By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In Sycamore Township and Forest Park, residents had long clamored for multimillion-dollar community centers, but proved Tuesday they wouldn't support more taxes for facilities promising gyms, pools, conference rooms and other amenities.

Officials in both blamed the economy for the tax proposals' failures. Both communities had conducted surveys, which seemed to indicate residents wanted multimillion-dollar community centers.

In Forest Park, voters overwhelmingly rejected a higher earnings tax to build a $13 million community center. Sycamore Township voters rejected a 1-mill levy to finance a $14 million center's operating costs.

Township Trustee Cliff Bishop believes Tuesday's results would have been different if supporters had campaigned earlier and more intensely. And a long ballot with a costly light rail issue, he said, also distracted voters.

"I'm afraid that a lot of people just (voted) no, no, no, no, no, no .... all the way down," he said. "I really can't tell you what the future will hold. (But) we will be getting back to this in the near future."

The township already has pinpointed a home for the one-story, 78,000-square-foot building that would sit behind Sycamore's administration building on Kenwood Road. The township paid $3 million to buy the 10-acre parcel that was once home to Blue Ash Elementary School. Trustees also have discussed issuing bonds to construct the facility.

Don Speir of Forest Park who waved banners supporting the proposal at high-traffic intersections on Tuesday, said voters have spoken.

"Their message came through very clearly. Now, I'm going to play golf."

E-mail svela@enquirer.com