The saga of the downtown former hospital property continues.

On Monday, Attorney Chad Frese, representing property owner CD Marshalltown, filed a notice of appeal of Judge Christopher Polk’s ruling that the deed of the property should be turned over to the City of Marshalltown.

After the June 10 ruling occurred, Scott Covalt, the owner of CD Marshalltown, had 30 days to file an appeal. Even though previous reports were 20 days, attorney and former Mayor Joel Greer said it is 30, and the appeal was filed within 26 days.

City Administrator Carol Webb said the next step is for the city’s legal counsel to respond to the appeal.

“The city remains the titleholder of the property while the appeal is pending,” she said.

Since the city took ownership, there have been people on the property conducting routine assessments and gathering information.

“As the current owner of the property, the city has a responsibility to understand its condition,” Webb said. “. . . No demolition or other irreversible work is taking place.”

Despite an appeal, Webb added that the district court’s ruling was a significant step toward resolving the longstanding concerns of residents in the community.

“The city is confident in its position and will continue working in the best interest of Marshalltown residents,” she said.

Greer said Frese’s appeal was sent to the Iowa Supreme Court in Des Moines, and those justices will determine whether or not to send the case to the Iowa Court of Appeals where his wife, Sharon, is a justice.

“It will likely languish on appeal while the Supreme Court makes that decision,” he said. “It could take three months before anyone in the Supreme Court even looks at it, before they send it to Appeals.”

There are procedures between the time of the appeal filing and the Supreme Court decision. Greer said the next step is filing the transcript of the Marshall County court case within 90 days. He added that it should not take too long as Covalt was not allowed to provide his defense as he did not have an attorney at that time. After the Supreme Court has gathered the required information, the city should have 21 days to file a response.

While the Supreme and Appeals courts add time to the legal process, Webb said the city will continue planning and preparing.

“We understand and share residents’ desire to see this property addressed,” she said. “That’s exactly why the city pursued this case. . . We are using this period productively so that we’re ready to move forward as soon as we’re able.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.