Marshall residents filled a room at the Martin Community Center for a Town Hall meeting with the city council and City Administrator David Haugland on Thursday, January 18.
During the hour-and-45-minute get-together, several topics were covered, including the city’s attempt at getting a new grocery store.
Ward 1 Councilman Ron Ott said it’s been a lengthy process.

Ott said he rarely goes a day of talking to somebody when they don’t bring up the question, “When are we going to get that new grocery store?”
Ott said the process is continuing, and the goal of the council is to make it happen. He said feasibility still is an issue.

Ott says the council hasn’t put all its eggs in one basket, as it also is talking with two other companies. He said the goal is to get something to happen in 2018.
Other topics discussed included the process of cleaning up the town, including tearing down dilapidated and dangerous buildings and rundown houses; the possibility of a hotel and restaurant being built at the junction of U.S. Highway 65 and Route YY; the city’s budget; the city’s continued attempt to acquire the old Marshall Habilitation Center property; as well as the city’s interest in money it will receive from a proposed half-cent sales tax for the county for economic development, provided it passes during the Municipal Election on April 3.