Marshfield Mayor Holds Listening Session
Friday, April 5th, 2019 -- 9:50 AM
(WDLB) -Marshfield's business climate is good despite news of pending store closings, it's cheaper to live in the city than neighboring townships, and the city's tax rate is the lowest in the region.Those were just some of the topics discussed by Mayor Bob McManus with residents at a listening session last night. The Mayor spent a little over an hour at city hall last night having a dialogue with a dozen or so citizens and city department heads about those issues and others. The Mayor said the city would be using its newly-created Communications Department to ramp up its messaging to residents about topics ranging from roads to taxes to housing, and so much more. The Mayor also boasted about having the lowest tax rate among the four major cities in central Wisconsin. He said the city needs to do a better job of communicating that, along with the fact that it's cheaper to live in the city than neighboring townships. Tim Johnson of 703 North Palmetto stressed communication with neighboring townships.
McManus told Johnson it's one of the issues a new communication committee will be tackling. The topic of housing also got a lot of attention last night, as did the city's business climate, in the wake of recent news that Figi's, Shopko and OfficeMax are all closing this year. Scott Larson, Executive Director of the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry, assured the gathering that it's not just a problem in Marshfield, it's the "new norm" for the retail world. But Larson stressed that doesn't mean "brick and mortar shopping" is dead altogether. As for new business, the Mayor was asked if anyone was coming. He said "there are things being worked on", including a proposed redevelopment of the Marshfield Mall. The listening session last night was the second one held by McManus since taking office last April.
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