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Marshall City Council will have different feel

MARSHALL – Longtime Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes has seen plenty of public servants come and go over the last two decades. Soon, he will be overseeing a city council with two new members, and moving forward, he is confident the new council members will work in the best interest of a continually-growing community.

“I’ve been involved in city government for 30 years, and in that time there’s always been turnover on the city council,” said Byrnes. “It’s always refreshing to have new faces come on the council. Each individual brings their own levels of knowledge and expertise but also kind of learn how we work together as a group. There’s no one person, whether it’s myself or any council member, who can do anything by themselves. It really takes us working together as a group.”

Only one incumbent won on Election Night. While incumbent Glenn Bayerkohler defeated Donald Edblom and Noel Ayala to keep his seat in Ward 1, Ellayne Conyers and Larry Doom were ousted. James Lozinski garnered 51 percent of the vote in Ward 3, compared to Conyers’ 30 percent, and Dr. Steven Meister edged incumbent Larry Doom, 48 percent to 44 percent.

“I think it’s always a healthy thing to have a difference of opinion on the city council, so different views are reflected,” Byrnes said. “At the end of every decision, we can disagree, but then we come together on moving forward with whatever decision was made by the majority of the council. Everyone’s interest on the city council is making a positive change for the community moving forward.”

As far as how the community needs to move forward in the future, Byrnes said Marshall continues to grow. The new council members’ campaign focused on fostering development in Marshall in response to the number of vacant buildings in town. But Byrnes said that is simply a fact of life in a growing community.

“While there are some vacant buildings in town, many of those are because there have been new buildings built,” he said. “Kruse built a new building, Beverage Wholesalers built a new distribution center. A growing community always has some properties on the market as new buildings go up.”

Lozinski said he understands there will be vacancies from time to time, but he said in a vibrant community, those buildings wouldn’t be vacant for long.

“I look at Kmart and County Fair – those are two big, vacant buildings, and the longer they sit there, the less they’re worth,” he said. “We need to fill those. We need to have businesses fill those when they come open. We need a community more open to private businesses.”

Byrnes said one of the city’s challenges in the future is continuing job growth and development, much of which could hinge on decisions made in the new Industrial Park as the city works with potential job creators in that area.

Lozinski said the city needs less government influence and fewer regulations for businesses.

“I believe Marshall has changed the last couple years; it’s gone to where government doesn’t believe the citizens can actually take care of themselves. Some of the complaints we heard from homeowners is there are too many rules. I want to keep Marshall growing by lessening some of the regulations that come into play,”?he said.

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