Bayfield voters narrowly rejected a ballot issue that would have boosted the town’s sales tax to 3 percent from 2 percent, according to final unofficial ballot returns.

The numbers for the night showed 508, or 53.1 percent, of Bayfield voters said “no” on the ballot issue, while 448, or 46.9 percent, voted “yes.”

The proposed sales tax revenue would be dedicated to street improvements and transportation.

The sales tax was needed to pay for essential infrastructure, said Bayfield Town Trustee Ed Morlan.

The town maintains 17.39 miles of roads and is spending about $1.3 million on them in 2014.

“The town is growing and we need to keep up with infrastructure,” Morlan said earlier Tuesday.

Bayfield could only collect $285,000 for streets in 2015, according to the ballot question.

The same tax question was rejected by Bayfield residents in April on a vote of 75 to 66.

Trustees decided to bring the question to voters again because they believe the town will not have the revenue to keep up with road maintenance in a few years.

This investment is important to help encourage business growth in town, Morlan said.

“If the roads are crumbling, it’s not going to encourage people to come here and shop,” said Morlan, who is also the executive director of the Region 9 Economic Development District.

The sales tax would have allowed the town to focus on a comprehensive drainage plan to address flooding in some parts of town, Morlan said.

The ballot initiative would bring the town’s local sales tax on par with Durango, which is also 3 percent.

Last year the town spent $200,000 on roads and still has $800,000 in repairs to finish.

In recent years, the town has been fairly successful at getting grants to help cover the cost of repairs, Morlan said.

In 2011, the town received $6.8 million from the Colorado Department of Transportation to take over the Bayfield Parkway, formerly the U.S. 160 business route through town.

That same year the town repaved the parkway and milled the old asphalt, which carried a price tag of $1.2 million. The town also plans to use $3 million of the grant to replace the two bridges. .

The Pine River Times Contributed to this report

mshinn@durangoherald.com