City of Pella shelves rec center project

PELLA — The City of Pella is shelving plans for a $45 million project that included a new indoor recreation center, but Mayor Don DeWaard says he has not abandoned the venture.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, DeWaard requested that an agenda item involving going to bids for the rec center be struck indefinitely. Speaking on the matter, DeWaard explains that he does not have the votes he needs in City Council to make it happen at this time.

“Obviously, I can’t do anything without four members of City Council supporting it, so I’ve got to figure out a way to build some consensus around this thing,” DeWaard said. “I just want to make sure that my message is very clear why I’m asking to pull this off. That reason is not because I don’t support this project, or that there’s any less support from the community.

“It’s a wise move to pull back now, spend a little more time and come back and bring it up later,” he added.

The rec center project, which was planned to begin this summer, and would include an indoor pool, two parking lots and two gyms. The project also included an extension on University Street and a community center. The plan from April, 2022 put the project at $45 million, which would be funded through local option sales and service (LOSST) taxes, donations and cash on hand.

Speaking during open comment, Joan Corbin, a board member with Pella Community Schools, said that she supports the center, but cautioned that a concrete vision shared by the council will be necessary moving forward.

"The idea that when a body stalls out in making a decision, it's helpful to look at the organization's guiding vision. If an organization has no mutually agree upon vision, the risk is high that individual board members will hold tight to their own beliefs surrounding a topic, and if they differ from the next board member, the body can stall."

However, DeWaard says there is still support in the community for the facility.

“I think there’s tremendous community support for the project,” DeWaard. “I think we have a solid, sound financial plan to make it happen, but I’m okay [with] taking a little more time to do some more work and making sure it’s ready to go forward.”