Chris Meyers is running for the Pella City Council At-Large seat up for election on November 5th. He’s running against incumbent Tony Bokhoven and another challenger, Liz Terborg Sporrer.

Full interview with Chris:

Written Responses from the PACE Alliance City Council Candidate Forum:

1. What is the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for the City of Pella? What unique experience would you personally bring as a City Councilor to help address the challenge and opportunity that you identified?

“I believe that our biggest challenge as a community is retaining young professional talent. This issue includes affordable housing, activities, and proximity to Des Moines. With my experience in the professional field, being younger than most of the candidates, and my knowledge of Pella I hope that we can move forward to be more inclusive of these groups. I believe our biggest opportunity is finding a solution to this challenge. This seems to be a reoccurring conversation every year. If we can build toward a brighter future not only as a council but as a community as a whole we will see our greatest success yet. This possibility drives and creates passion in our community. People move to Pella because we have aligned ourselves with being a place you want to live.”
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2. Whether earned or unearned, Pella has a reputation for not always being business friendly (e.g., difficult to open or expand a business, restrictive regulations, lengthy approval process, etc.). What role should the City Council play in helping the community overcome that perception? As a City Councilor what is your vision for encouraging our existing businesses and corporations to expand in or attracting new businesses to Pella?

“The city council can play a major role in assisting businesses in this way. I believe that there are portions of the zoning code that should be amended to be more accommodating for business whether they are already existent in town or businesses looking to come to Pella. As a council we need to be prepared to offer incentives to not only large corporations but to entrepreneurs looking to open small business. Our community is full of dreamers and entrepreneurs that might just be looking for a nudge to get started. Sometimes all it takes is one small idea to bring something so valuable to a community.”
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3. In thinking about your role as a City Councilor, how can the business and corporate community support you in your role on the City Council?

“The best support that a business or corporate community is communication. Without communication it is easy to lose track of what is important to the community. Business is the lifeline of our community and most of the time has more interaction with the community members. Council members should be available but sometimes community members don’t reach out with thoughts and ideas. Many people express their ideas at small businesses, car dealerships, salons, and corporations. With open lines of communication we can hear more of these ideas and help grow and expand our offerings as a community.”
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4. Generally speaking, do you view population growth as a good thing for Pella? As a City Councilor, how would you work to support efforts to grow Pella’s population?

“With the corporations and industries in the city of Pella population growth is a good sign. I feel if your population is stagnant or shrinking there is an issue to be looked at and resolved. Population growth normally has a direct correlation to jobs and industry growth which benefits a community. With population growth we also have the opportunity for learning.”
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5. Workforce Availability is the biggest challenge for our business and corporate community should the City Council play in attracting new workers and retaining them once they are here?

“New workers and retention as I stated earlier is our biggest challenge and opportunity. Growing up in this community I have seen and heard it all. I feel some issues that we see is making Pella a financially feasible place to live as well as attracting new workers to stay in Pella on the weekends. Being so close to Des Moines has its benefits and its downside. As a community we need to instill a mindset; that to support a small town we have to reinvest in the community.”
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6. Think specifically about the recruitment and retention of young professionals (e.g. Millennials and GenZ). Research indicates that young professionals are choosing communities they want to live in based on affordability and quality-of-life factors such as recreation, robust restaurant and social or cultural attractions. As a City Councilor, how will you work to support the efforts of the City and the business and corporate community to attract and retain young professionals?

“Being a Millennial myself I have seen this issue first hand. Each year we graduate a successful class from our area high schools and have a fresh group of college grads entering the work force. Many of these individuals find work locally but many elect to move on due to lack of affordability and quality of life. These items along with a lack of experiences and social attractions have caused the younger generations to seek other areas for growth and enjoyment. We have the potential for so many staples in social attractions and restaurants but without the involvement of City council and staff many of these potential ideas don’t come to fruition.”
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7. One issue of importance to young professionals with children is having access to quality and affordable childcare. The Marion County Childcare Needs Analysis released in March 2019 found that 61% of parents in the community had difficulty finding childcare. Given the results of the Analysis, what role would you play as a City Councilor in assisting the City with the need for childcare capacity for the community?

“Childcare is a need in the city of Pella but it not only includes adding to our facilities but also finding the individuals who will invest in our young people. Childcare is not an easy job and I will speak to it personally as I attended the Pella Early Learning Center. The staff and interaction with children my age is what directed me down the path I am on. As a community we continually talk about the needs of our community but need dreamers and believers. We look for the individuals with passion so that they will know that their community will support them. I continually bring up conversations and discussions because that is how we will grow. We might have individuals within our community who want to help in this need and love kids. How are we to support these efforts if we don’t have forums or discussions about what it takes and how a daycare can be accomplished? I hope that with open conversation and the ability for people to ask questions we might see an increase in child care facilities.”
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