An interesting year: 2013
Even for Carbondale — which in recent years saw residents slap a 20 cent fee on paper bags at City Market in order to protect the environment, and hammered shopping-center developers so badly they have yet to return – the year 2013 was an interesting one.
While other towns and counties dithered, dathered and weaseled around with whether to allow licensed stores to sell marijuana, the Carbondale Board of Trustees barely nodded to each other before plowing into an eventual nine-month discussion that would result in ordinances that allow up to five “pot shops” to sell limited amounts of the still federally-banned plant in 2014.
Meanwhile, a special taxing district (in this case the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District), got the word from voters loud and clear they did not want to pay more money in the form of increased property taxes, even though it could mean emergency response times might be slower than in previous years.
On a sunnier note, Carbondale Mountain Fair started charging for folks who want to enjoy the festivities under private shade tents; town trustees gave an internationally known sculptor the old library building for $1 a year so he can display his work under the auspices of a museum; and the 100+year-old Thompson House received federal historic designation status.