On Thursday, March 26, 2024, Saline Mayor Brian Marl announced his bid for reelection. “We need a Mayor with a clear & consistent vision and a track record of bringing together diverse groups to confront our community’s shared challenges,” said Marl in a press release.
Mayor Marl sat down with the Sun Times News in early April to discuss his ideas and what he plans for another mayoral term if reelected. “There are several projects and initiatives that I’d like to develop some momentum on before leaving office. We have far too many vacant storefronts in Saline. We want to attract some dynamic, unique businesses to our community that not only support our tax base, but provide jobs, services and amenities for Saline residents.”
When asked about specific ideas for attracting new businesses Marl said, “We have a community recruitment and retention team made up of representatives from the schools, Chamber [of Commerce], Main Street, and the city that meet monthly to talk about economic development related issues.”
He continued, “We’re going to continue to do outreach to specific individuals and enterprises whose presence we think would be advantageous to Saline. We are also one of three communities selected this year by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to participate in their Ready to Recruit initiative. Part of that process is essentially developing a strategic plan for business attraction and retention, and developing specific goals and benchmarks to achieve that overarching goal.”
Marl is also interested in further exploration of a downtown social space. “The development of a community gathering space would also–in my judgment–have a profound benefit to downtown Saline. You look at communities elsewhere in the region and there’s a hub; there’s an attractive, aesthetically pleasing, gathering space within the core of their community, for events, for community functions, and for groups just to congregate.”
“You want to do it in a location that is either within the downtown area or within close proximity to the downtown area, and you want to develop a safe space without detracting or exacerbating any of the existing parking issues in downtown Saline.” When asked about concerns raised over limited parking, Marl replied, “I’m not going to support any plan or proposal that exacerbates any of our parking challenges in our downtown.”
Another priority for Marl if reelected is to oversee the successful rehabilitation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The $80 million rehabilitation project is in its preliminary stages and is scheduled to wrap up at the end of the 2026 construction season. Once complete, the project will represent the largest and most comprehensive capital improvement project Saline has ever undertaken. “I think it’s advantageous to maintain a continuity of leadership during a project of that magnitude,” said Marl. “My work is not finished.”
Marl has been Saline’s Mayor since 2013 and served as a City Council member before that. His formal campaign kickoff event is scheduled for Thursday, May 9th at Mac’s.