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Photo by Heather Connor
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Poll worker Michael Wagner looks on as voter Tom Shehab casts his ballot Tuesday. Dexter District Library requested and was given 0.53 mill as part of a 20-year bond issue and 0.7 mill for a six-year operational levy.
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Voters made history in Dexter Tuesday.
Local voters narrowly approved a 1.23-mill tax request to construct a $7.8 million, 25,000-square-foot new library on Alpine Street in Dexter Village. The tax will also cover an increase in operational costs.
"I think it's going to be a great project for the community," Library Director Paul McCann said Tuesday night as election results were coming in.
"Voters have given us the resources to provide the services the public has asked us to provide."
The ballot called for a 0.53-mill, 20-year bond issue for the construction of the building and purchase of two parcels of land, as well as a 0.7-mill, six-year operational levy.
According to unofficial election results posted late Tuesday by the Washtenaw County Clerk's Office, out of 3,458 ballots cast, 1,438 voters, or 52 percent, were in favor of the construction proposal and 1,317, or nearly 48 percent, were opposed.
The library bond proposal was approved with 1,434 voters in favor and 1,313 against.
McCann said it appeared that most voters who were in favor of the construction were also in favor of the bond issue.
As of Wednesday morning, unofficial results released by the county were based on votes in 12 out of 14 precincts counted.
The Dexter District Library boundaries are the same as those of the Dexter School District.
Out of 13,073 registered voters, more than 26 percent cast a ballot in the election.
Some voters were confused Wednesday when two Detroit TV stations reported that the millage was defeated. McCann said he called the stations and asked them to check the Washtenaw County Web site, which was reporting that it had been approved.
McCann said Wednesday that he planned to print out the election results from the Web site and post them in the library.
"I think of Mark Twain who said, 'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,'" McCann said.
Not all voters were pleased with the results. Kathy Bakula of Dexter Township voted against both the construction proposal and the operational millage.
"Our taxes are going to go up again when the police issue is resolved," she said. "It's going to drive a lot of people out of the county.
"If people want all the amenities of high-style living, they need to go to Ann Arbor."
Both the construction and bond proposals were defeated in some precincts, including Northfield, Dexter, Hamburg and Lima townships. Voters overwhelmingly approved both measures in Scio Township with the exception of Precinct 8.
Voters in Precinct 8 turned down the proposal by one vote.
Voters in Precinct 2 in Webster Township turned down both proposals, while voters in precincts 1 and 3 approved the measures.
Lodi Township voters in Precinct 2 were split evenly on the library bond, with 10 in favor and 10 against. In contrast, 11 voters approved the construction proposal, while nine were not in favor.
Voters rejected a similar millage proposal in 2002 for a new library proposed for a Parker Road location.
McCann said he looks forward to getting the project started. A groundbreaking is not expected until the spring, he said.
McCann said thanks were in order for the Library Board, the consultants and volunteers.
"It has been a lot of hard work. We tried to get the word out to as many people as we could," he said.
"The whole project moves forward from today on."
Staff Writer Heather Connor can be reached at 475-1371 or hconnor@heritage.com.
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