Mayor Duncan: Du Quoin off to great start in 2014

A simple question for Mayor Rex Duncan as the City of Du Quoin begins a new year. "What are your thoughts about the coming year."

Duncan took time from his New Year's holiday to reply. He says:

"I think the City of Du Quoin will be off to a great start in 2014. We have quite a lot of good things going on locally and regionally that be good for the city in the new year. Here are some of them:

:"The Downtown Du Quoin renovation will conclude sometime in the spring. As soon as the weather breaks the sidewalk project will conclude. Once completed, the street overlay will put a new surface on Main Street from Hickory to Washington Streets. New Wave is also looking at ways to make the entirety of Downtown Du Quoin as wireless hotspot.

"Overall, infrastructure work in Du Quoin will subside as planning continues for future projects and we work to rebuild our cash reserves. A few areas for planning will be ways to increase our potable water storage, water line replacements, and infrastructure development along the South Washington Street Business District. We've spent a lot of money recently. That spending needs to slow during the next couple of years.

"Our position relative to economic development remains strong. With the addition of the new Du Quoin's Bottom Dollar Cost Plus grocer and some other new retailers at the Southtowne Shopping Center we will also be working with existing businesses to support expansion. Belt Tech will open at the Industrial Park as other possible new tenants express interest in the site. The solar energy field at the Industrial Park is proving to be a strong attractant.

":Southern Illinois Coal Belt Champion Community, Inc., now doing business as Champion Community Investments, is now recognized by the U. S. Department of the Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI. We will be receiving a $600,000 grant from Treasury to help develop new financial products for business in the CCI 5-county service area, of which Perry County is included. What started 10 years ago as a little local economic development initiative will soon have nearly $4.5 million in business lending assets.

"One big challenge for all of the city council is attracting young people into community service. We have many wonderful, hard-working volunteers without whose help Du Quoin would suffer, but we need more of the 20- and 30-somethings to add their time and talents to lend sustainability to local efforts like Tourism.

"Speaking of Tourism, another challenge is to find ways to re-integrate the Street Machines event into Downtown Du Quoin. 2013's Street Machine security was pretty heavy-handed. We just didn't know what to expect. The comfort level is there now, though, and we need to encourage Street Machine visitors to feel welcomed and appreciated throughout all of Du Quoin. The Du Quoin State Fairgrounds is the magnet that attracts visitors to Du Quoin. We need to make sure we keep the "Welcome" mat out for fairground visitors at all times.

"We'll also be looking for ways to partner with Amtrak to make Du Quoin a destination stop for passenger rail service. The Amtrak representatives who recently visited Du Quoin shared some great ideas on growing our ridership. We need to take advantage of those opportunities."