Guthrie residents will vote whether to keep an existing sales tax for municipal improvements over the next 15 years. Since voters first approved it in 2016, the Capital Improvement Projects sales tax has collected 3/4s of a penny on every dollar spent in the city.

When the city polled residents about the tax at the end of last year, residents said they would give top priority to water and sewer line improvements and a new fire station. They also expressed support for a new pool, an expanded municipal sports complex and accessibility projects.

Last year, Guthrie’s pool was shuttered all summer due to severe drought. According to the city, the pool loses 40,000 gallons every day — about 1/6th of its total water. The city’s two splash pads use a combined 90,000 gallons of water each day they’re open.

But if voters keep the sales tax, the city will prioritize water and sewer infrastructure at first. That’s according to Chris Evans of the Capital Improvements Projects Sales Tax Committee, who spoke with Guthrie City Council back in January.

“The pool is a big part of the reason why this committee was put together,” he said. “But we have learned that the infrastructure is very, very important moving forward[...] because without that, you can't even have a pool.”

There’s still room for a new pool in the future, Evans said.

“I know we've had estimates from about $5 million up to the big daddy of a $10 million pool,” Evans said. “The committee doesn't see that at this current time.[...] Maybe have a scaled down type of a pool, with the possibility of expanding on it in the future.”

In the city’s poll, 88% of the 300 respondents said they’d support a 15-year extension of the capital improvements project sales tax. The same question will be on the ballot Tuesday.

More information on the extension can be found here.