>>Rameen Karbassioon: Coming up on City Spotlight, we turn our attention to Marshall.

We will sit down with the mayor of Marshall, Camie Sanders, and Jennifer Bishop of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce.

We will discuss Marshall's expanding retail development, new additions to the downtown area, and we will talk about some of Marshall's annual events.

City Spotlight begins now.

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More information available at consolidated.com.Thank you for joining us for another edition of City Spotlight.

Today, we welcome Marshall to the program.

And with us today is the mayor of Marshall, Camie Sanders.

>>Camie Sanders: Hello.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: And Jennifer Bishop, the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you for both being here.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Thank you for having us.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Appreciate the time to be here.

And we hope to have you guys on many times on here on City Spotlight.

Before we talk about what's going on in Eastern Clark County, if you guys could tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Mayor Sanders, you go first.

>>Camie Sanders: Alright, well we just celebrated our 180th birthday.

There's a lot of new growth, a lot of housing, businesses expanding.

And we're here to hopefully touch on those today.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: I understand you've been in Marshall for quite some time.

>>Camie Sanders: Yeah, I graduated out of Martinsville, which is right down the road.

Actually had a Marshall address, so yeah.

Graduated there in '69, and been in Marshall ever since, so.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: The advantages of, obviously, living in Marshall and being in Marshall for quite some time has probably helped you to be mayor.

You kind of know the layout.

>>Camie Sanders: Oh yeah, there's-- I don't-- there's not a whole lot of people I don't know, let's put it that way, but.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Look forward to hearing your comments the rest of the show.

Jennifer, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, please?

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yeah, I was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas.

I got a degree in advertising and public relations back in, oh a long time ago, 2004, I think.

I've done numerous jobs.

I've worked for the AAA baseball team of the Rockies, and I have also worked for Intel fortune 500 company for many years.

My husband and I-- met my husband in Colorado, and we moved back to Marshall back in '08.

And been in this position for about five years now.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: And what brought a Texas girl to Marshall, Illinois?

>>Jennifer Bishop: The husband.

[laughing] My husband's entire family lives in Clark County, and we decided to come back here and raise a family, which I couldn't have asked for anything better.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Well, we're glad you're here, both of you.

For being here, thank you very much.

Let's start talking about retail development in Marshall.

And it's very busy, I understand.

I haven't been to Marshall too many times more than stopping off the interstate.

And I checked out the Chamber of Commerce page, and wow, you guys have a lot of businesses.

Camie, how would you describe Marshall's business scene?

>>Camie Sanders: Growing.

We just had a Road Ranger open up out at the plaza.

It seems like Jennifer's always coming to me wanting another grant to help a business expand or move.

We have a State Farm opening the 24th, grand opening for that one, the new business.

So, it just seems to be moving quite along real well right now.

Jennifer just got back from, I think a conference in Chicago, where she plugged us more.

So, we're always plugging.

With the Road Ranger, the count off the interstate has shot like, up almost double.

So, that's a really good deal when you're attracting major retail into you.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: We're talking about the business scene in Marshall.

If you could talk about the variety of businesses, the different types, and/or some of the big names in Marshall.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Sure, we're a very service oriented community, but we do have quite a bit of retail.

We have some antique shops, a lot of restaurants, a lot of really good mom and pop restaurants, a lot of hidden gems in Marshall.

So, very service oriented.

We're starting to get into the retail.

We just had a boutique open last year, and starting to bring in a little bit more retail.

So, it's a good mixture of everything.

We do have several large manufacturers in the area, but the largest is TRW.

And they are currently expanding also.

And then, we also have Charles Industries, which is growing and has become pretty profitable in the last year, year and a half.

Heartland Labels, they make labels that go nationwide, and they're a very big business.

They've also expanded and added a line in.

So, Yargus Manufacturing, they make custom blending equipment for agriculture.

They're expanding also.

So, all of our manufacturers are expanding.

Large employers, Kimco.

The school district is another large employer.

So, you know, we're very well rounded, I think.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Excellent.

Camie, how would you describe being able to grow with Marshall's businesses?

Is there room for growth?

Obviously you want to grow, but is there room for growth?

>>Camie Sanders: Yes, there is.

We look at our infrastructure on where we need to be, and we're actually in the last two years, we've upgraded our electric part of it.

Because we're a service, so we've upgraded the north subs and the south subs, spent millions to make sure TRW doesn't get those little flickers they get.

But Ameren's also expanding.

They're bringing in another-- we'll have service coming in from three directions now when they get the Gatlin line in, they start it in 2016.

So, it's a major upgrades, and I think that's one of the reasons TRW and them are expanding.

They know we'll do just about whatever it takes to keep them and grow.

I mean, when you sit next to Indiana, the City has to make those commitments.

Because, you don't get a whole lot of help from the State right now.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: And we'll talk a little bit about the location of Marshall a little bit later in the program.

Jennifer, you also serve as an economic development director for Marshall.

You deal a lot with, obviously, the businesses and retailers.

Where do you see potential growth for Marshall and its businesses?

>>Jennifer Bishop: We have a lot of potential.

We have opportunities on the I-70 area for growth.

There's, you know, there's land that's available.

Some people might not know it, so contact me, and we'll let them know.

But there is a lot of opportunity to expand and grow, and services that are being leaked out of our area that could be a potential money maker for any potential business that would like to come in.

So, you know, the infrastructure is there, the want is there, the, you know, the desire for the City to do whatever they can to help them grow here is there.

So, I think everything has come together very nicely to have that possibility.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: We're taping this in the middle of October, so about 10 weeks until the new year.

Before we move on to the next segment of the show, are there any notable additions or expansions to any businesses in town that have happened this year?

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yes, so Charles Industries has brought in a new line.

Yargus Manufacturing is getting a new road here, should be pretty soon.

Heartland Labels has added on.

TRW has bought property.

Almost every single one of our manufacturers has expanded.

And we're also expanding in the housing market also.

So, it's definitely there.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Camie, do you have something to add to that?

>>Camie Sanders: Well, Kimco is adding on.

I just talked to them the other day.

They're adding on some more, so.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Alright, excellent.

Okay, let's move on to the downtown area of Marshall.

And Camie mentioned to me that about a year ago at this time, some new additions and improvements were made to the downtown, and some continued improvements going on.

If you could tell us a little bit about what took place a year ago, and how did it help the downtown Marshall area.

>>Camie Sanders: Well, the previous administration had gotten hooked up with the State with Streetscape Projects, and they did Streetscape One.

We finished up with Streetscape Two before the fall festival, which was fantastic.

It really improved the downtown.

We're finishing up another little section of that that had to be done this year.

And then, at the last council meeting there was another proposal that will go north a half to full block.

It will all be funded by the City, so it will take a little bit of time.

But it's really looking sharp.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Was that much needed, something that had been a lot of planning?

>>Camie Sanders: Yeah, I don't think people understand with Streetscape, it ends up looking really, really nice, but most of the improvements are under that.

It's got to do with storm water separation, new water lines, new electric, those kind of things that are all under the ground that people don't see.

And what they see is the finished project, which really looks nice.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Another town that we have had on City Spotlight, Shelbyville, is also starting that process.

So, they hope to have the success that you guys have had with your Streetscape.

Anything, any other additions to the downtown?

Anything else you guys want to talk about the downtown area?

Jennifer, your thoughts on the downtown area and the businesses, the look, the feel?

What does downtown Marshall...?

>>Jennifer Bishop: Downtown Marshall's kind of like the hotspot in town.

We have the courthouse there, so it's the county seat for the county.

You know, yes, the storm water separation is great.

But for me, it looks fresh and new, but it still has a historic touch to it.

You know, new light posts and the brick siding, and things like that.

It looks fresh and new, and it's very inviting for a young person that's looking for a fresh quality of life type of thing.

And we host a lot of events downtown, so it looks really nice.

At our annual festival, we're able to pull up this really nice electrical panels for each food vendor.

So, it's very functional, and it looks nice.

So, it's a little hotspot.

It's starting to grow.

We're starting to see a little bit more retail.

All of our store fronts are full, except for two, I believe.

So, there's something down there for everybody.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: So, a lot of those improvements are starting to show that they've helped out with being able to host events on a regular basis.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Oh, and they've helped out other businesses to say, "Hey, maybe, looking outside, my building might look a little dated.

Maybe I need to look at it, and maybe I should update it."

We're also an Illinois Main Street community, so we have a Main Street that does facade grants for the building owners.

So, in the past year we've seen a lot of businesses repaint and re-tuckpoint their buildings.

It's starting to look very fresh.

So, it looks good.

>>Camie Sanders: I think we've had, I think, if I'm right, Mandy said six applications to paint, put a new roof on.

We give them a thousand dollar grant to help subsidize those extra costs.

Like, when you're downtown, let's face it.

Every building's, you know, two or three stories high.

So, that's a man lift.

And we just try to help them out, to make sure that that stays historical, but yet it keeps moving.

And I will say we did sponge off of Charleston.

Their brochure about historic, how they did theirs, we really liked it.

And the historical committee is looking at using them as a starting point to grow on that.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: For every town that we've had on City Spotlight, Arcola, Taylorville, Effingham, Paris, you name it, the downtown area is it.

No matter how old it is, it's a very important aspect of every town.

Camie, I want to ask you about ordinances.

One of the first things you wanted to talk about was incentives.

And those are in place for the model of trying to keep businesses in Marshall.

If you could maybe elaborate on the whole incentive idea.

>>Camie Sanders: Okay, well, it's, and I'll turn this over to Jennifer too because she really handles the economic part of it, but the city council was forward looking.

And since I've taken office, I think we've doubled almost every incentive.

Because, when you're sitting there next to Indiana, it's what, 13 miles away, the business culture needed to be improved.

And I, that's why we're seeing what we're seeing.

They're not, I mean, nobody's going to get rich off our incentives, but we go out of our way.

We have several, including a revolving loan.

I don't think anybody's even using that right now with the interest rate low.

But when the interest rate's high, that thing really becomes appealing.

But even just like taking care of, getting the old houses torn down and stuff, bulldozing incentives to help people with dumpsters and stuff to get that done.

And it's really taken hold.

And like Jennifer said, there's a lot of homes being built, a lot of housing being done.

And we're not done yet, because there is a need, and we just keep trying to fill that, so.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: So, the incentives, as Jennifer, as Camie is alluding to, is to keep Marshall clean, looking clean, and other people are taking on, so they want to get involved with that.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yeah, absolutely.

We have for any new business that's coming in, we have a utility grant, since we are owned by the City, or the utilities are owned by the City.

1,200 dollars towards your utility bill for a year.

We offer a new construction grant, which actually was new this past year, that the council approved.

So, 2,500 dollars for a new business to help with culvert and backfill, and utility hookups and meter fees, and things like that.

It's small, but it helps.

Every bit helps.

We also have the revitalization grant, which is the dumpster grant, to help people take down some of these old, blighted houses that people aren't interested in anymore.

Green space is just as good as a house is, you know, in a lot of opinion.

We also have a Clark County enterprise zone, and it's a sales tax abatement on any of the property or any of the materials you use for building.

And it's also property tax abatement on the increase of value on you property.

And there's a few little ins and outs of that.

But we do have an enterprise zone.

So, those things become very useful for a business, or even some residents that come in and are interested in coming to Marshall.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: You guys have mentioned homes a few times.

Camie, you said some new 14-home spot there in Marshall.

If you could talk about that, please.

>>Camie Sanders: Yes, we just last night approved a 14-house subdivision.

Don Bowen's going to be starting development on that.

Right now, I don't know, he's built four or five houses just in the last couple years.

So, he needs somewhere to build more.

And as soon as he gets done with the couple lots he has in ward three, then I think he's going to start there.

I know just when I left today, I was, I think there's three or four new ones just right now starting.

You know, they're digging foundations, they're starting building.

So, and it's just continuous.

My son's been on this council for, I don't know, 14 years, and he said he's never seen the growth that they're seeing right now, as far as housing and stuff.

So, we're really thrilled about that.

And I know Jennifer's talking to some housing people tomorrow.

So, our location, where we're located.

It's close to Terre Haute, it's close to Paris.

We have people that will live in Marshall because of the school system, which is rated very high, and we're really proud of that, and proud to be a part of it, and part to support them.

So, it's really a good feel and a good fit.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: So, houses are developing now.

Where could potential growth in Marshall for houses, short term looking forward, where in Marshall could we see more houses pop up?

Are there areas you're targeting?

>>Jennifer Bishop: I don't know if there are specific areas that we're targeting, but just in general, yeah.

Just housing and, you know, memory care is needed in our community, facility, memory care facility.

There is still potential land within city limits, outside of city limits, that are development-able.

Yeah, so there's potential out there.

And we have three developers right now that are just booking it.

And they're going to keep on going because they, we have one person that's building a six-complex apartment.

He has five of them already filled.

And he hasn't even broken ground yet.

So, they're moving, and they're booking.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Alright, from places to live in Marshall, somewhere to go.

Marshall has lots of parks in town and around town.

Could be a draw for residential and residents of Marshall, and also people coming to and through Marshall.

Could you tell us a little bit about the parks you guys have there?

One of them is a state park, too.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yeah, so we are home to two parks.

We have the state park, which is Lincoln Trail State Park.

It's a 500 or 500-acre facility.

And they have camping, and fishing, and boating, and they have an open water swim every summer.

It's a great facility.

They're booked every single weekend for the most part, I think.

They're starting to do a lot of activities out there.

Their superintendent right now is just fantastic.

Tom Hintz is doing a really great job out there.

We also have Mill Creek Park, which is north of town.

And it's a 932-acre park, I believe.

And they're booked every week with camping also.

Boating, fishing, swimming.

It's a great park.

We get a lot of tourists going to our two parks.

Every weekend in the summer, you can just see boats just packed of Walmart, because they're out buying their stuff for the weekend.

We get a lot of tourists come through Marshall to go to our two parks.

So, not only those, but we also have city parks.

How many of those do we have?

>>Camie Sanders: At least six.

I was sitting here trying to count them in my head.

We have, we try to give each neighborhood a nice little city park.

We jus thought more property to expand one in, I think that's ward three.

And are also, we're looking at a new pool.

Our pool was built back in 1951, I believe, and its life expectancy is way over.

So, we need to do some major upgrades on it in the millions, or we need to build a new one.

So, we're having, I think it's October 16th, we're having another meeting with Burbach to decide kind of where we're going with this.

And it's one of those things that is a really big draw to the city, and we want to keep it there.

And like I said, our small parks, and with the other parks, there's just a lot to do.

My son gets aggravated when somebody says, "Well, there's nothing to do in Marshall."

It's like, oh my god, there's literally, you know, there's something.

In the summertime, it's not "Is there something to do," which one are you going to pick to do, if you want to do it.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: A swimming pool.

We'll have to follow up on that in the springtime, see how that goes.

I was going to ask you about the location of that.

So, rebuild the new one, or rebuild the current one, or make a new one.

So, we'll have to follow up on that.

If you could talk a little bit about Marshall's annual festivals.

I understand in the fall, you have a fall festival that took place in September.

What does that, and tell us a little about it, please.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yeah, so every year, I think their 85th is next year.

And it's Autumn Fest.

They have a different theme every year.

This has probably been the biggest one that they had.

It's always the third weekend in September.

And it's huge.

They have vendors, and food, and crafts.

And they have over an hour long parade, which is phenomenal.

They have thousands of people that come out to the parade every year.

So, it's just a big homecoming feeling type event that they have.

You know, the pancake breakfast, 5K, the typical festival kind of stuff.

So, they have that every year.

Another big event we have is Holly Days.

We try to do one big Christmas celebration.

We have vendors come down.

We have a Christmas parade, a cookie walk, breakfast with Santa.

We also have a bingo, and then we have the parade, and then that also starts the night of the Festival of Lights through the fairgrounds that has all the Christmas lights that people can go through for free.

We have that, and then normally in, oh my, May we normally have our community wide yard sale, downtown sidewalk sale.

We try to have a career fair sometime throughout the year.

Autumn Fest is a big one.

The Frolic we have at the end of October, which is for Halloween.

We have a costume contest, trunk or treat.

I think we'll have over 60 to 70 cars set up downtown for trunk or treat for the kids to do something fun that night.

So, there's definitely something-- we're trying to do something every month.

>>Camie Sanders: At the end of August, we had the national night out on the national road, trying to tie those two things in.

It was a huge success.

I don't know anybody that wasn't impressed with that.

And it was a whole night of the family being able to come up town, crawl on fire engines, had helicopters there, the National Guard was there.

There was so much to do, and it was all free.

The City furnished hotdogs and Pepsi's, and 180th birthday cake.

And it was just fantastic.

It was-- we did not want anybody uptown setting up that was going to charge somebody something.

It was all free, and it was huge.

And then also, throughout the summer they'll have, well, they had the lemonade stand.

And after the lemonade stand contest, then we had a street dance.

And we've had, I think, three of those this year.

Maybe four, counting-- because we have, every once in a while we'll have a free night at the pool.

And usually, there's a free dance at that.

So-- >>Jennifer Bishop: And I'll also throw in the-- I think we're probably most known for the band concerts on Friday nights.

Every Friday night in the summer, from June to August, at 8pm they have, you know, the city band plays for free, and everybody sits out on the courthouse lawn.

And an organization will sell cobbler and ice cream, and just do something.

It's-- they have a lot of people that come out.

Probably a couple thousand, so it's huge.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: We're running a little bit tight on time here, and we're going to talk about definitely having you guys back on in the spring.

Walldogs are coming to Marshall in 2016, you guys told me.

>>Camie Sanders: We turned that over to Jennifer.

She's totally in charge of that, totally.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Yeah, Walldogs are coming June 22nd through the 26th.

Over 200 artists coming to town to paint 15 historical murals in just four days.

So, we've been fundraising and planning an entire festival around that, the Chamber of Commerce board has.

So, it's going swimmingly.

So, that's coming up in June, and it'll be huge, so.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Well, our time has gone by fast.

So much left I have to talk about.

We'll have to have you guys back on again very soon, talk more about Marshall: the location, history, the national road, Heartland Hall.

So much to talk about with Marshall.

Camie Sanders, the mayor of Marshall, Jennifer Bishop of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce, thank you for both taking the time to be here.

>>Jennifer Bishop: Thanks for having us.

>>Camie Sanders: We appreciate it.

>>Rameen Karbassioon: Thank you.

And as we wrap up here on City Spotlight, let's take a look at some of the upcoming activities going on in Marshall.

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