SEQUIM — The first rush of ballots show voters coming out in force to favor a sales tax hike to fund a new Sequim police station.
In tonight’s first count in the all-mail election, voters had approved Proposition 1 by a margin of 60.37 percent to 39.63 percent, with 777 votes in favor and 510 votes opposed out of the 1,287 Sequim ballots counted by the Clallam County Auditor’s Office.
Although another 6,000 ballots remain to be counted countywide, it was not known how many were from the Sequim area.
Ballots, required to be postmarked by the end today, will continue arriving at the Auditor’s Office for a few days, so the ballot count is not final.
Proposition 1 would add a sales tax increase of one-tenth of 1 percent on purchases within the city limit to fund the construction of a new police station.
“We’re very happy so far,” Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson said tonight from a private election-night party.
“It appears our citizens are supportive of their police department,” he added.
The Sequim measure requires a simple majority for passage, and with an initial 20-percentage point lead, Sequim city leaders were feeling confidant of a win.
Initial ballot numbers usually indicate the overall trend, Mayor Ken Hays said.
“We’re feeling pretty good right now,” Hays said.
If the numbers hold, construction of the planned Sequim Civic Center is likely to begin next year.
“You will start seeing a flurry of activity before that,” Dickinson said.
The tax would add 1 cent to every $10 spent on retail items, not including grocery-bought food. The tax hike would apply to deli items and restaurant meals.
It would be expected to generate $280,000 annually, $40,000 of which would go to Clallam County, city officials have said.
Police headquarters would become a section of what would eventually become a $12 million to $14 million civic center complex in downtown Sequim, according to City Manager Steve Burkett.
The complex would include a new city hall, a police department, and a dual-use emergency communications center and city council chambers.
The Civic Center will be located at the corner of Sequim Avenue and Cedar Street, and police headquarters will move from a rented space in the JC Penney shopping mall on Washington Street.
Funding sources for the city hall portion of the civic center complex include cash the city has been saving for a new city hall, the sale of bonds and other tax funds available to the city.
The city already owns the land, which includes the lot where the existing city hall building is located at 152 W. Cedar St., as well as the corner lot on the corner of Sequim Avenue and Cedar Street, which is currently occupied by the Serenity House.
Serenity House has already identified a new property for their facilities, according to the city.
The new police station would include a secure parking and prisoner transfer area, an underground target shooting range, a larger and more efficient evidence storage room.
The sales tax would not have a sunset clause, and once the police department’s new building is paid off, the funds raised by the tax will pay for continued law enforcement operations, according to city leaders.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
