Marshall Mayor Vince Lutterbie is expressing confidence that the council’s vote Tuesday night entering the city into a contract to sell the site of the municipal court will lead to the development of a grocery store that’s much needed in that part of the city.

Lutterbie tells KMMO News that the provisions included in the contract offered to the Overland Group for the lot at Lafayette and Eastwood will ensure that the group build a DG Market if they agree to go through purchasing the lot for $150,000. Lutterbie adds that residents in northeastern Marshall are in need of a closer option for fresh groceries.

Lutterbie says years of work have gone into pitching the site as a location for a small grocery store, and adds that DG Market might be the best opportunity to land one. However, he adds that Overland is looking at other locations in Marshall where the firm could build a standard Dollar General location instead of a DG Market.

Lutterbie notes that should the sale go through, the municipal court would relocate into city hall and use the council chambers. The court could relocate downstairs to the current location of the library should voters approve Proposition L in November that would allow the Marshall Public Library to relocate to a new location south of the square.