Hiawatha fire station bond vote fails; Oxford library levy passes

Hiawatha voters failed to approve funding for a new fire and ambulance station Tuesday.

The vote on $2,2250,000 in bonds to pay for the station gained approval of a majority of voters, 58.45 percent, but was just shy of the required 60 percent supermajority threshold.

Proposals called for a new station several miles north of the existing station at 60 10th Ave. The proposed second station would provide additional storage for equipment, training and space for firefighters and help reduce response times on the quickly growing northern edge of the town.

Fire chief Mike Nesslage said he's not sure what the next steps will be.

'We'll go back to the drawing table and kind of figure it out. It will really be up to the council which direction we go. Meanwhile, we're firefighters, we'll keep doing what firefighters do. We'll make do with what we have,” he said.

In Johnson County, meanwhile, a library levy in Oxford is official after three years of already being in place between 2011 and 2014.

The new five-year levy adds 27 cents per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value to the Oxford Public Library's annual operating budget, beginning July 1.

Officials estimated it will raise a little more than $4,000 a year to benefit the library, which is open three days a week in the city of about 800 people.

A 2014 statewide check found the levy, which ran from fiscal years 2011 to 2014 and generated between $2,700 and $3,100 annually, had never been voted on by the public, despite a legal requirement of a public vote of approval. Tuesday's vote changed that, with the library garnering a solid 59 percent of votes.

Also in Johnson County, University Heights voters did not approve changing the terms of mayor and city council from two years to four.

In Iowa County, Williamsburg voters agreed to continue funding a capital improvements reserve fund of up to 67.5 cents per $1,000 taxable value for five years, beginning fiscal year 2018. The tax will continue paying for street and sewer improvements.