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Marshall officials testify to Legislature seeking Arts and Cultural Heritage funds for band shell
Summary
City officials testified at a Senate appropriations hearing seeking Arts and Cultural Heritage (Legacy) Fund support to replace Marshall’s structurally compromised band shell, and presented sales-tax contribution data showing modest returns to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund from local sales.
Mayor (name not specified) told the City Council that they and Preston Stensrud testified before a Senate appropriations committee on a bill introduced by Senator Dames requesting Legacy Fund support for repairs or replacement of the band shell in Marshall’s park system.
The testimony, presented to the Senate committee, included background on the city’s contributions to the Legacy Fund and the band shell’s structural problems, Mayor (name not specified) said: "We also gave them information about the need on the band shell, that it is, has structural issues, is in need of replacement." The Senate hearing on the appropriation took place on the Senate side; the bill had not yet been introduced in the House, the mayor said.
The council received a handout compiled by EJ showing the city’s sales-tax-related figures and the small amount Marshall has received back from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (the Legacy Fund). City staff told the council the city’s gross taxable sales figure used in the handout was about $18.4 million since the half-cent sales tax took effect; 75 percent of that amount—reported as roughly $13.8 million—represents the portion subject to the 0.375 percent Legacy Fund distribution. EJ told the council the city has received about $40,000 total from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund across several distributions tied to projects such as murals, a Mrs. Whitney statue and a sesquicentennial project.
The mayor said the absence of questions at the Senate committee hearing was a positive sign and that the city’s lobbyist, Marty Seifert, had arranged meetings on the House side. The mayor and staff said they planned meetings with state House members and with officials from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to discuss other economic-development opportunities requiring DEED assistance.
The council did not take any formal action on the band shell at the meeting; the remarks were a report of testimony the mayor and others provided at the State Capitol. The city did not specify a House bill number or an expected appropriation amount in the council discussion.
Council members asked clarifying questions about the sales-tax numbers after EJ’s presentation. EJ explained the accounting approach: the half-cent collections total about $18.4 million and 75 percent of that figure equals the roughly $13.8 million used to calculate the city’s share of Legacy-related distributions; the council was told the approximately $40,000 received to date came in three separate years for specific arts projects.
The mayor and staff said they will continue follow-up meetings at the Capitol and with DEED; no funding decision or local commitment beyond testimony was announced at the meeting.
