SEQUIM — A six-year property tax levy for the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center’s failed to reach the needed 60 percent approval in the initial count of ballots Tuesday.
And that may mean the center at 610 N. Fifth Ave., in Sequim, may close, said Frank Pickering, chairman of the board of the facility, known as SARC.
In early returns, 6,610 voters, or 57.19 percent, voted to reject the levy while 4,947 voters, or 42.81 percent, rejected it.
Levies, other than school levies, require a 60 percent supermajority to pass.
“We’re disappointed. A lot of people did a lot of hard work,” Pickering said.
If later returns do not change the initial results, it could result in the eventual closure of SARC, Pickering said.
“The center cannot operate past Dec. 31, 2016. We do not have the funds to cover our budget,” he said.
The proposed property tax levy is for an estimated 12 cents per $1,000 assessed property value.
Pickering was at the Clallam County Courthouse Tuesday night to receive the initial results firsthand, and noted that people were dropping off ballots until the very last moment.
“We don’t know many ballots are still outstanding,” he said.
The SARC board will meet to discuss the election and their next steps at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Sequim Public Library, at 630 North Sequim Ave.
SARC has recently entered into a contract with Olympic Medical Center to offer rehabilitation services, and other similar contracts are pending, Pickering said.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office mailed 21,649 ballots to registered voters in the public recreation district; 11,557 were returned for a 53.38 percent turnout.
The Auditor’s Office counted Tuesday night 21,128 ballots out of 45,156 mailed to registered voters in special elections for five property tax measures, for a total voter turnout of 46.95 percent.
Auditor Shoona Riggs said all ballots received by 4:30 p.m. were counted that night.
She expected about 500 more to come in during the week.
The next scheduled count will be by 4:30 p.m. Friday.
If it passes, the levy would be collected beginning in 2016.
A 12-cent levy would add about $26.04 to the annual property tax bill of the owner of a $217,000 house.
It would generate about $416,000 for each of the next six years.
Proponents said the money is needed to replace the heating and cooling system, repair vinyl siding and the roof and reinforce the pool shell, as well as to improvement energy usage, cover an annual shortfall and keep fees affordable.
The levy is the first public funding sought by the district since 2003.
The recreational facility — which includes pools, saunas and work-out equipment along with basketball and racquetball courts — was built with public money in 1988 and run for the first 13 years with funds as a junior taxing district.
Since then, the facility has relied on reserves, which will fall below $350,000 in 2016, supporters said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
