Marshall To Be Sworn Onto Council Tonight

Robert Marshall will officially join the city council Thursday night.

The 63-year-old former planning commissioner was to fill the vacant seat left after Newark voters elected Al Nagy as mayor in November.

He will take the Oath of Office at the council’s 7:30 p.m. meeting at , 37101 Newark Blvd.

Marshall, a U.S. Navy veteran and real estate appraiser, has been involved with the City of Newark for decades.

His community involvement includes having been part of the Newark Educational Foundation, the Newark Optimist Club, the Mowry Area Residents Association, the Lake and Rosemont Association and the St. Edward’s School Board.

City leaders will vote on declaring a vacancy on the Newark Planning Commission as a result of Marshall’s appointment.

City Clerk Sheila Harrington has said that interested individuals will be required to fill out an application and that one person will be appointed to the seat by the mayor.

That person will then join the seven-person planning commission until the term of the seat expires in December 2014.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the council will vote on whether to allocate approximately $171,800 of the city’s Community Development Block Grant funds toward future renovations at the city’s Senior Center, Head Start building and Second Chance homeless shelter, according to the agenda packet.

The funds would be allocated as follows:

• An estimated $50,000 will go toward fixing the HVAC at the Senior Center as part of its Phase II remodeled building. The building is said to be more than 20 years old and the HVAC “no longer functions well,” according to the city council’s agenda packet.
• A total of $10,000 would be designated for renovations of bathrooms at the Head Start center.
• And the remainder of the money will go toward renovating the Second Chance homeless shelter. The renovations include retroviting the foundation, replacing flooring and repairing the sewer system.

The overall total is based on estimates given from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

City staff is recommending going forward with approving the distribution of funds in order to meet deadlines set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to the council’s agenda.

The item appears on the council’s consent agenda.

To download the full city council agenda, click here to visit the City of Newark website or view the council agenda above.

Editor's note: This report was updated to correct the start time of the city council meeting.