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Residents urge delay, more transparency on Central College redevelopment and TIF use
Summary
Multiple residents told the Pella City Council that Central College's Imagine More proposal is conceptual and that the public needs clearer information about TIF use, developer selection, and impacts on nearby neighborhoods.
During the council's public forum, several residents asked the council to slow the process on the Imagine More urban renewal/TIF proposal until Central College provides more detailed plans and evidence of housing need. Speakers living adjacent to the campus said outreach had been limited and that the public meeting held by the college answered some questions but left many unresolved.
"If the college cannot present to the public a plan with details, not just a concept, I believe it would be a great disservice to the citizens of this town to pass this ordinance," Kathy Dow said during public comment. Another resident, Anna Rupert, who reviewed the city's housing studies and Central's materials, said the proposal reads primarily as a financial strategy to generate lease income for the college and questioned whether TIF — a public subsidy mechanism — is the appropriate tool without demonstrated public need.
