Granite High $25 million tax obligation bond fails after recount
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Although a recount held Dec. 2 determined that the Granite Community Bond failed with voters on Election Day, city officials are still working on a plan to purchase the property. If the city were to own the former high school building and campus, facilities such as the Granite High School auditorium (pictured
The final results are in: by a margin of only five votes, the Granite Community Bond failed after an official recount of the ballots was conducted by the Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office Dec. 2.
Local voters went to the polls Nov. 8 to cast their ballots and to determine whether the general obligation tax bond would pass or fail. But the Election Day results certified by the county on Nov. 22 were so close that residents were given the opportunity to request a recount.
Salt Lake County Elections Division Director Scott Konopasek said the final count in December concludes the official election process. He said although the final margin was only five votes there wouldn’t be another recount.
“It’s over and done,” Konopasek said. “We reran all of the electronic cartridges and hand-counted all of the paper ballots.”
Early results of the local general obligation tax bond vote held Nov. 8 added up to 908 votes (49.7 percent) for the bond issuance and 919 votes (50.3 percent) against.
Additional ballots were counted after Election Day, including provisional ballots, mail ballots turned in at polling locations and mailed ballots received after Nov. 8 but before the official results were certified.
Because the margin was only 11 votes in a city with 15 voting districts, elections rules allowed local voters to request a recount.
The recount was initiated after South Salt Lake City Administrative Law Judge Gerald McPhee presented a letter with the signatures of 13 voters to South Salt Lake City Recorder Craig Burton.
The letter was delivered to the Salt Lake County Elections Division and the recount was held on a Saturday morning at the county building in Salt Lake City.
The final vote count amounted to 1,001 votes for the bond and 1,006 votes against out of 2,030 total ballots. The 23 remaining ballots could not be counted for or against the bond, either because the resident didn’t vote on the issue or “over-voted” both for and against the bond (marked both options).
But during the South Salt Lake City Council meeting held Dec. 7, city officials discussed the possibility that the election results could later be contested in court.
“We have questions about whether some of the voters are properly qualified to vote,” South Salt Lake City Councilmember John Weaver said.
South Salt Lake City Attorney Lyn Creswell said city officials were concerned that full-time local residents may not have cast some of the votes because business addresses were among those included on the official voting registration list.
He said it was “not likely” that city officials would file a court motion, but that leaders were not giving up on a future purchase of the Granite High School property.
Granite School District has granted South Salt Lake City officials the first option to purchase the old high school building and campus in an agreement that does not expire until next July 31.
City leaders are already discussing options to hold another vote on a tax obligation bond to buy Granite High School next November.
