ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Orange City's proposed Phoenix Project survived the "fire" of the November 4, 2009 election, passing by just two votes.

The unofficial ballot count shows the project received 991 votes in favor and 658 opposed. It needed a 60 percent "yes" vote to be approved. If just two "yes" voters had cast "no" votes instead, the initiative would have failed, according to the Sioux County Auditor's Office.

The public question asked voters' permission for the city to sell up to $4.5 million in bonds to finance "one or more" of three capital projects: an events center; a replacement for the downtown Hawkeye Center, which burned to the ground in 2007; and a $750,000 grant to Unity Christian High School in exchange for city use of its proposed performing arts center..

Marty Guthmiller, head of the Phoenix Project Task Force, and City Manager Duane Feekes both said work will proceed on all three projects, but will move forward at different paces. The task force will stay involved. Guthmiller said getting the go-ahead for the Hawkeye Center means that potential commercial tenants the city has already approached will know it's a viable project and can proceed with their own plans.

"We were very happy with the results," said Lisa Burg, a member of the Phoenix Project Task Force. She said getting 60 percent of the vote shows the community wants to move forward and make itself a destination, one of the goals of putting all three projects on the ballot.

"This is a mandate to be very good stewards," Burg said, "to make sure we do the right thing and make sure everything gets done right."

The task force will meet to get started on that.