The Marshalltown city council met for the first time in 2026 on Monday night with a new mayor — Mike Ladehoff — and new councilors Sue Cahill and Marco Yepez-Gomez, with the caveat that Cahill previously served on the council before departing for a seat in the Iowa House in 2021.

After moving through the consent agenda and resolutions relatively quickly, the council spent about an hour on a handful of discussion items, including a clarification of the proposed $1.65 million Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with The Integration Group, also known as TIG. City Administrator Carol Webb referenced a previous meeting when the council approved the deal unanimously with the understanding that TIG would be creating 50 new jobs at its Rex Ryden Road facility as a result of a planned expansion project.

After additional discussions, however, Webb said that the actual impact is the retention of 50 current jobs as opposed to job creation, and she welcomed TIG Senior HR Business Partner Whittney Schmidt to the speaking podium.

“It was originally somehow misconstrued that we would be adding 50 jobs. It is actually just retending (sic), the retention of the 50 employees that we employ here in Marshalltown,” she said. “As you guys are probably aware, there’s a lot of limited warehousing space in Marshalltown, and we are currently in three buildings. And we have outgrown all the warehousing that we’re in here in Marshalltown.”

Expanding the Rex Ryden building by 90,000 square feet, Schmidt said, will allow TIG to continue operating and growing in the community where the company began. Webb noted that the company is privately investing $15 million, and they will be entering a minimum assessment agreement of $9.5575 million with the city.

In response to a question from Councilor Melisa Fonseca about what the business does, Schmidt said TIG is a third party logistics warehousing operation that focuses on kitting and assembling packaging and works with companies like John Deere, Kuboda, GM and Audi. Councilor Greg Nichols asked if a traditional tax abatement would make more financial sense for the city as no infrastructure is being developed, and fellow Councilor Gary Thompson expressed skepticism about entering a TIF agreement without new jobs or infrastructure. He hoped to see a pros and cons list for both TIF and an abatement.

“They’ll get a larger rebate under TIF, and I believe that’s what they need to make the addition work here in Marshalltown. Retaining it in Marshalltown also retains the positions here in Marshalltown,” Webb responded.

Nichols added that he wasn’t attempting to “torpedo” the agreement but wanted to determine the best tool with the most mutual benefit for all parties involved. Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Hall then came forward and told the council the reason they were still pursuing the TIF agreement was because the industrial property tax abatement schedule doesn’t cover the cost difference in building the expansion.

He apologized for the miscommunication on the job numbers but also said they would have approached it the same regardless due to the importance of keeping TIG in the community and fostering their ability to grow in the future. Ultimately, Hall said the TIF agreement calculation came down to comparable costs for an expansion in Des Moines.

“What it comes down to is there is warehouse space adjacent to their operations in other communities where they could grow. In order for them to grow here, continue investing here in property, we need to close that gap and help them come to a number that works for the company,” he said. “In this case, that was kind of where we had to negotiate to was that $1.65 (million) incentive.”

The company would receive a 90 percent rebate in years 1-6 followed by an 80 percent rebate in years 7-10. According to Hall, the rebate carves out debt service and others that are unable to be captured through TIF, accelerating the payments back on those. Councilor Mark Mitchell commented that other large businesses expanding have brought more employees to their facilities, and he didn’t see the value in pursuing the agreement without a commitment to adding more jobs.

Hall called the assessment “fair” but countered that TIG has “expertise” specifically housed out of Marshalltown, and without more space, he worried about those jobs potentially moving elsewhere and expanding the expertise in another direction. He added that there is still plenty of room for job creation in the future, but it all depends on which companies TIG is able to contract with.

“The hope is that there will be job creation and expansion on the other side, but we know that the opposite is true, that if we are not willing to invest and support this company on their growth and expansion, they will ultimately develop operational expertise in another location related to the work that is performed here and that we will be in a worse position from a competitive perspective for retaining and growing their jobs here in our market,” he said.

Schmidt added that the company’s supply chain expertise is based primarily in Marshalltown, and as expansions and acquisitions continue, it will require more IT, accounting and supply chain staff locally.

“As we grow, which we are going to do, the hope is that we would expand here in Marshalltown and that headcount here. We just can’t say exactly ‘Yes, we are adding 40 new jobs in the next year.’ It is contract based,” she said.

Thompson then reiterated that he wanted to keep TIG in Marshalltown but wanted to reach an agreeable deal both for the company and taxpayers — and because the expansion didn’t meet all of the typical criteria for TIF, he asked to see a side-by-side comparison between TIF and a traditional abatement.

During the public comment period, Lonnie Hogeland told the council Hall deserved a raise and, in commending the council for its efforts, hoped a fair deal would be reached. After Webb offered to present a side-by-side comparison, Councilor Jeff Schneider motioned to proceed with the current agreement as is and bring back a formal resolution to that effect, and it passed by a 5-2 tally with Thompson and Mitchell opposed.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a resolution authorizing the city of Marshalltown to submit a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields assessment grant.

• Approved the sale of the city-owned property at 20 E. Main St., the former Angels building, to Phillip and Elisabeth Curtis, the owners of Happily Ever Crafted — In Stitches, for $10,000. Closing is targeted for Feb. 28, and construction must commence within six months after deed recording. Additionally, the first floor must be finished within 24 months, and the second floor within 60 months. The city reserves a right of reversion if redevelopment requirements are not met.

• Observed a moment of silence in honor of late Marshall County Supervisor Kevin Goodman, who died last week.

• Honored Deborah Ewoldt for five years of service to the solid waste commission, Deirdre Gruendler for five years of service to the planning and zoning commission, Ruzan Morrison for five years of service on the library board of trustees, Kelli Thurston for 10 years of service on the board of adjustment, John Mahlstede for 10 years on the building board of appeals and Jon Boston for 45 years on the planning and zoning commission.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.