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Canton Convention & Visitors Bureau seeks park dog stations and event approvals; board signs off on Christmas grounds and upcoming events
Summary
Canton Convention & Visitors Bureau asked Madison County supervisors for permission to install dog-waste stations on courthouse grounds, to host a Plein Air paint-out and to use courthouse grounds for the 2025 Christmas festival; the board approved use of the grounds and asked staff to review siting of any installations inside fenced areas.
Representatives from the Canton Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Canton Multicultural Center asked the Madison County Board of Supervisors on June 2 for several approvals related to programming and grounds use at the courthouse square.
Joanne Gordon and Laurie Prince, along with guide Billy Joe Wells, told the board the courthouse grounds are heavily used and that the bureau would like to purchase and maintain dog-waste stations for the grounds. "Canton Convention and Visitors Bureau would like to buy the dog stations if it would be agreeable with the board," the presenter said. Board members noted that property inside the courthouse fence is under county jurisdiction and asked staff to review whether any station would be placed inside the fence; the presenters said they will look first to place stations outside the fence and return to the board if in-fence placement is needed.
The bureau also requested permission to host a Plein Air artists' paint-out on the courthouse square on Oct. 4. County staff said an event application will be required and advised the bureau to work with staff to bring the application forward; the board asked staff to coordinate the application with the county's event process.
The board approved the bureau's request to use the courthouse grounds for the 2025 Christmas festival (October through January 2026). The presenter said the organization has invested more than $82,000 in protective mats and equipment since 2021 to protect the grounds during seasonal events and that the festival draws substantial visitor activity to downtown Canton.
The bureau also noted an unveiling of a March Against Fear marker at McNeil Elementary School on June 14 from 2 to 5 p.m., with Reverend Calvin Day as speaker; supervisors acknowledged the event and thanked the bureau for its partnership.
A separate agenda item accepted a bench donation to Rogers Park from "Saito Far Beta Sorority Incorporated." Christina Luckett presented a photograph of the bench and the board approved acceptance of the donation.
