Although this week’s city council agenda was short on items, council members heard updates on this year’s Farm Progress Show and on the Decatur Public School District’s High School Task Force during two Council Study Sessions.
Saying that the weather for this year’s Farm Progress Show was exceptionally good, Farm Progress Show Manager Matt Jungmann gave a rundown of facts about this year’s show that was held in September.
Going from visitors from foreign countries at the 2007 Farm Progress Show to visitors from fifty-eight countries at this year’s show in Decatur, Jungmann told the council that that the Farm Progress Show leads any farm show in the nation.
Saying this year’s show was a, “grand success”, Jungmann also informed the council that all entities of this year’s show were at maximum capacity from parking to the use of all the show’s infrastructure, including hotel and motels room used, with 8,384 rooms used in 2007 to 9,985 rooms used in the Central Illinois area (with half of the rooms in the Decatur area) to accommodate industry representatives and show attendees.
With an estimated $10,396,400 financial economic impact for the surrounding area because of this year’s Farm Progress Show, Greg Florian, President of Progress City, told the council during his portion of the presentation that the show brings value to the community and a positive community image that helps establish Decatur as the center of the Agribusiness Corridor.
MORE ON Monday night's city council meeting in the Wednesday's print edition of the Decatur Tribune.
