Community members listen during the Sept. 25 town hall at Marysville City Hall, where city officials discussed cleanup efforts and redevelopment ideas for the former Hotel Marysville site. Captured from Yuba-Sutter Live Stream

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - Marysville residents gathered Sept. 25 at City Hall for a community town hall focused on the future of the former Hotel Marysville property, a long-troubled downtown landmark demolished after a devastating fire in 2024.

Mayor Chris Branscum opened the meeting by clarifying its purpose.

“Consistent with open meeting laws, no formal action will be taken on this site at this meeting,” Branscum said.

Instead, officials invited public feedback as part of the city’s application for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleanup grant.

Marysville City Manager Jim Shaad explained the scope of the grant.

“We are looking to apply for a U.S. EPA grant,” Shaad said. “The goal of these grants is really not just to remove the material that may contaminate the site but also to look towards development — and the reason they want us to remove the materials is so that some type of productive development can happen.”

Shaad recalled the city’s struggle since acquiring the property in a legal settlement.

“Since I’ve been here we have been working on what to do with the hotel,” Shaad said. “We were very hopeful that the hotel could have been rehabilitated, but then we had the devastating fire and that fire weakened the structure of the building and was blocking a major state route and needed to be demolished.”

Marysville Public Works Director Jeramy Chapdelaine noted that the city previously applied for the same EPA grant but was not selected.

“Most of you have seen or are aware the city was able to proceed and complete the demolition and capsulation of the remaining debris through a nuisance abatement settlement,” Chapdelaine said. “We are now approaching the new funding route for this EPA grant and so staff is working on updating that to reflect the recent work that was completed that hadn’t been done in the previous round.”

Officials emphasized that permanent cleanup is needed to eliminate lingering environmental hazards and prevent further contamination.

Sutter County Supervisor and Marysville Community Development Director Dan Flores outlined seven steps that would follow site cleanup, beginning with a property evaluation and continuing through community feedback, developer outreach, proposal review, developer agreement, construction and a final ribbon-cutting.

“This is a start but we’re going to continue, we’re not just doing this tonight because we have to check a box,” Flores told the audience. “We want to engage this community as heavily as we can, gather your ideas and understand what you really want.”

Situated in what officials described as the “gateway” of the city, the property is seen as vital to downtown’s revival.

“In the past, this hotel was originally built by this community, and we need to put something back in its place that will show off the community once again,” Flores said.

Flores presented a list of concepts already submitted by interested parties, ranging from a boutique hotel and mixed-use retail with housing to a parking structure or lot. Other ideas included creating a public plaza or green space, establishing a community event venue, developing an art and cultural center, and attracting new restaurants or cafés to anchor the site.

Several residents expanded on these ideas during public comments, emphasizing the need for unique culinary offerings, cultural or educational classrooms and event venues. One speaker proposed a hotel specifically designed for families of patients and doctors at neighboring Rideout Hospital, even suggesting a solar-powered monorail connecting the two facilities.

Council members generally expressed support for a mixed-use approach, with repeated mentions of creating a community event space suitable for weddings and gatherings.

“Sky’s the limit, so let’s dream big,” Flores said. “If you shoot for the moon you might come back at least with a handful of stars.”