The Pella City Council held a pair of public hearings relating to the connection portion of Pella Fiber at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Ultimately, the council delayed consideration of approval for provisioning access equipment necessary to configure the Pella Fiber to the Premise network, which includes the central office, residential gateways, and wireless mesh devices. The City of Pella has received five bids related to this portion of the project, projected to cost $1.27 million, but a decision will be made on August 4th following further exploration by NewCom Technologies — the city’s engineer.

Council also rejected a bid approximately $700,000 over the engineer’s estimate for connecting the main line of Pella Fiber to homes — this was a rebid after the city’s engineer NewCom went to find contractors more directly suited for that type of work and after a significant bidding error. The goal is to now capture bids sometime this winter to get more favorable pricing, and city staff is expected to reveal what potential impact to the overall timeline that would have at their next meeting. The city intends to have the Pella Fiber service up and running by the spring of 2021.

Council also approved the first reading of an additional zoning change for the new Lely North American Headquarters, encompassing approximately 8.7 acres of land directly south of Highway 163 just west of Exit 44 and changing it from agricultural to heavy industrial use. Council also approved the first reading of a rezoning request for seven acres of land north of the terminus of West 12th Street near Recker Dental, with the goal of changing it from A1 agricultural to M1 light industrial.

A special event permit for Ridiculous Days on July 24th and 25th from the Pella Historical Downtown Retail Group and resolutions for a preliminary plat for the Prairie Ridge Housing Subdivision and a temporary transfer of surplus funds from the city’s electric utility to the City itself to borrow funds for a wildlife fence at the Pella Municipal Airport were all also approved Following regular business, the City of Pella staff discussed administrative reviews and approvals with the council, with council supporting a measure that would take minor design changes out of the hands of a subcommittee currently in the Community Development Commission and moving those to city staff to expedite the process, citing that many businesses are trying to make changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.