Carbondale council approves rezoning and solar permits, adopts residency change and honorary street namings; consent agenda passes

Carbondale City Council adopted multiple ordinances, resolutions and approvals during its July 8 meeting. Major outcomes included:

- Consent agenda approved: The council approved the consent agenda (items 3.1–3.13), which included approval of meeting minutes, warrants, purchase awards, contract approvals, acceptance of board minutes, demolition contracts, and a budget adjustment for the Carbondale Public Library (FY2026) increasing the library budget by $990,000 for building infrastructure and HVAC improvements. Warrant numbers approved included 1513 ($1,529,690.57) and 1514 ($1,872,475.30). The motion to approve the full consent agenda was moved by Council member Gilman and seconded by Council member Roberts; roll call was unanimous in favor.

- Honorary street namings adopted: The council passed two honorary naming resolutions. East Oak Street (from North Illinois Avenue to North Wall Street) was designated Kenneth Kent Mason Way to honor the late barber and community leader; North Washington Street (from East Main Street to East Fisher Street) was designated Albert Simon Senior Way, recognizing Elbert/Albert Simon Sr.’s role in a 1970 de‑escalation and later civic service. Equity and engagement coordinator Sharonda Cawthon clarified during public comment that the council approved honorary signs and that the street names are not being legally renamed. Family members and residents addressed the council in support of the honors.

- Rezoning and special use permits for solar arrays approved: The council adopted an ordinance rezoning a Bain parcel (Parcel Number 15‑17‑327‑023) from PUD (planned unit development) back to AG (general agriculture). The council then approved special‑use permits for Arena Night 2 Solar LLC (3 megawatt array at the terminus of Bain Drive) and Arena Night 1 Solar LLC (3.8 megawatt array at 1914 West Sycamore Street), with conditions including adherence to the submitted application package, an Army Corps of Engineers determination on wetlands or an approved permit prior to site plan submission, and in one case a requirement that a specific parcel annex into the city corporate limits. Planning Commission recommended approval of these items before council action.

- Housing assistance program changes: On item 4.1 (amendments to the Curb Appeal Assistance Program and the Down Payment Assistance Program), the council amended the staff proposal at the table and adopted two of the proposed changes: (1) applicants would no longer be allowed to participate in all three programs in the same year and instead could use a maximum of two programs (for example, down payment assistance OR curb appeal, but not both in the same year); and (2) curb appeal program use would be limited to once every five years (down payment and single‑family conversion programs remain one‑time participation). Council declined to adopt staff’s proposed reduction of the maximum income threshold from 180% to 150% of Jackson County median area income at this meeting; that element (staff’s item number 1) was not approved.

- Employee residency boundary expanded: The council approved an ordinance amending employee residency requirements to permit all employees (except the city manager) to reside within a 20‑mile radius of the intersection of West Walnut Street and South Illinois Avenue; the boundary excludes portions that fall in Missouri. Council members said expanding the pool of potential applicants and easing promotion barriers were motivations for the change.

Roll call votes recorded during the meeting were unanimous in favor for the recorded items. Where provided in the dialogue, movers and seconders were: Gilman (motion for consent agenda) with Roberts second; Colombo moved the rezoning ordinance, Lowes second; Kilman moved the special use permit for Arena Night 2, Colombo second; Colombo moved the special use permit for Arena Night 1, Endicott second; Lowes moved the residency ordinance, Kilman second. The meeting included public comment in support of the honorary street namings and questions about the scope of the namings; Sharonda Cawthon and family members spoke to the council about the honorary naming process and implementation.