Ames citizens voted against funding the proposed aquatic center in the special bond election Tuesday.

Fifty-seven percent of those who cast votes rejected the bond, while 43 percent voted for it. The bond needed at least 60 percent of the votes to pass.

Duane Sorenson, ISU women’s swimming coach and member of the group that campaigned for the new complex, said he was surprised by the results.

“I’m disappointed, but the community spoke,” he said.

Sorenson said one of the main goals of the “Friends of the RecPlex” was to find out what the community thought about building a new aquatic center, and the results showed the community was against it.

Ames City Councilwoman Sharon Wirth said she was also disappointed by the results.

Wirth said she thinks Ames needed the new facilities because the city is desperately short of gym space and aquatic facilities.

The city also spent a lot of time researching the center and getting input from community members, Wirth said.

The bond asked for $23.6 million to fund the construction and equipping of a recreational and aquatic complex. The proposed site for the center was Mortensen Road and State Avenue and would have been connected to the new Ames Middle School being constructed at the same intersection.

Dani Dunham, deputy auditor of elections for the Story County Auditor’s Office, said a total of 5,992 people voted in Tuesday’s election.

She said she did not know whether the weather affected the voter turn-out; however, she said there was an early turn-out. By 11 a.m. 2,000 votes had been cast.