The Newton City Council has delayed action on a proposed amendment to the May 2018 development agreement that assisted with the renovation of Hotel Maytag in downtown Newton. Council members voted unanimously Monday night to delay a vote after getting additional information earlier in the day, and a date for when a vote might occur was not specified. 

In May of 2018 the City of Newton gave Hatch Development Group LLC of Des Moines a $450,000 loan as part of the financing for the renovation. Newton City Administrator Matt Muckler says the amendment would suspend repayment of the principal amount of the loan for three years, while Hatch Development would continue to pay back the interest that’s due. The amendment also grants a sliding scale tax rebate on the difference between the property’s current valuation of $3,316,000 and the minimum assessment amount of $2,300,000. According to Muckler, the proposed change would mean the city would pay the developers an additional $150,000 in TIF Fund tax rebates between Fiscal Years 2025 and 2031. He says the original development agreement did not take into account a scenario where the actual valuation of the property exceeded the minimum assessment.

Former Newton Mayor Mike Hanson took over as the Facility Manager of Hotel Maytag last September, and told the city council that current maintenance issues will be addressed with the city’s help. 

“I’m looking forward to getting to a lot of things that need to be addressed there. But I am also looking forward to working with the city council on the tax abatements and the investment that’s already been made in that facility.”

The renovation of Hotel Maytag was completed in the summer of 2019.