By Rae Yost, Mason City Globe Gazette

FOREST CITY, Iowa —  A countywide vote Tuesday on a $5.25 million bond to fund a new public safety center in Winnebago County failed.

The bond referendum needed at least 60 percent of the vote to pass. The unofficial results showed that of the 1,132 votes cast, 575 were no votes and 557 were yes votes.

The referendum would have funded a 20,000-square-foot public safety center that would have housed the sheriff’s department, 911 dispatch, county emergency management and a 22-bed jail at an estimated construction cost of about $5 million.

The total referendum included the construction costs, property purchase, related bonding costs, a contingency fund to cover unexpected costs during construction and other related costs. The center would have been built in Forest City and possibly included the Forest City Police Department.

County Supervisor Mike Stensrud said, “I think we go back to the drawing board.”

Stensrud said the county and a committee that recommended the public safety center has not fully considered all the options.

Supervisor Terry Durby, who is a member of that committee, said the public safety center plan is a good plan.

“I’m disappointed with the way the vote went with all the work the committee put into it,” Durby said. “On the flip side, some (similar proposals) take two or three times before they get passed.”

Durby said it’s possible the committee may decide to bring the same proposal to vote in the future.

The county’s jail and law enforcement center have structural issues and have been cited for deficiencies and code violations by the state jail inspector. Durby said the inspector has encouraged the county to consider options for the facility or it will be closed at some point.