The City of Kalona and the Shiloh Church have begun discussions regarding annexation.

Earlier this year, Shiloh reached out to Kalona to ask about connecting their water and sewer supply to Kalona’s municipal service. City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said as they explored options a conversation started about the possibility of Kalona voluntarily annexing over 200 acres of Shiloh’s property into city limits. Schlabaugh mentioned that the open land could be used for residential development, and that the city is also looking into what assets Shiloh has that could benefit Kalona residents. In March, the Kalona City Council began internal discussions about the idea.

Since then, Mayor Ken Herington says the reaction he’s gotten from residents has been optimistic, “I’ve had a few people stop in and everything’s been positive so far. I mean, ‘What are you going to do with it?’ But not, ‘You guys are stupid.’ We’re just starting, there’s a lot of potential, but at this point we don’t know what we’d be doing with it.”

A committee is being made up that will include representation from local residents, Washington County Board of Supervisors, Washington County Public Health, Mid-Prairie School District, YMCA of Washington County, and Kalona City Council. The goal for the committee is to bring different perspectives from several entities that would be affected by the annexation. Schlabaugh says that he hopes to have the committee finalized by the end of the week.