Voters pass sales taxes for new county jail, park renovations

Big changes on the way as approved Nov. 2 ballot issues will enhance Mt. Vernon, Lawrence County life
 
Voters in Mt. Vernon and Lawrence County voted to approve two new sales taxes during the Tuesday, Nov. 2.
In Mt. Vernon, voters passed a one-half-of-one-percent sales tax to help pay for repairs to the city pool and improvements to the Spirit of ’76 Park, while countywide, voters passed a 3/8-cent sales tax to fund the construction of a new jail in Lawrence County.
A total of 2,592 votes were cast countywide, representing 10.43-percent of the county’s eligible voters, with 1,311 people voting in favor of the 3/8-cent sales tax, while 1,276 voted against it, a difference of a scant 35 votes.
In Mt. Vernon, a total of 519 votes were cast, with 340 people voting in favor of the city’s sales tax while 179 voted against it.

County sales tax to fund construction of new jail
The 3/8-cent sales tax passed in Lawrence County is expected to raise $1.2 million a year towards the construction of the new Lawrence County Jail. The tax will remain in force until the new jail’s construction costs, estimated to be between $15 million and $18 million, are paid. After that, one-third of the tax will be retired; the other two-thirds will continue to raise revenue, which will cover the costs of maintaining the jail.
The new jail will have 120 beds, more than twice the capacity of the current jail, meaning the county will be able to stop housing inmates in other counties. The new building could also be expanded by adding two new 96-bed facilities as needed.
Sheriff Brad DeLay said the new jail would help “tremendously” by increasing safety for the officers who would supervise the inmates.
“The first issue is officer safety,” he said. “The current facility is severely lacking in this concept. We have had several instances where deputies have been attacked by inmates because of the current design.”
DeLay also said that while he understands that nobody likes to pay taxes, the new jail will greatly benefit the county in the future.
“I am just glad that we are finally after many, many years able to move forward on a jail project,” he said. “No one likes taxes, myself included, but this is the right step. In the long run it will prove beneficial for the safety of the citizens, deputies and inmates, and it will be the best fiscal route in saving taxpayer dollars in the long run.”

Mt. Vernon sales tax will pay for more than pool renovations
The new one-half-of-one-percent sales tax in Mt. Vernon will be in force for 20 years and is expected to raise about $9 million. The revenue raised through the tax will go to repair the municipal pool at the Spirit of ’76 Park, which was losing 30,000 gallons of water per day when it was in use last summer. The pool is also expected to be upgraded with new features, including a lazy river, a zero entry with beach and children’s feature, a climbing wall and a zipline tree swing.
The tax revenue will also fund other improvements to the Spirit of ’76 Park, including a new baseball/softball field, extra parking lots that would provide parking for a total of 200 vehicles over what the park’s current parking lot provides, a new playground, a sand volleyball court, a new soccer/football field, a new concession stand with restrooms and ADA compliant parking stalls.

City reaching out to contractors, hopes to have pool ready by July 4, 2022
City Administrator Max Springer said the city is reaching out to pool companies for proposals on how to renovate the pool.
“We are in the process of requesting proposals from design/build pool renovation companies which will take about 30 days,” he said. “Then the board of alderman will select the best design/build company. The selection will be based on the lowest and best price, the company’s capability to do the job, experience and references. Once (the) Design/Build Team is selected a notice to proceed will be issued.”
Springer added that the city would like to have the pool in operation by Independence Day next year, but whether that happens remains to be seen.
“We would like for the renovation to be complete and pool ready to open by July 4, however, that depends on a lot of things working in our favor,” Springer said. “We are also currently requesting proposals from architectural/engineering firms for design/construction of the park improvements which will most likely take longer than the pool renovation.”