(KNZA)--Community support regarding  ideas on how to bring new life to Horton's downtown business district is gained following Wednesday's visit to the community by television host, businessman and philanthropist Marcus Lemonis.
Lemonis, the host of CNBC's "The Profit," flew to the local area to make his visit to the Brown County community, and spent the day meeting with city leaders, business owners, and others. 
Touring business and industry, he gauged the area while formulating plans on how to assist with restoring the city. 
He revealed his ideas to a packed house at the Horton High School auditorium during a two hour evening town hall meeting, where he outlined options for rebuilding Horton business in an attempt to ramp up tourism.
Among the possibilities are allowing the city to purchase and maintain the business buildings, remodeling them into a 1930's theme; merge with other nearby communities to form a new municipality; use crowd funding to pick up the price tag; or a combination of those, or additional possibilities.
Although no official decision could be reached during the session, which also served as a special meeting of the Horton City Commission, Lemonis implored the community to get busy immediately doing whatever can be done to beautify the downtown area. That includes cleaning empty storefronts, washing windows, and removing garbage.  He also proposed new plantings for the city, saying he was greeted at his first stop with a planter holding nothing but a dead flower. Lemonis said he hoped the welcome was not symbolic.
Lemonis, contributing $150,000 to the effort of downtown revitalization while pledging more depending on what option is chosen, plans to maintain consistent contact with the city as a decision on how to proceed is reached.