Park County leaders may soon ask taxpayers for an additional $19.3 million to build a new Powell Senior Center, remodel and upgrade the Cody Auditorium and purchase equipment and upgrade community facilities in Meeteetse.

If approved by local officials and, ultimately, by local voters, the measure would temporarily hike the county’s sales tax rate from 4% to 5%. Once a total of $19,278,000 was collected through the “specific excise purpose tax,” the rate would return to 4%.

The exact language hasn’t been finalized, but elected officials in Cody, Powell, Meeteetse and Park County have drafted a resolution that lays out the gist of the proposal.

The largest chunk of the money, $9.8 million, would go to the City of Cody for a substantial renovation of the Cody Auditorium. Cody leaders have said the facility is in serious need of repairs and could be upgraded to serve as a hub for regional conferences.

Meanwhile, $7.9 million would go to the City of Powell to build a new senior center on South Fair Street; the facility would then be leased to Powell Senior Citizens A Go-Go, the nonprofit organization that operates the current center. Senior center leaders have said their existing quarters on Gilbert Street are cramped, out of date and not very accessible for those with disabilities. They requested a sales tax after being unable to find other funding sources, and the council endorsed the plan back in January.

Finally, the Town of Meeteetse is seeking $1.578 million for several projects, including to improve the town’s senior center, swimming pool and visitor center and to purchase a new garbage truck.

As long as at least two of the county’s three municipalities and the county commission approve the resolution in the coming weeks, voters would consider the sales tax hike in the Nov. 3 general election.

The Meeteetse Town Council already approved the resolution on May 6 while the Cody City Council discussed the measure at a May 12 workshop and plans to vote on it soon. The Powell City Council was set to take up the resolution at the May 18 meeting, but the item was removed from the agenda at the start of the meeting; City Attorney Scott Kolpitcke indicated that the Park County Attorney’s Office wants some tweaks to the wording.

Mayor John Wetzel said he expects the council to vote on the revised document on June 1.