A total of 1,587 residents - or 52.05 percent - voted against the tax compared to 1,462 - or 47.95 percent - supporting it. The tax was turned down in all three precincts in Warrenton. The city's sales tax will remain at 7.975 cents for every $1 spent. Had the proposal passed, the sales tax would have increased to 8.475 cents. The tax increase was proposed to fund an indoor recreation center estimated to cost $10.5 million with an aquatic center. "I don't think it's what we wanted, but clearly when you have the turnout we had you can't be unhappy with that," Mayor Greg Costello said. "Everybody had their opportunity to weigh in on it. The board of aldermen will take that and decide where we go from here." The city has been looking at building an indoor facility around 35,000-45,000 square feet on a tract of land on Market Street behind the Warrenton 8 Cinema complex. The facility would include a gymnasium, walking track, fitness equipment area and multipurpose rooms. Aldermen will now decide whether to place the sales tax increase on a future ballot, construct the indoor recreation center without an aquatic center, or postpone the project. Costello said the biggest concern city officials are facing is whether residents will support a new indoor center without the aquatic area. The city said previously the reason it asked residents to approve the sales tax increase was due to a survey sent out to residents who responded the aquatic center would be their main reason for using the new facility. In the same survey, only 14 percent said they would favor a one-half cent increase. Although the city has $7 million in funding in place to construct the facility without an aquatic center, aldermen had preferred to build it with the popular feature during the initial construction phase. The sales tax increase was expected to generate around $722,000 annually. "There are several different options (aldermen) will have to consider," Costello said. He said he understood residents' concerns about approving a tax increase during these difficult times as they strive to keep afloat in an unstable economy. "With the economic conditions, I don't think we can beat the public up too bad for choosing to go the conservative route right now," Costello said. Aldermen are expected to take some time before determining what direction to explore next. "I think it's something to chew on a little bit," Alderman John Clark said.