Park County voters could be asked to consider a temporary, 1% sales tax next year.

Though the discussions remain in the very early stages, local government leaders are considering the idea of proposing a specific purpose tax that would contain a set of projects to benefit the county’s senior citizens — including the construction of a new Powell Senior Center.

Leaders of the Powell center have been seeking to build a new facility for years. They say the current building on North Gilbert Street is not only too small for the growing population of seniors, but also has leaks and accessibility problems, among other issues.

“Powell desperately needs to get that done,” said Mayor John Wetzel.

The Powell Senior Center purchased property on South Fair Street and turned it over to the city in hopes of securing grants. However, funding for the building — most recently estimated to cost $7.3 million — has proven elusive. Outside of a sales tax, “there just [are] not any options,” said Powell Senior Center Executive Director Linda Dalton.

Meeteetse’s senior center has also reported that it needs help, which is what spurred the discussion of a county-wide tax focused on seniors.

Local voters have generally been supportive of so-called specific purpose taxes in the past. The measures temporarily raise the county’s sales and use tax rate by 1% — in this case, from 4% to 5% — and then end once a specific amount of money has been collected.

Park County’s last specific purpose tax was put forward in 2016, when voters approved a $13.68 million measure to rebuild and replace streets, sewer systems and bridges around the county. 

However, a 1% general purpose tax that local governments proposed in 2020 — a measure that wasn’t tied to any specific projects — was rejected by a wide margin. Among the state’s 23 counties, Park and Sublette are the only two that don’t have a general purpose tax in place.

“With our recent history, you just kind of got to look at, what do you think is going to fly and what’s not going to fly?” said Wetzel, and he thinks senior centers are likely to draw support.

“It is a need with the population we’ve got coming in,” added Park County Commission Chair Dossie Overfield.

County commissioners have yet to discuss specific projects they might want to include in a tax, Overfield said, though she observed, “we can always do bridges.”

Over in Cody, Mayor Lee Ann Reiter said the city is exploring which of its projects might fit into a funding package.

One of the city’s biggest needs, Reiter said, is a series of renovations and upgrades at the Cody Auditorium. Built in the 1940s, the aging facility has outdated bathrooms and isn’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also needs fixes like an upgraded HVAC system and updated kitchen, she said.

“If we were able to bring that into modern day compliance, the seniors would have a lot more accessibility and potentially use that building [the auditorium] a lot more than we currently are,” Reiter said.

At a recent joint meeting between county, Cody, Powell and Meeteetse officials, there was some pushback on the idea of including the auditorium.

Overfield said the group “talked about how too many projects into the pool might dilute it too much.”

Wetzel said the consensus was the tax has a better chance of passing if the package is strictly limited to senior centers rather than including projects like an auditorium that might draw opposition. However, Wetzel said he would “absolutely” be open to supporting the auditorium renovation if Cody officials have a specific plan.

When the topic came up at a Tuesday work session of the Cody City Council, Council President Don Shreve said that, “I won't support Powell.”

However, Councilwoman Kelly Tamblyn expressed support. Tamblyn said both the Powell and Meeteetse centers need the funding and the tax is “about the only way they’re going to get it.”

In a Wednesday interview, Reiter said it’s important for the local governments to move forward together.

“We need to remain a [cohesive] team in order to get things done,” she said.

Overfield noted the government officials still have another six to eight months to decide whether to put a 1% tax on the ballot in 2026.

(Zac Taylor contributed reporting.)

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Cody Council President Don Shreve said he "won't support Powell," as the reporter initially misheard the remark. Additionally, the second sentence has been modified to make more clear that government leaders are discussing a specific purpose tax.