Oregon voters approved $338 million of general obligation bonds in local elections across the state Tuesday. They rejected just $36 million.
The biggest successful referendum was a $110 million measure for the Redmond School District in Deschutes County. The district is in central Oregon, just north of Bend. The measure passed 60% to 40%. The bonds will fund the construction of an $80 million high school for 1,400 students, a $20 million elementary school for 600 students, and $10 million of repairs and upgrades.
The second-largest passing referendum was a $92 million measure for Chemeketa Community College. The college has over 64,000 students on five campuses spread across three counties in the Salem area. The measure passed 55% to 45%. Among other projects, the bonds will finance the construction of a $22 million health sciences center, a $16 million industrial technology building, and a $6 million expansion of a public safety training facility.
Voters also approved borrowing $4 million to build a new police station in Klamath Falls, $6.9 million for a new fire station in Coos Bay, and $25.1 million of construction in the Hood River County School District.
Voters rejected a $20 million measure in Lake Oswego, which is south of Portland. The city had planned to use the GOs to refinance the purchase of an office building that it bought in 2006.
The purchase was made with reserve funds, which were subsequently replenished through a short-term line of credit. The measure would have retired the line of credit and replaced it with 20-year bonds. The city bought the building and 14 acres of land before agreeing on what to do with it. Some residents want the former Safeco Insurance Co. office turned into a community center.
Voters in Scappoose, in Columbia County in the northwest part of the state, rejected a $3.5 million measure for a new rail crossing within the city by a 48% to 52% margin. Voters in Klamath County rejected a $12.4 million measure for the local community college by the same margin.
