The Baldwin City Council voted Monday to repeal an ordinance scheduling a Feb. 7 referendum on a sales tax meant help pay for a community center.

The council voted in August to schedule the referendum on a half-cent sales tax, which was to provide half of the $5 million needed to build a community center.

Monday’s council action came at the request of the Baldwin City Recreation Commission Board of Directors. Council members emphasized the action wasn’t taken because of misgivings about the project, but to align a vote on the city sale tax with a possible Baldwin City school district referendum on a 2.75 mill levy increase, which would provide the remaining $2.5 million needed to build the community center.

The BCRC asked for the repeal in response to the Baldwin City school board’s September decision to table a request to increase the mill levy. Board members questioned the wisdom of approving the request when there was much uncertainty about what a possible new school funding formula might mean to the district’s mill levy. On Monday, the school agreed to table discussion of a mill levy until June 2017.

Should the school board approve the mill levy increase next year, there would only be a referendum on the tax should there be a successful protest position within 30 days of the board’s action.

Steve Friend, BCRC executive director, said last week the BCRC is addressing concerns board members voiced at the September meeting. Those include more details on the community center’s annual operational expenses and the hiring of a consultant charged with finding grants and donations to reduce the taxes needed to build the facility.

The council also approved an ordinance increasing the number of cool weather months used to average sewer bills from three to six months. Cool weather water use is used for averages because water used in those months goes into sewers, unlike the warm-weather activities of watering lawns, washing cars or filling swimming pools.

Currently, the city averages the amount of water used in December, January and February to calculate individual sewer bills. The new system will average water use of October, November, December, January, February and March.

“Three months is pretty tight,” said Brad Smith, city financial director. “We have a lot of snow birds in the community.”

Baldwin City residents will get their bills next month in an envelop instead of on a postcard. Also in the envelop will be an informational city newsletter, Smith said.