After three years of meetings and debate among two different councils, the City of Pella is moving forward with a new indoor recreation center.

The Pella City Council voted 5-0 in favor of the new facility that will be located on the north side of the Pella Sports Park. It will include four gymnasiums, a competition swimming pool, and recreational pool, as well as an indoor walking track and exercise equipment. The full build out cost estimate is $35 million when including contingency costs. A bid has been tentatively awarded to Stahl Construction in Grimes for just under $30 million.

The vote came nearly four hours after the council meeting began. Presentations were given by Ballard-King, a consulting firm hired by the city specializing in recreation facility operations, the City of Pella’s financial advisor Michael Maloney, Mary Mansfield with the PACE Alliance, Bob Zylstra with the PellaRec Board — a non-profit group that will continue fundraising for the facility, and Eric Sickler with the Spirit of Pella non-profit. A series of public comments in support of the facility opened the session, while a few spoke in opposition to the proposal for the space just before the council voted.

Extensive discussion was held by the five council members in attendance, including several reservations expressed by John Butler, who has raised several of those same concerns since he was sworn into his seat in January 2024. After multiple exchanges with Mayor Don DeWaard and Councilmember Dave Hopkins, Butler voted yes with Mark DeJong, Spencer Carlstone, and Harold Van Stryland. Lynn Branderhorst was absent for a long-planned trip overseas.

The council approved 28E agreements with the Pella School Board and PellaRec group prior to the main votes on the plans for the facility and the bid. Financing agreements will be on the agenda in May, with the goal of starting construction this summer. Final completion of the facility is expected sometime in 2027.