Ames voters approved the $4.97 million Hallett’s Quarry bond issue Tuesday with an 86 percent majority.

Revenue from an increase in property taxes will be used to purchase the 460 acres north of Ames and transform the area into a wetland park. The lakes in the area, with about 1 billion gallons of water, serve as the city’s backup water source during drought.

At-large Councilman Russ Cross, who was re-elected Tuesday night, said the Hallett’s Quarry bond issue passed with such “remarkable” support because the city highly encouraged residents to get out to vote.

“People saw a need to add to the quality of life in Ames,” he said.

Mayor Ted Tedesco said the city needs a backup source of water in drought. He said the climate in the area has been fairly dry in the last 30 years.

“There is only so much water in the aquifer we draw from now,” Tedesco said.

According to the city of Ames Web site, the bond will raise property taxes $21 per $100,000 of property value every year for 12 years. The tax on rental properties will increase $38 for every $100,000 of property value.

The total cost of the project, which is slated for completion in 2005, is $7.5 million. The city received a Vision Iowa grant for $1.5 million – contingent upon the bond’s approval – as well as a $1.03 million pledge from the Story County Conservation Board.

Tedesco said the quarry will not only benefit permanent residents of Ames, but the ISU community as well.

“It becomes a very living classroom,” he said.

The park will serve as a place where students can study environmental issues and wildlife, Tedesco said.

Councilman-elect Daryle Vegge, 3rd Ward, agreed that the area will benefit students.

“It’s an area that will be around for generations,” he said. “It’s a nice recreation area for them.”

To proceed with the project, the city needed 60 percent approval from voters.

If the issue were not approved, the land would have been sold to a company based in Ireland. It is not known if the company would have let Ames use the water during a drought.