T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Members of the Marshalltown city council along with City Clerk Alicia Hunter, Mayor Joel Greer and City Administrator Carol Webb converse during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Amidst ongoing discussion about lease agreements for various local sports leagues amidst recent changes in water billing, the Marshalltown City Council voted unanimously to proceed with allocating up to $75,000 in council-designated Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money toward the development of a master plan for the city’s youth and adult recreational sports facilities during Tuesday night’s regular meeting.

City Administrator Carol Webb said staff was requesting that a consultant be hired to prepare the plan as she did not feel they had the expertise in house to do so, and she estimated the cost at between $50,000 and $75,000 while providing a draft of the Request for Proposal (RFP) document and noting that the LOST fund currently has a balance of nearly $1.8 million.

“I’d like to support this project. It seems like we have lost some recreational facilities for adults and youths over my time in Marshalltown, over 45 years, but, you know, it’s time to modernize this, get our facilities together (and) easier to maintain, lower long-term expenses, higher utilization. I think this is a great idea,” Councilor Jeff Schneider said.

He subsequently motioned to proceed with allocating up to $75,000 toward an RFP for the plans, and before the vote, Mayor Joel Greer noted some of Marshalltown’s recent successes in track, tennis and eSports while making the case for increased participation among young Bobcats. A motion to proceed with the plan passed by a 6-0 vote as Councilor Greg Nichols was absent.

Piggybacking off of recent discussions, Webb said the council had been advised to reevaluate its lease agreements with various organizations, and two councilors joined the city administrator and City Attorney Steve Leidinger on that ad hoc committee. According to Webb, they have recommended a policy that would charge fair market rent for city facilities unless a public benefit can be demonstrated.

With no further discussion from the council or the public, Councilor Gary Thompson motioned to have staff put the formal policy together and bring it back as a resolution. It passed 6-0. Currently, the city has a total of 18 lease agreements in place with other public and private entities ranging from the American Legion Golf Course to the Iowa River OHV Club to the Union Pacific Railroad and various youth sports leagues, to name a few.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.