Spring is here and with it comes a new construction season and new year of exciting projects for the community. While many of these projects have been discussed and planned for years, others are more recent. As you drive around town, here are some projects you will see happening this year:

First and Church Street parking lot –This project was slated for 2020, but the August derecho caused a delay to this year. The parking lot will be paved with permeable pavers on less of a grade than it currently is. It will feature multiple public electric car charging stations.

Pickleball Pocket Park — This project will transform an alley and parking lot between City Hall and the Coliseum into a pocket park which will feature a pickleball court, a public art project, seating, plantings and more.

Fourth Street and Meadow Lane storm sewer project — Residents will see a lot of work in this area as storm sewer is added in this final phase to cap off a project that started with providing drainage for the Police and Fire Building. Work will also occur on some adjacent streets as well.

Trail replacement — While the areas of work have yet to be determined, the city will be spending nearly $500,000 on replacing areas of the Linn Creek Trail where the asphalt is in poor condition with a new concrete trail. Other maintenance will occur to the areas of the trail that are not being replaced.

Sixth Street softball complex parking lot — Half of the parking lot will be repaved this year, providing a much needed update to a facility with a lot of use by both residents and visitors to Marshalltown.

Anson Park shelter — Last year we determined it was too expensive to make this into a shelter for year-round use, so the project this year will be to make some updates to the building. The exact scope of work is yet to be determined.

East Merle Hibbs — Utility work has been occurring all winter, and now the paving work will begin. It is expected to be completed in July.

Edgewood extension — Design is still happening on this project, but it will likely be under construction by July and hopefully completed by the end of the year.

We also have a few projects that won’t be as easily spotted by the public but are still very important to the community:

Airport terminal and hangar — Though the Marshalltown Airport is located north of city limits, it serves as the front door for some visitors to the city. This project will be a larger hangar to accommodate overnight parking of private planes and provide a new terminal with updated facilities.

Clarifier repair — The city’s wastewater treatment plant has three clarifiers which perform the final step in the wastewater treatment process. Treated wastewater goes into a clarifier which circulates the water and allows the remaining sediment to fall to the bottom. Two clarifiers have been damaged by high ground water levels, and they will be repaired this summer.

Also, the city will have some conversations about big projects in the coming months. Stanley Consultants is nearly complete with their assessment and proposed scope of work for a renovation of the Center Street viaduct. This will likely come before the city council in April for discussion. We anticipate a June or July city council meeting to talk through the proposed implementation schedule being assembled as part of the Downtown Implementation Plan. Please take an opportunity to participate and provide your input.

And finally, the city will be holding our public hearing on our proposed Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2021 through 2024 on March 22 at 5:30pm. This presents a look at what capital projects are proposed for the future and can be found on the city’s website www.marshalltown‐ia.gov.

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Jessica Kinser is the Marshalltown City Administrator.