The most popular SPET item was water quality, which soared to a win, 7,998 for the measure and 1,974 against. Teton Youth and Family Services’ measure also won by a large margin 7,211 to 2,605.

The narrowest win was for measure No. 7 for improving town sidewalks, but it still won by 1,128 votes. The Bronc Achievement Center was also somewhat close, winning by 1,345 votes.

People who voted early in person were especially generous, supporting every SPET measure. Before the election, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance endorsed voting for everything, whereas the Jackson Hole Tea Party cautioned voters not to overspend.

The measures voters approved to collect and spend sales tax dollars on are set to start in 2024.

Voters interviewed at the polls expressed more interest in having their voice heard in the local SPET items than the candidates, especially in supporting affordable housing.

Elizabeth Gerrits, 29, a Jackson resident who works in fundraising for the Jackson Hole Historical Society, is most passionate about “housing, women’s bodies, inflation and climate change.”

“I’m excited for all of the housing SPETS,” Gerrits said. “I’m mostly excited about housing and investing in locals.”

Allie Ziegler, 28, said living in affordable housing is “a huge aspect of why I’m still here.”

She voted for all the housing SPET measures.

“SPET, we can make a difference,” Ziegler said. “There’s enough people here that will vote.”

HOUSING A TOP VOTER ISSUE

The five housing measures alone comprised about half of the $160 million ask in SPET proposals. Of the five separate housing-focused SPET measures, totaling $80 million, all were approved. In exit polls, many Teton County voters expressed affordable housing as their top issue.

Lori Crabtree, 54, a resident of South Wilson said that “locally, I feel like employee housing is really important,” while also lamenting the number of separate housing-focused SPET measures on the ballot.

“There’s a lot of different fractured ideas out there,” Crabtree said. “But I do support them, and hopefully something will shake out.”

Sal Thorkildsen, 81, also cited affordable housing as a top issue, saying she was distraught to see the community changing.

Thorkildsen voted Tuesday at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center. She spoke about one of her employees at the housekeeping business she’s run for years: A single mother who lives in Blair Place Apartments and is facing a rent hike upwards of $3,000 a month for her apartment.

“She makes $40 an hour; that’s great,” Thorkildsen said. “She’ll be able to pay the rent, but not much else.”

Thorkildsen said rents that high destroy the community.

“People like Bonnie Budge, she’s on the east side of town. She has a trailer park and when things were tough, she forgave people their rent,” Thorkildsen said. “Blair Apartments? I know people are here to make money. But at the expense of our way of life?”

Thorkildsen said her kids and grandkids can’t afford to live here anymore.

Teton County Employee Housing ($10 million)

The county will be receiving $10 million to build about 35 rental units for county government employees at 252 and 254 E. Simpson Ave., which the county purchased for $3.8 million. Demolition is slated to begin on the sites this year, and construction is scheduled to end in 2025.

While there aren’t building plans yet, the community can expect to see a three-story building with offices on the ground floor and one- and two-bedroom units upstairs, said Alyssa Watkins, Board of County Commissioner administrator.

The county said has struggled with staffing shortages over the last year, at about 10% to 12%.

Teton Youth and Family Services facilities improvements ($2 million)

Voters agreed to fund a $2 million remodel for the nonprofit Teton Youth and Family Services. The organization has been serving Wyoming kids in crisis and their families since 1977. The onetime funds will support the remodel of existing facilities: the Hirschfield Center for Children, the Van Vleck House and Red Top Meadows.

Its services include a crisis shelter, group home and a residential treatment center responding to mental health, substance and child abuse, as well as domestic violence.

The $2 million SPET funding will be matched by an additional $3 million in public funding and $10 million in privately raised funds to complete the entire scope of work.

St. John’s Health housing ($24 million)

Voters polled at lunchtime at the Teton County Library expressed support for funding housing for the hospital employees.

The public hospital asked for $24 million to help plan, design, engineer and construct around 100 rental apartments for hospital workers, as well as overnight lodging for on-call staff and patients/families.

“Securing housing for our county, city and hospital workers is a good move,” Chani Knobe said after voting at the library Tuesday. “It will open up more affordable options for the general population.”

With the salaries of all St. John’s employees considered — including doctors and executives — 84% lack an affordable housing option. SPET No. 6 will require hospital employee tenants to pay no more than 24% of their gross household income.

“The vote to approve our project validates the strong connection between housing for the St. John’s workforce and the health of our community,” CEO of St. John’s Health David Robertson said. “With nearly 1/3 of the project cost funded through SPET, we hope that individuals with capacity for philanthropy will match the community SPET commitment.”

Town workforce housing ($10 million)

The town will be receiving $10 million to plan and build about 32 units on three sites the town already owns, Interim Town Manager Tyler Sinclair said, though there is some flexibility with the town’s housing needs.

The first project in the town’s development pipeline is an already-designed plan for 55 Karns Meadow Drive. The three-story building is planned to have 36 bedrooms with space for 67 people in 24 rental apartments. The unit breakdown is 12 two-bedrooms, six one-bedrooms and five studios.

Any of the town’s about 123 staff would be eligible for the housing, like any other business’ employee housing.

Community affordable and workforce homes ($20 million)

Ben Weiser said he turned out to support SPET, specifically affordable housing, after his experiences of living in an overcrowded basement and a crowded, overpriced room.

Weiser and other voters approved $20 million to build an estimated 100 deed-restricted units.

While occupants would still need to be members of the local workforce and meet income requirements in “affordable” units, cutting the tether of employment-based housing props up the community, according to Teton County Housing Department Director April Norton. People can move up in their careers, serve the community in different ways, and make the “best choice for their family,” she said.

In 2022, the Teton Region Housing Needs Assessment projected the county would need 2,000 units by 2027 that are priced below market to maintain 60% of the workforce housed locally. Since 2016, the Housing Department has built or is in the process of constructing 253 units. It has invested, on average, $157,000 per unit while leveraging over $100 million in non-governmental funding.

Planning for senior assisted living ($1.9 million)

With the closure of Legacy Lodge last year, Jackson Hole lost its only assisted living option.

SPET Proposition 13, however, will provide $1.9 million to support the creation of a new assisted living facility in Teton County, providing the initial funding to, among other things, develop a plan, find a location, and organize a joint board to create and run the assisted living facility.

“I’m pleased that the Teton County community chose to support the senior citizens who call this place home,” said Kevin Cochary, co-chair of the assisted living committee of the Senior Center of Jackson Hole.

He expressed thanks to voters and to the team that got the proposition on the ballot. He wasn’t surprised by the win, as he hadn’t heard much opposition.

“We were very optimistic,” Cochary said.

Some of the next steps will include deciding whether to form a different organization outside the Senior Center and talking to Teton County commissions and the Jackson Town Council to explore a public-nonprofit partnership.

“Once we have an assisted living facility again, we hope our seniors can return home and live close to family and friends,” Cochary said.

He quoted Sen. John Hoeven, of North Dakota: “Caring for our seniors is perhaps the greatest responsibility we have. Those who walked before us have given so much and made possible the life we all enjoy.”

Teton County School District housing ($16 million)

Voters also expressed outspoken support for housing Teton County teachers, approving the Teton County School District’s ask of $16 million to plan, design, engineer and construct multifamily housing for district employees.

“My kids go to school in the community so providing housing for their teachers is incredibly important,” Nicole Ackley said after voting at the Teton County Library Tuesday at lunch time.

Ackley’s children are 13 and 10. She said she’s voting to equip the school with resources to stymie the “overcrowding” and spiking enrollment.

Arthur Blue said his top issue was affordable housing for school district employees and “all school-related funding.”

Other voters agreed.

The intention is to build three 24-unit housing buildings along South Park Loop Road next to Jackson Hole Middle School.

This first 24-unit building will contain one- and two-bedroom apartments, which would specifically address the needs of district employees and their families.

The school district is uniquely challenged because the state of Wyoming does not have a means by which districts fund employee housing, and a public school district may not borrow money or use other loan programs for housing.

“We are excited about the outcome of the SPET election and thank the voters of Teton County for their support,” said Charlotte Reynolds, executive director of communications for the school district. “We take the results of the election as a recognition of the important role public education plays in our community and their desire to ensure our students have appropriate learning facilities that are not overcrowded and that our staff have stable, affordable housing so that they can continue to provide the high quality education our students deserve.”

Transportation Alternatives / Safe Routes to School ($15 million)

To incentivize people to drive less, SPET funds will also be spent on pathway and sidewalk projects for “safer routes to school.” The county proposed the measure so less people would be clogging the streets in single-occupancy cars.

At the top of that project list is a pathway on the south side of High School Road, improving the intersection with Highway 89. The community has also called for improvements along Scott Lane, Maple Way, Gregory Lane, Willow Street and South Park Loop. In Wilson an underpass will connect Wilson Elementary School to a pathway running on the south side of Highway 22 from Wilson to Stilson, complete with another bridge over Fish Creek.

The remaining third of funds will go to transit projects that are part of the town and county’s vision for the federal BUILD grant, aiming to reduce traffic and connect the region’s bedroom communities with “safe, convenient and efficient transportation alternatives.”

SPET money will also help install 12 bus prioritization signals around the county — what Teton County Public Works Director Heather Overholser calls “green lights for buses.” The money will also help revamp the Stilson lot into a “transportation hub” and 400 additional parking spots, a new transit center slated to be built by 2025, covered bike parking, and larger bus bays.

Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Hoback, Wilson stations ($15 million)

Jackson Hole Fire/EMS will receive $15 million in specific purpose excise tax funds to plan, design and build a new Fire Station 3 in Hoback.

The funds will also design a new Fire Station 2 for Wilson, and, depending on what’s left over after Hoback is built, those funds will be allocated to building a new Wilson fire station.

Both new stations will be built in the locations of the stations they will replace.

Central Wyoming College campus ($10 million)

With unofficial results coming in for SPET, employees with Central Wyoming College erupted in cheers Tuesday evening at The Wort upon learning that the school earned $10 million in specific purpose excise tax money to finish funding a 21,000-square-foot building on its own Jackson campus.

“This is just unbelievable,” college President Brad Tyndall said after the unofficial results were announced.

“I’m grateful to the community. I was a little nervous,” he said, acknowledging that CWC has tried for years to realize a permanent Jackson campus. “I know Teton County supports education, but I was worried people would be worn out.”

Jackson Hole High School graduate and CWC English professor Matt Daly said the win was really exciting.

“I think this is huge for our students to feel that they can have their own college experience here at home,” Daly said.

Sen. Mike Gierau and Rep. Andy Schwartz secured $10.3 million from the state Strategic Investments and Projects account earlier this year. CWC now leases space from the Center for the Arts in Jackson and has been working toward building a permanent Jackson campus for almost a decade.

CWC hopes to build on 2 acres of land just off High School Road. The purchase of the ground from Leeks Canyon Ranch LLC, through which Elizabeth and Kelly Lockhart run the Lockhart Cattle Company ranch, needs a zone change from suburban zoning to public-semi-public through Teton County.

Town of Jackson sidewalks and pedestrian accessibility ($3 million)

The town of Jackson will be receiving $3 million to “improve walkability and accessibility” around town. The money will allow for new sidewalks and the improvement of existing ones based on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Jackson has a “pretty lengthy list” where sidewalks and improvements are needed, according to Assistant Public Works Director Johnny Ziem.

This SPET money also could be used to help maintain Jackson’s historic boardwalks near Town Square, as well as add crosswalks and street lights at intersections, Ziem said.

“Walkability is very important to our Comprehensive Plan and very important to climate action,” he said. “We want people to get out of their cars as much as possible. The more we can do that, carbon-free, it’s really a win on multiple fronts.”

Bronc Achievement Center ($16.5 million)

Teton County School District No. 1 acquired $16.5 million in specific purpose excise tax funds to design, construct and equip a new school facility that will include indoor recreational space for community youth sports programs, classrooms and laboratories. The center is a facility the district hopes will create more space at the high school, which leadership says is nearing capacity.

The district rolled out the plans for the new Bronc Achievement Center with an overall price tag of $36.5 million and has been actively lobbying the state to shoulder the remaining $20 million.

In October, the district cleared its first funding hurdle when the state Select Committee on School Facilities agreed to move the district’s request forward to the Appropriations Committee.

County land conservation opportunities ($8 million)

Voters have approved an $8 million specific purpose excise tax measure that will raise public funds to protect a 640-acre parcel of state trust land near Munger Mountain from future development.

The $8 million will be used to seed a larger fundraising push intended to secure funding for a 20-year conservation lease on the parcel. Money will be held by the Teton County Scenic Preserve Trust, which is, in a nutshell, the Teton County Board of County Commissioners.

Leftover funds will be used to fund other conservation projects in Teton County, like preserving access to trails that cross private lands. The SPET measure was championed by Friends of Munger Mountain, a group that sprung up to oppose glamping proposals on the Munger state land parcel as state officials pursue controversial developments on state lands elsewhere in Teton County.

Energy Conservation Works projects ($5 million)

Teton County voters also supported developing clean energy projects, approving a $5 million ask for solar electric projects and also to support alternative fuel programs, energy audits and other work aimed at creating ways to produce and conserve energy.

One of the projects that Energy Conservation Works hopes to expand is support for recharging stations for the electric cars it hopes to see more of. That’s because its estimates show that cars are a major source of pollution in Jackson Hole, probably two-thirds of all air pollution in the area.

ECW is a project of the town of Jackson, Teton County and Lower Valley Electric, now in its second decade. It won voter approval in 2010 for a $3.8 million SPET boost for energy projects. ECW has a solar panel farm south of town that gathers clean energy to power local organizations.

Jim O’Brien, treasurer of the Friends of Energy Conservation Works, says the money the organization seeks this year should be seen as an investment, one that he predicts will yield a $9 million benefit over 20 years.

Teton County water quality projects ($10 million)

Voters have approved a $10 million specific purpose excise tax measure intended to raise money for water quality projects in Teton County. Some of those projects have been identified, like moving some homes in Wilson off septic systems and onto the town of Jackson’s sewer systems.

Others have not and will be determined by an ongoing water quality planning effort that Teton County, the Teton Conservation District, and Protect Our Water Jackson Hole have put $1.1 million towards. Water quality advocates championed the measure as well as one Wilson resident.

John Wasson, 72, said he had a horse in the race as a member of the Wilson Sewer District. As part of a $10 million water quality-focused SPET measure, the district requested funding to transition Wilson homes from septic systems to town of Jackson sewer.

“It’s not a big item in the scale of the whole,” Wasson said. “But I generally support the SPET.”

“It’s a sales tax-supported thing, so everybody that comes here shares in the burden,” he said, admitting that he thought the slate of SPET items was nonetheless a bit too big.

John and Jocelyn Wasson said they ultimately supported every SPET item on the ballot.

— Billy Arnold, Mark Baker, Jennifer Dorsey, Jeannette Boner, Miranda de Morias and Sophia Boyd-Fliegel contributed to this article