Montgomery County county overwhelmingly passed Issue 70 on Tuesday. The bond issue is a $187 million levy that will go towards consolidating the downtown main library branch and 20 other locations into 17 buildings.
In unofficial results, voters approved Issue 70 by a count of 62% to 38%. Over 122,200 people voted for the measure, while just over 75,500 voters opposed it.
Tim Kambitsch of the Dayton Metro Library says the levy's passage will also allow for updates on suburban branches and improvements to the library's programming.
"This has given our residents the libraries they deserve," says Kambitsch. "Our older buildings just have not been able to keep up with what our residents have demanded of the libraries in terms of technology, space for meetings and the like. And this will really allow us to actually provide better service. But because we are going to be operating fewer locations, we can do it more cost effectively."
Kamitsch says the project's planning phase will begin next spring.