MARQUETTE — Marquette will be going through some big changes soon, and it’s all good news.

The new Municipal Service Center is gaining forward momentum. The Council voted tonight to purchase the U.P. Sportsplex property, which would give the new center a grand total of sixteen acres.

“We could use the extra three and a half acres, that’s what we’d really like to have, and the fact that there’s four buildings on there that we can immediately use is going to make a big difference. We’re actually going to save a lot of money because we don’t have to store our vehicles elsewhere around the city, perhaps out of the city. This centralizes everything into one location,” Said Mayor Dave Campana.

Another big change you’ll see next month is who’s sitting in the fire chief’s office. Tom Belt is set to retire, and Ian Davis will be taking his place.

“Mr. Belt is a very good fire chief, well respected, did a very good job for the city. Ian Davis will also do a very good job for the city. Everyone has confidence in him,” Campana added.

“We spend a lot of time going over the nuts and bolts of the job and even though he’s retiring, I will have him on speed dial for a while!” added future captain Ian Davis.

Davis’s family came to the meeting to support him during his confirmation. He’ll start his new job January 21st.