OZARK (KFSM)- Early voting for a new 1% sales and use tax that will fund two major projects worth $10 million begins Tuesday (August 4) in Ozark.
Ozark residents will be asked whether they are for or against three separate issues.
The first issue has to do with approving the use of $7 million in bonds for the construction of a recreational facility that will include an indoor swimming pool, a therapy pool, athletic courts, walking track and other amenities. Ozark Mayor T.R. McNutt said the facility would go up along Commercial Street in the building that now houses City Hall.
"It was a factory [once,]" McNutt said. "[The engineer] said the flooring is good and the steel structure is really good. We could arrange it any way we want to and save a lot of money by using the steel structure."
The mayor said the building would undergo extensive renovations and expansion to fit both the recreational center and City Hall.
The second issue on the ballot asks voters to approve $3 million in bonds for a new emergency services building for the police and fire departments. The final question on the ballot has to do with the 1% sales and use tax. The majority of the tax, 7/8 percent of it, would sunset after 25 years, but the remaining 1/8 percent would be permanent in order to maintain the recreational facility and emergency services building.
Early voting beings August 4 and goes through August 10 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Courthouse. Election day is August 11 and polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
To view a sample ballot, click here.