Downtown association gets new leader, hears questionnaire results

Crump takes over from AmeriCorps VISTA Josh King, whose year of service with Marshall-Saline Development Corporation will end in less than a month.

At the DMA's meeting Monday evening, Oct. 5, King told those present about the results of DMA's questionnaire, which was available through KMMO's and The Marshall Democrat-News' Web sites.

The 30-question survey asked for people's opinions about the Marshall downtown area and development in it. About 100 responses were received, King said.

Respondents ranked the importance of things like events, restaurants, specialty shops, etc., on a 5-point scale, with 1 being very opposed and 5 being very supportive.

"Restaurants got the most votes by far," King said.

They received an average score of 4.39, and retail stores scored at 4.28. Specialty stores were the next highest at 4.1.

On the questionnaire, there was also an open space for people to leave specific comments. Some suggestions for downtown from that part of the survey included a pawn shop, a meat market, a bakery, a coffee shop and an arcade.

In other business, DMA members read and discussed proposed bylaws for the organization, written by Crump. The bylaws create a board of directors and outline the association's committees. They also define physical boundaries of Marshall's downtown.

DMA members were not in agreement about all aspects of the bylaws, so no action was taken.

The DMA's nex meeting is Monday, Nov. 2, at 5:45 p.m. in the library.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net