Pullman, Wash., voters approved two bond measures yesterday evening that will result in a new City Hall among other things.
"This is looking very good," Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson said. "Obviously it hasn't been certified, but what we're seeing now — it's fantastic to see this kind of support for our community."
At the same time, voters throughout southeast Whitman County in cities, school and recreation districts and the library district easily approved every issue on the ballot.
The two bonds, Propositions 1 and 2, enjoyed widespread support at the polls once more, securing 66 and 74.8% of voter approval respectively, well above the 60% supermajority required by state law. With voter turnout requirements also being exceeded, city officials say they're optimistic, but cautious of declaring victory this early.
"We want to make sure we get the certification on the 23rd and all ballots are in and done," City Supervisor Adam Lincoln said. "But it's really nice to see that we've already met the turnout requirement on night one and that, statistically, it would be really difficult to see it change to rejected from approved, at this point."
While both bonds were met with broad approval at the ballot box in November, easily securing the 60% supermajority required for passage, there was some controversy regarding voter turnout requirements. State law requires that voter turnout equal or exceed 40% of that seen in the last general election. City officials agreed to rerun them on February's ballot after doubts about validation were raised by some county officials.
Proposition 1 is worth $10.5 million in general obligation bonds maturing over 20 years. The bulk of these funds pays for the purchase and conversion of the Encounter Ministries Campus, 190 SE Crestview St., into a new city hall, senior center and recreation center. The rest of the money will go toward a new Lawson Gardens Event Center and land for a third fire station. Lincoln said last week the measure cost taxpayers about 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $88 for someone who owns property worth $200,000.
"The 10-and-a-half million is a not-to-exceed level, not a starting point," Lincoln said. "So we will be very respectful of taxpayer dollars should this come to fruition."
Proposition 2 is worth about $2.4 million, and replaces an expired bond measure funding continuous improvements to Pullman's parks and paths. Notable improvement projects include improvements to the Reaney Park Pool, upgrades to City Playfield and the purchase of a portable stage for events. City officials have said the replacement bond will make little difference to the taxpayer, as it replaces a similar measure.
"There's no increase at all for taxpayers on Prop 2 because it's a replacement bond," Johnson said. "It basically replaces the bond that we had before, and I think I even heard that it might even lower taxes because more people have been added to the tax rolls."
In the Nov. 7 election, the city needed more than 3,500 voters to validate the election, based on the number who voted during 2016's contentious presidential election. This time around, city officials said, they needed just 1,550, based on the November 2017 general election turnout.
As of last night, 2,364 Pullman ballots had been counted.
In other Whitman County elections:
- Replacement programs and operations levies were approved in Colfax (73% yes), Palouse (77%), Colton (73%) and Garfield (73%) school districts.
- Voters in the Whitman County Rural Library District decided by a 74% "yes" vote to restore the district's regular property tax levy rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
- Voters in the Colfax School District approved by 73% letting the district issue $18.9 million in 20-year general obligation bonds and to levy excess property taxes to repay those bonds.
- Palouse School District voters approved by 74% a levy for instructional technology and facility improvements in Palouse schools costing $2.22 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2019, decreasing to $2.15 in 2020.
- The Garfield School District voters passed by 70% a replacement capital levy to fund instructional technology and facility improvements in Garfield schools costing $1.05 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2019, decreasing to 99 cents in 2020.
- The Garfield Parks and Recreation District 2 voters passed by 70% a one-year pool maintenance and operations levy costing $1.83 per $1,000 assessed property value.
