The City of Marysville is gearing up for its bicentennial celebration next year.
Marysville City Council officials reviewed the event’s budget at their work session Monday night.
“I wanted to make sure you guys have the pulse of what’s going on,” said City Manager Terry Emery.
According to the budget, the city is set to spend about $108,000 on its bicentennial celebrations. Events and Recreation Coordinator Amanda Morris and Public Information Officer Anna Krutowskis presented the budget, and Morris said the figures are preliminary.
Morris said the main event would take place Aug. 16 and 17, during its standard Friday Nights Uptown event and then the next day.
Officials have not yet finalized entertainment. The city is looking to get country singer Ashley McBride as entertainment for Friday or Saturday. Officials already have a quote of $15,000 and her rider for review. McGuffey Lane has also confirmed. The budget also lists “local bands throughout the day.”
Other items listed are a bicentennial video and historical marker.
“We feel like these are achievable items that we can pursue,” Morris said.
Morris said there will also be a historical marker and time capsule ceremony and cupcake sale on Aug. 10.
City Engineer Jeremy Hoyt also told officials about the planned bicentennial park to go in on the northeast corner of East Ninth Street and South Main Street.
Officials noted the official name won’t necessarily be “Bicentennial Park,” and that’s simply a name they’ve used internally. Hoyt said the park should be open late summer or early fall 2019.
The city is working with Memorial Hospital on the park, which has offered to cover the upkeep.
“They have a specific interest on how good it looks,” Emery said.
The city will review plans with Memorial Hospital next week, Hoyt said.
“It’s moving along pretty well, and hopefully we’ll have something to share when it’s more finalized,” Hoyt said.
Earlier in the meeting, officials discussed the possibility of dissolving the city’s exterior property maintenance commission.
Zoning Administrator Ron Todd said the dissolution would help streamline the process by splitting the responsibility between the design review board and board of zoning appeals. He said those boards are qualified to handle the responsibility of the exterior property maintenance commission.
Todd said since the beginning of 2017, there has been trouble maintaining interest in the commission. Additionally, only five appeal cases have been submitted to the commission since the beginning of 2017.
The design review board would handle the Connie Patterson Beautification Award and the Holiday Lights Award.
Councilperson Tracy Richardson asked if there was any way to include the current members of the commission into future operations. Todd said they’re free to apply for the design review board, which has terms ending in the near future.
Emery said the people on the design review board have the qualifications needed to take over the commission’s duties with those contests.
Richardson said as she was thinking back to why when the exterior property maintenance committee was made, she realized it was mainly for the Connie Patterson Beautification Award.
Councilperson Alan Seymour said that award program requires enthusiasm, which has proven difficult to foster among the current commission.
Todd said at the moment, the city doesn’t plan on taking any action until next year, since it wants the Holiday Lights contest out of the way.
Emery said the idea was brought before the administration about a month ago.
“I just think it makes a lot of sense,” Emery said.
Richardson also asked if the city had asked members of the design review board if they’d be willing to take on the extra responsibility.
Todd said officials have spoken to design review board chair Tim Schacht, who supported the idea.
“He was more than happy to do it,” Todd said.