What is a city to do with older sites that have been abandoned that have the stigma that there are some environmental issues? If the city is Marshalltown, it goes out and applies for and receives a $300,000 grant from the EPA to find out if these so called Brownfield sites are contaminated with, say, lead or asbestos. That three-year award was announced yesterday by the EPA. Housing and Community Development Director Michele Spohnheimer says the funds will be used to assess properties, to find out if there are any issues.

Spohnheimer notes the grants will be used to not only identify and put together a plan for these brownfield sites, but to also host meetings to get public feedback on the process and possible uses for the sites that are identified.