The Pella City Council is in the process of preparing for major upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Assistant City Administrator Corey Goodenow says at this week’s meeting, council approved a bid submitted by WRH, Inc. for nearly $6 million in improvements mandated by the Iowa DNR to renovate the current facility, but will delay the actual award of the contract until city staff can secure an additional $1 million in financing. Because of the increase, Goodenow says council will evaluate planned rate increases associated with the project, which were initially projected to be up to 30 percent phased in over several years, but will have to be assessed because the project came in so much higher than the engineer’s projections. Assuming the city secures additional financing, a notice to proceed will be issued in February, and completion of the wastewater treatment upgrades is tentatively scheduled for completion in late 2021.