With a 5-1 vote Tuesday night, the Washington City Council approved a motion to begin the legal process for the possibility of a bond referendum vote for the YMCA project in Washington. So far the group has raised about $6 million, $3.5 milion is from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation and they’re seeking a $1.5 million Vision Iowa grant. According to the Riverboat grant stipulations, the project has to break ground by December 2017. They total project cost is $10 to $10.5 million and they’re seeking a $3 million referendum.

Multiple residents spoke in favor of the project at the meeting. City Administrator Brent Hinson suggested having a signed petition about the referendum before it gets on the ballot. The lone nay vote on the motion was councilman Russ Zieglowsky who said it’d previously been stated taxpayer dollars would not be used to build the new facility.