Voters reject proposed Ritzville hospital bond

RITZVILLE - A $10 million bond proposal that would pay to build a new hospital in Ritzville is being rejected by voters in preliminary results released Tuesday evening.

The bond received 563 yes votes and 638 no votes, about 53.1 percent of voters rejecting the proposal. Because it is a revenue proposal, the bond needs 60 percent of voters saying yes to pass.

The vote count will be updated Wednesday, according to the Adams County Auditor's website.

The bond would pay for a new hospital to replace the existing 60-year-old building. Administrator Gary Bostrom said in an earlier interview that the hospital board and district officials were concerned the cost of updating the current building would compare to the cost of building a new facility.

- Staff report