More than 100 people voting early is a sign that the turnout will be good for Ozark's sales tax election Tuesday, Mayor T.R. McNutt said last week.
Ozark voters are being asked to approve a 1 percent sales tax, the revenue from which would help fund a recreation complex for the city and an emergency services building that will house the city's police station and an additional fire station.
According to the Franklin County clerk's office, 128 people had voted early as of midday Friday.
McNutt said reaction from the community to the proposed projects has been positive. Officials have been making presentations on the proposals to the Chamber of Commerce, the senior citizens center and various organizations.
People are excited, he said, about having recreational facilities, such as a therapy pool, an indoor walking track, basketball courts and a swimming pool.
Ozark residents would no longer have to drive to Clarksville or Alma for recreational opportunities, he said.
Police Chief Devin Bramlett said the police station is too small for the department's needs and won't accommodate growth. The department has 10 full-time officers, a clerk and a secretary, he said.
The police station is in the former emergency medical services building downtown. He said it is old and floods during rains. Evidence is stored in a small closet, the department's computer equipment is stored on a shelf in an undersized office, and parking is insufficient.
The station also has no training room, so officers have to go out of town for training classes, Bramlett said.
Fire Chief Devin Eveld has said Ozark needs another fire station to cover the northwest side of the city. If built, it would house a fire engine that the department has already ordered.
A specific site for the emergency services building hasn't been determined, but it is planned for an area where Bramlett said officers could easily get to any part of town to answer a police call. The new fire station would be near the city's three schools, he said.
The ballot question on the recreation complex described it as comprising an indoor swimming pool, bathhouse, therapy pool, athletic courts, walking track and other amenities. It also said bond money would be used to pay for parking, furnishings, equipment, drainage, lighting and utility improvements associated with the complex, along with future renovation and improvement.
McNutt said the complex would be built on 17 acres of city property at City Hall on Ozark's west side.
Some have said they would vote against the tax proposal, McNutt said. But the opposition is not organized and has been focused on the tax increase rather than what the tax money would pay for.
Ozark's sales tax rate is 9 percent. Of that, 6.5 percent is levied by the state, 1.5 percent by Franklin County and 1 percent by Ozark for the city's general fund.
A 1 percent sales tax generates about $860,000 a year in Ozark.
The City Council passed ordinances June 8 that propose to issue bonds up to $7 million for the recreation complex and up to $3 million for the emergency services building.
The sales tax question proposes seven-eighths of the money generated from the tax to be used to pay off bonds that would be issued to raise money for the recreation complex and emergency services building.
That portion of the tax would expire when the construction bonds are paid off in about 25 years.
The other one-eighth of the tax would go to the city's operations and maintenance fund for operation and upkeep of the capital improvements and other city facilities, and to pay the principal and interest on the bonds. It would be a permanent tax.
State Desk on 08/10/2015