Dave Hopkins is running for the seat in Ward 4 in the Pella City Council election on November 5th against Bill Harkins.

Full interview with Dave:

Written Responses from the PACE Alliance City Council Candidate Forum:
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1. What is the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for the City of Pella? What unique experience would you personally bring as a City Councilor to help address the challenge and opportunity that you identified?

“The Biggest Challenge with any group of people be it a church board, business, civic group, or city council, is that we all have different opinions and values and ideas. The challenge of leadership is to gain a shared understanding of what are our common values and how can we move toward them together. There are a handful of challenges/opportunities visible currently. Growing Pella’s diversity in the areas of providing more services/activities/housing/business to attract people who would otherwise move away from Pella or not be interested in moving to Pella is at the top of my list.”
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2. Whether earned or unearned, Pella has a reputation for not always being business friendly (e.g., difficult to open or expand a business, restrictive regulations, lengthy approval process, etc.). What role should the City Council play in helping the community overcome that perception? As a City Councilor what is your vision for encouraging our existing businesses and corporations to expand in or attracting new businesses to Pella?

“Great question. I have shared those opinions from time to time. Pella does have a reputation for sometimes being difficult to work with for would be entrepreneurs and developers. While this may be the case, most of us can agree that we enjoy and appreciate the benefits of a downtown that is beautiful and a commercial business corridor that has a level of continuity in aesthetics and purpose, and a great group of entrepreneurs that have quality products and services. That being said, if we as a council and staff adopted the philosophy that the purpose of our existence is not to be the rule police, but rather champions for business leaders, we could change that reputation in a hurry. My experience personally and understanding from others is that if someone has an idea or a business opportunity that doesn’t fit exactly into the boxes of zoning, code, things that have already been done, etc… The answer is no until/unless you figure something out on your own. If we become a council who says, “here are the guidelines for what can and can’t be done, lets figure this out” we will have business people come to our community for the opportunities!”
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3. In thinking about your role as a City Councilor, how can the business and corporate community support you in your role on the City Council?

“As a councilman my purpose is not to be supported by the business community. My purpose is to support the business and corporate community. I would love to visit with any and every person who plays a role in our business community and better understand needs and hopes for our business community. My dream is to see a strong cooperation between the council, staff, and business community in Pella that creates a flourishing city that people want to be a part of.”
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4. Generally speaking, do you view population growth as a good thing for Pella? As a City Councilor, how would you work to support efforts to grow Pella’s population?

“This is a loaded question. My short answer is yes. I want to see Pella grow. With any living organism there is growth or atrophy. Status quo is a myth. In order to be the kind of city that people want to live in, work in, send their kids to school in, go to college in, spend their money in, there needs to be growth, and Population growth is only a part of the equation. There needs to be growth in affordable housing options, there needs to be growth in services and facilities available to people who would call Pella home. Services like child care, and dog parks, and a great community center, and a functional auditorium, and a frisbee golf course, and more bike trails, and…… the list could go on and on. Any good thing that attracts people and keeps people involved in our community and makes our city a better place to live is a part of growth and I want to hear all of the ideas and champion the ideas that will benefit our city and our people.”
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5. Workforce Availability is the biggest challenge for our business and corporate community should the City Council play in attracting new workers and retaining them once they are here?

“I don’t think it is the council’s job to directly help employers attract and retain employees. That is up to the individual employer to create a workplace that people want to be a part of. I do believe that it is absolutely the Council’s job to be aware of the issues outside of employer’s ability to influence and it is Imperative that the council be their biggest advocate and support system to remove barriers and create an attractive place to live, work and play. If an employer comes to me and says I have 10 potential employees that aren’t going to take jobs because they can’t find housing or childcare or there aren’t enough activities to make Pella interesting after working hours then we have a big problem. Not just for that particular employer, but for our whole community. Business is hard enough without external factors stacking the deck against business leaders and entrepreneurs. Bottom line. As a city councilman I will work hard to make Pella a place that is an asset to employers for recruiting and retention. If you are a business leader, please come talk to me. I would love to put our heads together to come up with solutions to these issues.”
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6. Think specifically about the recruitment and retention of young professionals (e.g. Millennials and GenZ). Research indicates that young professionals are choosing communities they want to live in based on affordability and quality-of-life factors such as recreation, robust restaurant and social or cultural attractions. As a City Councilor, how will you work to support the efforts of the City and the business and corporate community to attract and retain young professionals?

“This is one of our biggest challenges facing the long term health of our community. If we can’t keep or attract Millennials and Gen Z, we will miss out on the vibrancy that a only diverse community brings. Every generation is important to the future of Pella. We want everyone to have a voice from the youngest to the most seasoned. As a city councilman I will be asking the questions; What do we need to have for our community to be an attractive place for all generations? If it is an affordability and quality of life question, let’s get our developers and lenders in the same room and figure it out. If it is recreation, let’s not put up roadblocks, but encourage and support new opportunities. If it is cultural and social attractions let’s make sure that we have the facilities and infrastructure to enable those things.”
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7. One issue of importance to young professionals with children is having access to quality and affordable childcare. The Marion County Childcare Needs Analysis released in March 2019 found that 61% of parents in the community had difficulty finding childcare. Given the results of the Analysis, what role would you play as a City Councilor in assisting the City with the need for childcare capacity for the community?

“I was recently on a panel that discussed this very issue. I believe this a major challenge for families and a reason that some families choose to live in other communities. Again, my desire as a councilman is to eliminate resistance and roadblocks to health and vibrancy for our community as possible. If finding affordable childcare is a problem, then let’s get together and solve it.”

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