Photo by Deb Gau On Tuesday, Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud went over design proposals to replace the city band shell at Liberty Park.

MARSHALL — The city of Marshall took a step forward Tuesday with plans to replace the city band shell at Liberty Park.

Marshall City Council members approved a roughly $97,000 proposal with a Sioux Falls firm for design and engineering work on a new band shell.

“We do have a draft contract from them, not reviewed and finalized, but we wanted to bring it forward so we can kind of keep our process moving,” Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud told council members. “We’ll bring it to council when we’re ready to present some design work.”

The band shell at Liberty Park was built in the 1950s, and is now facing some serious structural problems like shifted foundations. The city of Marshall was awarded a $498,000 grant to replace the bandshell from the Minnesota Historical Society’s Commemorative Statues, Memorials and Historic Preservation program.

The city put out a request for proposals for architectural services for a new band shell design in January, said Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson. They received a total of 11 proposals.

“It was great to see. We were hoping to get five or six (RFPs),” Stensrud said.

“We did interview five firms on Feb. 26, and we are bringing forward a recommendation,” Hanson said.

Stensrud said city staff recommended Koch Hazard Architects of Sioux Falls to work on the design and engineering for a new band shell. Koch Hazard’s proposal had a cost not to exceed $97,633.

“They have very thorough background in outdoor performance structures with their team,” he said.

Stensrud said Koch Hazard would be working with a team that included RISE Structural Associates, which was the structural engineering firm that inspected the band shell, and Stockwell Engineers.

“They’re working with us on the pool, is that the same Stockwell?” asked council member James Lozinski.

Stensrud said Stockwell Engineers was working with the city on the new Marshall Aquatic Center project.

Stensrud said he was looking forward to having a design layout for a new band shell. He thought having a design would help encourage fundraising efforts for the project.

“Having a picture will get us a lot farther,” he said.

Council members voted to approve the RFP from Koch Hazard Architects.