City

sales tax

passes

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A proposal to implement a city sales tax in New Ulm passed overwhelmingly Tuesday night.

With all precincts counted, the 'yes' votes totaled 4.551 while the 'no' votes trailed heavily at 2,048. Approximately 69 percent of voters endorsed the sales tax issue.

City Manager Dick Salvati was excited about the outcome.

"I think it's good for the town," Salvati said. "Personally, I'm gratified there's so much confidence in the town and its future."

Salvati said he felt good about the election from talking to people around town, but he didn't expect the wide margin.

"No, I didn't expect it to pass by this degree," Salvati said.

Every precinct that had been finalized showed an identical two-to-one margin of victory.

"It wasn't by the skin of the teeth, said Council President Dan Beranek, who was all smiles as the numbers came in.

Councilor Denis Warta said it was a wise vote for all people in the area. Councilor Ron Fleischmann credited the Sales Tax steering committee.

"It is a testament to them that they got the information out to the people," Fleischmann said. "They made an informed choice."

With the passage of the sales tax, the city will sell $9 million in bonds. The council will then use those funds to build a new ice rink/exhibit facility at the Brown County fairgrounds, remodel Vogel Arena for basketball, tennis and gymnastics, and expand the Senior Citizens Center.

The city will repay the bonds at a rate of about $700,000-$900,000 per year, based on the amount of sales tax generated by the increase. It is expected the bonds will be paid off and the tax will expire between 2015 and 2018.

The city still has some work to do. The current project blueprints would total $11.7 million. So, the council must scale back those designs to fit the $9 million cap. Among some possibilities for savings is renting ice-making sheets at first.

Salvati said the council could begin opening bids by early spring, with work at the fairground exhibit hall starting by summer. Work at Vogel Arena will be done last, after the ice rink is completed.

The sales tax steering committee had met every Thursday since September to work on passing the sales tax. They blanketed the town with pamphlets, buttons and lawn signs, urging people to vote.

Proponents urged New Ulm residents to support the referendum, saying that much of the cost would be paid by out-of-town visitors and tourists. Also, property taxes will not be raised.