Natrona County Public Library board members may start from scratch after voters turned down a bid for a new building during Tuesday's election.

"We will lick our wounds and try to figure out why the community decided to vote for a property tax and not a sales tax," said Chris Mullen, the board of trustees president.

Voters approved a general obligation bond issue for Casper College capital construction projects by an unofficial margin of more than 15 percent. The project will impose an increase in property tax on Natrona County residents.

Unofficial results Wednesday morning show the library roughly 5 percent below the needed 50-percent margin. About 1,500 votes separated the ballot from success.

The board asked Natrona County residents to approve a temporary sixth-cent sales tax for roughly $43.25 million.

Even though both of the measures were for capital construction projects - library officials wanted a new building and college officials several new buildings - one failed and the other passed.

Mullen wonders if language in the two measures helped determine their separate fates.

"They called it a bond … we called it a tax," Mullen said, referring respectively to the college and library.

On the last page of the Natrona County election ballot, the college measure was titled: "Casper Community College Bond," while the library proposal was called: "Public Library Specific Purpose Tax."

It's important that the board finds out why voters opposed the library measure, according to Board Treasurer Randy Buffington.

While speculation abounds, he said he's heard two theories of why the measure may have failed. The first echoes Mullins' thoughts of a variation in language.

The second is that the county twice asked voters to approve a tax for the county courthouse. Voters rejected it both times, but the county still found a way to build a new courthouse.

What he hopes to do is discover what the voters heard about the project.

"The most important question is, 'What do the voters want?'" Buffington asked.

Susan Anderson, who was hired by Casper College to work on the bond issue, said she isn't sure why the outcomes were different. After all, she said, both of the projects made valid arguments for community building.

"I think it's really hard to figure out what voters are thinking," she said. "I thought about it, and I really don't have an answer."

Library director Bill Nelson thanked the voters for considering the project and especially those who helped promote the measure.

He's not sure what's next, but he will meet with the board of trustees soon.

Library Foundation Executive Director Beth Worthen said the McMurry Foundation will give a large donation to the library at a press conference today.

The gift will be used to "address facility needs" with the current library building, Worthen said.

Despite the disappointment many board trustees voiced on Wednesday, each said they wanted to continue to focus on serving residents and promoting literacy.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com