The Pella City Council awarded a contract for the Oost Poort Alley water and sanitary sewer project at their meeting Tuesday evening. The upgrades to water and sanitary sewer lines will be completed by Synergy Contracting, LLC for $326,872, well over the previous estimate of $205,000. Rebidding the project would not result in a cheaper bid, according to city staff and the project engineer, and the cost increase reflects the difficulty and nature of the infrastructure work. The upgrades will likely start later this month, with a 40-day time frame expected. The first reading of a zoning ordinance for a planned unit development was approved, which is for the proposed Cobb Hill housing development located near West 16th Street and Fifield Road, north of G-28 and West Washington Street. Council also approved a lease agreement with the new Liberty Street Kitchen for outdoor dining in the Molengracht, an application for voluntary annexation for land along 218th Avenue, as well as acceptance of sidewalk repairs conducted in the northeast quadrant of Pella and preparation of the final plat and schedule of assessments. Following regular business, the council talked about potential extension and expansion of the Oskaloosa Street Corridor building permit moratorium, a request from the Tulip Time Steering Committee for a community tulip field, and further discussion about assessing costs for sidewalk repairs completed by the city. No formal action was taken on those items in Policy and Planning.