Downtown business owners held a meeting at the Marshalltown Public Library Thursday to talk about strategy to continue to revitalize. The meeting was held by the non profit Downtown Central Business District and was emceed by Mike McCarty. There were numerous movers and shakers from Marshalltown on hand. Plus numerous speakers. One of the efforts underway is a drive to establish what is called a self supporting municipal improvement district which is known by the acronym SSMID. This would be a tax levy on business owners downtown to create an additional funding mechanism for the Central Business District to further its work. Not everyone was happy with the idea. There was a good discussion back and forth about the possibilities. Downtown Central Business District Executive Director Jenny Etter says in the last 15 years 80 million dollars worth of restoration work has been taking place. Among the speakers were Barb Hegstrand and Jeff Mitchell who partnered up to restore the Kibbie Building downtown on East Main Street from an interior and exterior standpoint.