Salina ? Salina residents have voted to leave the Smoky Hill River alone.

Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to raise the city’s sales tax to raise money for a plan to return the river’s channel through the central Kansas city.

The proposed 0.25 percent sales tax was proposed to fund a 10-year, $27 million project. The Salina Journal reports that it lost by 65.2 percent to 34.8 percent.

Supporters wanted to return the river to its original channel, which flowed through the city and was once a recreational gathering spot. The river’s channel was changed in the 1960s to eliminate periodic flooding.

Opponents had said they support improving the river, but it was not the right time to raise taxes.