The Pella City Council received guidance as it relates to the future of financing several facilities projects during policy and planning at their meeting Tuesday evening.

A proposal called the “base plan” by Pella City Administrator Mike Nardini would put together a $45 million roadmap that would include a new Recreation Facility, renovations to the current Pella Community Center, and extension of University Street. Ultimately, the city’s financial advisor believes this could be accomplished with a local government contribution of $22 million — $17 million of which would come from extension of the Local Option Sales and Services Tax, set to expire in December of 2023.

This would assume another $23 million (or more) would be contributed from other governmental entities and through private donations. A $45 million proposal would not increase property taxes, based on a financial analysis from City of Pella Financial Advisor Michael Maloney from D.A. Davidson. Additionally, the operating costs annually will likely be offset by modest growth of population and tax revenue over the next 20 years. If the Pella City Council wants to enhance projects further, it could increase property taxes or generate additional private support or resources from other government agencies. An additional $2.85 million of revenue for debt service could be generated per .25 cents on the levy. (VIEW THE FULL PRESENTATION HERE)

Mayor Don DeWaard believes the $45 million investment is the start of what could be accomplished. He announced that local large-sized corporations have pledged $12 million to impact the total project package for the proposed Rec Center, enhancements to the Pella Community Center, and extension of University Street. That pledge will cut into the estimated $23 million of private contributions or from other governmental agencies needed to make the full project work. DeWaard is confident the city will receive additional support from other public agencies and boards.

DeWaard is also proposing a citizen’s group to help guide project engineers and designers for council’s consideration at the Tuesday, May 3rd meeting. A referendum for the sales tax could be on the ballot as soon as mid-September, needed to be approved by the council by July. Before that, Nardini told the council they would need to determine the final scope of all projects considered. Nardini says city administration, with council approval, will also have further discussions with the Friends of the Pella Community Center and Pella Dog Park Association, as well as apply for funding from the State of Iowa and draft proposals for the Marion County Board of Supervisors and Pella School Board.

Project-by-project, City Administrator Mike Nardini narrowed the options in front of council for consideration — the Pella Community Center was estimated to cost between $5.5 and $22 million for different levels of renovation at the current facility on Union Street. A project proposed by the Friends of the Community Center would cost $17.7 million, with the non-profit seeking to match up to $5 million.

A proposed City of Pella Recreation Facility constructed next to the Pella Sports Park would cost anywhere between $30 million to $50 million for a facility between 75,000 to 125,000 square feet. That project would also include extension of University St. and Baseline Dr., including a walking trail which could be connected to Caldwell Park — with an estimated $6 million price tag. An option would be relocation of the Pella Soccer Complex to the Pella Sports Park — which would cost approximately $2.8 million.

Another facility proposal included a location for the long-discussed Pella Dog Park — which could also be placed near the current Pella Sports Park off of Baseline Drive, however, no official decision has been made yet for that. The cost would be as high as $472,000 for the full project, with the Pella Dog Park Association covering as much as $200,000 over the course of the full project.