Osage County voters approved a countywide 1/2 cent sales tax in Tuesday’s election, which is proposed to pay for design, construction, and furnishing costs, and the first years’ payments on a 35-year bond, for a $20 million detention center and law enforcement center.

With a vote of 1,149 yes votes to 505 no votes, the sales tax will go into effect July 1, 2022, to pay for the construction and startup costs of the proposed $20,295,000 facility. The project is to ultimately be funded by a 35-year bond issue, with Osage County responsible for payments of $937,667 per year, with total amount paid in principal and interest projected at $36,569,045.

The number of voters in Tuesday’s election equaled about 10 percent of Osage County’s population of 15,949. The number of yes votes represented about seven percent of the population.

See related story: Osage County voters to decide sales tax question for law center and jail