The Pella Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting a hotel open house next week.
Director Jill Vandevoort says all in the community are invited to check out six Pella-area hotels to learn more about the options available locally. Vandevoort says COVID-19 has had adverse impact on the industry as a whole, and the reason for the event from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 8th, is to highlight how those lodging facilities are safely welcoming guests, especially ahead of the busiest visitor season in the community over the next several weeks.
Face masks are recommended for the tour, and participants can register for door prizes.
The Pella City Council wrapped up the annual budget workshops at their regular meeting Tuesday.
Council received presentations from the Pella Library, Police, City Hall, and Planning and Zoning about the upcoming fiscal year and five-year capital improvement plans for each department. Additionally, council reviewed the option to supplement funding for the Pella Convention and Visitors Bureau after the organization partnering with the City was hit hard by declining tourism due to COVID-19.
During regular business, a public hearing was scheduled on March 2nd to approve the city’s maximum property tax rate at $10.20 per $1,000 for the 20th consecutive year, and a hearing was set for April 6th to approve a contract for infrastructure upgrades to the Oost Poort Alley, which is projected to cost up to $951,618.
The Pella City Council held a public hearing and approved the first reading of an ordinance establishing a historic overlay district near Central College at their meeting Tuesday.
Historic district overlay zones are geographically cohesive areas with significant concentrations of buildings and other resources that possess a high degree of historical integrity and convey a distinct sense of time and place, and require a minimum of 50% support among property owners.
Two additional public hearings were held, one amending a planned unit development with Genlink near 2110 Idaho Drive, and an access easement to the property. An ordinance amending the boundaries for precinct one and resolutions certifying population of recently annexed territory, as well as a resolution for a change order for Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades were also approved.
The Pella City Council will have an initial review of the 2020-21 budget ahead of upcoming workshops at their meeting Tuesday. The council will receive an update during policy and planning following regular business about key initiatives before diving into details at a pair of workshops next Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th.
Additionally, a presentation will be given by the Pella Convention and Visitors Bureau, the organization responsible locally for using hotel-motel tax revenues to promote tourism to the community in partnership with the City of Pella. Among industries hit hardest by COVID-19, the Pella CVB says tourism was at the top of the list, which directly impacted their operating expenses, with nearly $65,000 in budget cuts made over the prior year.