Kalona City Council met December 18. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

The City of Kalona has approved a land acquisition for flood mitigation, and possible housing and park development.

The city council accepted a purchase agreement at their recent meeting of $982,000 to acquire 54.12 acres of land on the north edge of town from the Duane and Jeanette Yoder estate. The city plans to set aside 11.4 acres for flood mitigation with water detention and retention facilities.

City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh describes the potential for housing development, “The nice part about the project is with the availability of being able to purchase the land from the estate that we’ll have an opportunity to partner with some subdividers after we get done with our infrastructure portion with the flood mitigation that there will be some land available for housing.”

Five acres of the land have been allocated for a park, as per the Yoders’ wishes. The council scheduled a meeting January 2 to authorize a loan agreement for an obligation note not to exceed $850,000. Tax increment financing (TIF) funds are being used for the remainder of the cost.