A good portion of Tuesday’s Pella City Council meeting focused on discussion for future action items. During policy and planning, a proposal for the Local Option Sales Tax redistribution agreement with Marion County and a possible ordinance for urban chickens were both discussed.

The council will consider asking for an increase in a redistribution agreement with Marion County. Based on the most recent fiscal year, the county received a total of $5,032,199 from sales tax — under the state formula, the following would be the breakdown:

Marion County – 2,051,309
Knoxville – 1,044,187
Pella – 1,435,222
Others – 501,481

Under the current agreement that expires at the end of this fiscal year:
Marion County – 1,447,445
Knoxville – 1,245,475
Pella – 1,837,798
Other – 501,481

Under the proposed new draft, Pella is asking for 12% instead of eight, as the community generates just under 65% of that revenue — and that would result in roughly $200,000 in new revenue for the Tulip City coming from county funds. The Pella City Council will ask for a phased increase over four years to lessen the impact, and will also aim to include provisions about potential state law changes related to the fund. No formal action was taken at this week’s meeting.

During regular business, the council received a presentation from the Wonder Spelen organization about next phase improvements to the miracle playground. The council also approved improvements for Dingeman Industrial Park, a 28E agreement with Pella and Pella Christian schools for the resource officer in the Pella Police Department, an engineering services agreement for the Union Street reconstruction project, and a downtown sound system use agreement and adjacent fees. A third reading of an ordinance amending city code for revising the definition of adult cabaret was also adopted.