbage they came to clean
out was us.
We were the trash that those bulldozers were meant to clear.
And
despite all of that, we still continue to exist.
We're here.
Nothing has changed.
The only thing that changes is that we are now
scattered and dislodged from any sense of safety. So we come back to the same
question that I've been asking all year. Where do we go?
It's amazing how this
simple little question often stymies and stumps those that I ask. It doesn't
It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated, but I've even heard a member of the Carbondale
Police Force bluntly respond to it, not Carbondale.
That's deplorable.
It's disgusting and shameful in my mind.
I've been threatened to be banned from all city property simply for asking for some
documentation. This is ridiculous.
Anyone I ask this question to that actually tries
to give a reasonable answer gives me one of four or four basic answers to this. There's
good Sam, good Samaritan task, the warming center and the coalition for the homeless.
Now don't get me wrong these are all valuable resources and I'm not saying that there's
anything necessarily wrong with them, but they are not a complete safety net and plenty of
people fall through the cracks of these services. Good Sam is nearly always at full capacity.
Task and the coalition are helpful, but slow at best and often wind up coming to dead
ends anyway. And the warming center, we don't even know when or in what kind of capacity
it's going to open up. So there's a lot of brick work that we're running into trying
to find these services that help. So again, I'm pleading, trying out to anyone with
authority to do anything, where do we go? How much taxpayer money is wasted every year
in the asinine harassment and dislodging of unhoused people? Also, let's not even begin
to discuss how incredibly unconstitutional this all becomes when you consider the BRHA
or the IHRA, the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act and the Illinois Human Rights
But alas, I'm not here bringing attorneys to sue for damages.
No, I'm here asking for basic human dignity and decency to not be persecuted simply for being unhoused.
The right to merely exist.
Every faith on earth preaches kindness to the poor.
Is yours any different?
There are thousands of ways.
If you agree with what was said, could you please stand?
Thank you.
Thank you for your time.
Anyone else?
Okay.
Hello.
My name is Victor Ludwig.
I'm not a resident, but I am your neighbor.
There's not much more to say than that other than this.
No more encampment sweeps.
It solves nothing.
It achieves nothing.
It hurts.
It damages.
is a clause at the sole of all involved.
So that's all I'm going to say.
No more encampment sweeps, because in the lack
of a comprehensive plan, we can at least
have comprehensive compassion.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
Oh, wait, please don't clap.
If you agree with what Victor said, please stand.
Clapping is not a difference.
Thank you so much.
OK, anyone else?
Okay. Next on the agenda. Council comments, general announcements and proclamations. Let's
start on my right, Ms. Kielman.
Yeah. No. Ms. Maxwell? Ms. Roberts? No.
I don't want
to come back, but okay. Mr. Colombo. I'll be brief. I set my business cards out there
on the chairs this evening so that if you have ideas, if you have concerns, if you have
any feelings in general around how we are engaging with our homeless population in Carbondale,
I'd love to hear from you.
In just the past couple days, I've had an opportunity to engage our city manager, mayor,
and a couple of other staff regarding what a comprehensive homelessness action plan
might look like for Carbondale, and that includes your input and your contributions.
So please be in contact. I appreciate your time.
Mr. Loth.
Can we get an update from staff about what actually happened with respect to the encampment and who.
Was manning the bulldozers, staffing the bulldozers?
If they're referring to the relocation that occurred a couple weeks ago, that was a direct
result of private property owners who decided that they wanted to clean out their privately
owned property. And the police department was contacted as a result of they were bringing
in equipment to execute their plans to clean that up. And there were people that
refused to allow them to bring their equipment onto their own privately owned land. So the
The police department went, assisted them with getting onto their property, and was forced
to provide warnings to individuals that if they did not leave, they could be subject
to arrest for trespassing.
And just so I'm clear, there was no sweep by city staff of anything?
City did not initiate the removal of anyone.
The city provided notice so that everyone had an ample opportunity to know that the
The property owners were coming in there to do that work and they decided based on the
conditions of their property that that's the response they wanted to have.
Thank you.
I know that those things do happen with some cities, some places, but not here.
And I do also appreciate how much some people enjoy cosplay and LARPing, but this is not
the place for it.
I
don't encourage that behavior, and
you know it's great and it's wonderful that we sit and
listen to you, but you cannot stay and listen to us.
No comments, please.
Mr. Los, were you done?
Yes, I was actually done.
Mr. Sandfield.
No.
Okay.
Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Roberts.
even though everybody just left.
I still want to say this, and I'm sorry that people decided to leave
instead of sticking around to have good conversations around this
because there are good conversations happening around this issue.
And I want to begin by recognizing the difficult and complex conversations
that our community has had around homelessness and housing, obviously.
These discussions have shown just how deeply
Carbondale residents care about helping those in crisis
while also preserving safe and livable neighborhoods.
It's important that we take what we've learned
from everything we've all been through
and channel this energy into solutions
that are realistic, transparent, and effective.
Homelessness remains a serious challenge,
not only in Carbondale but throughout Southern Illinois,
well, I mean really throughout the nation, but in our vicinity throughout the region.
And it requires a coordinated regional response.
A lot of that work is already happening.
Organizations such as BOOTS, SI, a coalition of more than 30 Southern Illinois nonprofits
that are focused on housing insecurity, Take Action Today, which recently convened
a regional homelessness summit in West Frankfurt, the Southern Illinois Coalition for the
homeless and veterans focused organizations such as Project Die Hard are already developing
partnerships that a regional task force would require. Our goal should be to build on these
efforts and strengthen collaboration across city and county lines. Homelessness doesn't
stop at borders and neither should our compassion and our planning. The engagement I've seen
shows how deeply people care about helping others
and also about maintaining safe, livable neighborhoods.
I hope that those seeking to help the unhoused
can also shift their energy now
towards regional cooperation and solutions.
Thank you.
Ms. Kielman.
So as we all know, SNAP and link benefits
are not going to be dispersed on November one.
That's an impending perspective reality
that is harrowing to so many in our community and a few days ago I asked the city manager
to look into what means were available legal or otherwise for us to engage with this impending
issue and he was very thorough in his response tracking down all sorts of lines of inquiry
into specifically something that I'd asked is whether or not we could maybe mandate
that grocers provide out of date or soon to be expired foods directly into the
hands of food banks prior to disposal. And it looks like a number of our
grocers are already doing that. Kroger and Schnooks currently donate to their
food pantries and other food pantries on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On
Fridays, Walmart also makes good donations to the Good Samaritan and
and Victory Dream Center,
there are grocery stores that we could work on, that we should
encourage as a community to make donations of their soon to be expired food.
Food insecurity is going to be an ever more pressing issue, especially as things get colder,
as more people are off work due to the federal shutdown, as economic conditions deteriorate,
And as we continue to work on but not achieve solving problems like poverty and homelessness,
which we obviously have a very, very complicated but necessary to engage with situation.
And so I wanted to brief you all that I am working on it.
I will be reaching out and touching base with all of my colleagues on it over the
coming weeks. But I did want to keep the community informed that that is a line of thought that
we're pursuing at the city.
Next on the agenda, Consent Agenda please, Mr. Reno.
Item 3.1 is approval of City Council meeting minutes from October 14, 2025. Item 3.2 is
approval of a warrant for period ending October 10, 2025 for FY26, warrant number 1522 and
the total amount of $2,670,669.48.
Item 3.3 is an approval of Wells Fargo warrant for the period
ending September 30th, 25 for FY26 warrant number
09, 2025 in the amount of $172,361.26.
Item 3.4 are appointments and reappointments
to boards and commissions.
Item 3.5 is a resolution authorizing the city manager
to execute an engineering agreement with TWM,
Incorporated of Swansea, Illinois,
in the amount of $58,251 for the design of Phase 2 Northwest Bike Trail from New Arrow
Road to East Airport Road.
Item 3.6 is an ordinance approving a budget adjustment to increase the CIP Local Improvement
Fund budget, adding CIP PB2602, furnishing and installing a new RTU at the Police Department
and award of purchase and installation of a new rooftop AC unit RTU at the Police
Department to Southern Illinois piping contractors of Carbondale in the amount of
one hundred twenty four thousand five hundred fifty dollars item three point
seven is approval of the listed consent agenda items thank you is there an item
that any council member has a question about or needs pool okay is there a
motion for consent agenda yes miss Gilman I move that we approve all
consent agenda items. Ms. Roberts. I second that. Any questions from council or discussion?
Questions or discussion from citizens? Roll call please.
Councilmember Colombo. Yes.
Councilmember Kilman. Yes. Councilmember Lowe. Yes. Councilmember Maxwell. Yes.
Councilmember
Mr. Stanfield.
Yes.
Mayor Harvey.
Yes, and that motion passes.
Next, we have General Beasness of the City Council.
Item 4.1, please.
Item 4.1 is in ordinance adopting a new comprehensive plan
for the City of Carbondale.
Plan Carbondale was recommended to be adopted
as Carbondale's comprehensive plan
by the Planning Commission at their August 13, 2025 meeting.
The plan was then presented to the City Council
on August 26, 2025.
The attached edits and additions
have been made to the plan in response to comments and requests for more information from council.
Information that has been added includes the city's most recent interest in the dark skies initiative,
more detail on park land acreage, and appendix referencing other city plans and data sources that inform the plan document.
All changes have been deemed by staff to be in keeping with the overarching goals and intent of the plan,
so as not to require another public hearing and review by the planning commission.
The plan can be found online at plancarbondale.com and there are attachments with the revised
plan.
The recommended action.
The recommended action is to approve an ordinance adopting a new comprehensive plan for the
City of Carbondale.
Is there a motion from Council?
Mr. Colombo.
I would move that we approve an ordinance adopting a new comprehensive plan for the
City of Carbondale.
Is there a second?
Mr. Stanfield.
I'll second that.
Any discussion from Council?
So, Mr. Roberts.
I was lucky enough to be on the committee for this,
and working with Molly Maxwell,
I don't know how to officially address you,
but for spearheading this enormous project
was an excellent experience for me,
and I think that the group came up
and the committee ended up with a really excellent
Plan so I am glad that we are here. Thank you for all the work you've done and I appreciate you adding on all the extras
I requested other comments from council on this side
Comments or questions from citizens roll call, please
Councilmember Colombo
Yes
Councilmember Killman. Yes
Councilmember Lowes. Yes
Councilmember Maxwell
Council Member Roberts. Yes. Council Member Stanfield. Yes. Mayor Harvey. Yes, and that
motion passes. Next is item 4.2. Mr. Reno. Item 4.2 is an ordinance establishing a portion
of the east side of North Robert A. Stahl's Avenue from the Sycamore Street to East Large
Street as a no parking zone. The community development staff is proposing that the
block of Robert A. Stahl's Avenue between East Sycamore Street and East
Large Street be designated as a no parking zone. Staff receive several
complaints concerning traffic being restricted on this block to one lane
due to people parking on both sides of North Robert A. Stahl's. The width of the
pavement in this area is approximately 30 feet. By the time a car
parks on the east and west sides of the street in this block, the usable
width of the road is reduced to less than 15 feet. Drivers do not feel safe
using the road for two-way traffic when such parking is present. The
The inability for two cars to pass has led to traffic congestion at times and complaints
from motorists to city staff.
Other parts of Robert Estall's have signage designating no parking or have no issues due
to residents as having sufficient off-street parking.
This section of road is well-traveled with New Zion Church located in the adjacent block
to the south in the Irma Hayes Community Center in the next block south.
Numerous residents are in the neighborhood as well, including several Jackson County
Housing Authority residents.
I think that is not a true street which has the condition this particular block staff
is trying to rectify the situation by speaking with residents about the parking habits there
in an opera vehicles and commercial vehicles being parked there.
His attempt is not always been successful.
Therefore staff request the designation of a no parking zone order to facilitate safe
to a traffic.
The city code also addresses this issue in section seventeen dash eight dash three
in relation to pavement with parking.
Parking section 3 of that reads if the current average daily traffic count at the time of
the completion of the improvement on a local street consists of 1000 vehicles per day or
less and parallel parking is allowed on both sides of the street the minimum width for such
street must be 34 feet which width shall be determined as set forth in section a
one of the section of the code while that particular code section addresses rebuilt
or repaired street staff feels it is a good measure of the proper street width for streets
with parallel parking. Feedback from members of the neighborhood and the New Zion Church
Pastors indicates support for this modification to the on-street parking. The recommended
action is to approve an ordinance establishing a portion of the east side of North Robert
Estall's Avenue from East Sycamore Street to East Large Street as a no parking zone.
Is there a motion?
Ms. Kilman.
I move we approve an ordinance establishing a portion of the east side of North Robert
Estall's Avenue from East Sycamore Street to East Large Street as a no parking
the parking zone. Thank you. Is there a second? Mr. Maxwell. I second that. In a discussion
from council, Mr. Stanfield. Yeah, why is that particular spot designated for no parking
happen? Why is that particular spot a problem? It really relates to the on street parking
that exists there for some particular residents that have more vehicles than they have parking
allowed for it. They're personal residences. So we've just received a lot of feedback from
community members there that especially when it's dark and when there's busier times, Sundays,
for church and things, it's very difficult for two-way traffic to move through there.
Thank you.
Mr. Colombo.
And this is kind of a follow-up question to that. When I travel through there, it
seems that there's kind of one particular set of vehicles that may belong to just
a single individual or a company or something like that, trailers and other items seemed
like that was causing some of this congestion. Is that relatively accurate?
Is it accurate that this is kind of an impact of one or two individuals, not abundance of
folks that would use that for parking?
Yes, and those individuals have been addressed about specific violations that may be observed,
but overall, there's nothing that restricts the vehicles from being there.
It's just that given the design of the roadway and the amount of traffic moving through
there, it just doesn't allow for safe movement of two-way traffic with vehicles parked there.
Questions or comments from citizens?
Council Member Colombo. Yes. Council Member Kilman. Yes. Council Member Lowe's. Yes.
Council Member Maxwell. Yes. Council Member Roberts. Yes. Council Member Stanfield. Yes.
Mayor Harvey. Yes, and that motion passes. Next on the agenda, Item 5, Executive Session.
item five point one is a motion to enter into executive session to discuss the
setting of a price for the sale or lease of property owned by the public body
discussion by the public body and executive session of the below listed
exceptions is permitted by the Illinois Open Meetings Act in the event that
any action is to be taken as a result of the discussions held in the
executive session final action will be taken only upon return to open
session and will be preceded by a public recital of the nature of the
matter being considered and other information that will inform the
public of the business being conducted. The exception here is according to Illinois statute
six, the setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body. The recommended
action is to enter into executive session to discuss the setting of a price for the
sale or lease of property owned by the public body in accordance with Illinois Meetings
Act with the appropriate section cited. Thank you. Is there a motion to enter into
executive session? Ms. Kielman. I move that we enter into executive session to
to discuss the setting of the price for the sale or lease of property owned by the public body is there a second.
Mr. Roberts second that with the court with the clerk call the role please.
Council Member Colombo. Yes. Council Member Kilman. Yes. Council Member Lowes.
Yes. Council Member Maxwell. Yes. Council Member Roberts. Yes. Council Member Stanfield. Yes.
You're Harvey.
Yes.