The Indianola City Council held a study session Monday, discussing the possible ways forward regarding a bond referendum for the upcoming city hall/public safety building project.

Due to changes from the Iowa Legislature, the city must have a ballot referendum in the fall during either city or statewide elections, and City Manager Ben Reeves tells KNIA News this November might be too quick to get a referendum with the appropriate amount of public education necessary.

“We know that we have to go through a process where we bring the public along and educate, and share this vision with them in order to secure the public’s confidence and support at the ballot box. So for us this means that we need to take the time to make sure that we have a really well designed product that they can vote for, that they can have confidence in what they are getting, and that we have really solid numbers behind it, construction estimates and everything.”

The referendum is currently planned for November of 2024. For more information, tune in to today’s Let’s Talk Indianola.