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FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- The Fairfield Arts and Convention Center has now secured $950,000 in funds generated by the center's board members.

KTVO spoke with Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy on Friday. He said that this vote is an opportunity to finish the "public-private partnership" for the convention center. And if residents approve, the use of the "Local Option Sales Tax Revenue," which is $650,000 will be redirected toward the building.

"We have already made an investment of $1.4 million. If we pass this, we'll be making an additional investment of $650,000. So over $2 million invested. But we do gain ownership of the building, which protects our investment. And I think that's in the best interest of our whole community," Mayor Malloy said.

The Mayor told KTVO about the consequences if the referendum does not pass.

"A 'no' vote on this puts us in no man's land. We just don't know what will happen next. There are so many ways to speculate about it. The operation right now is working well, and we don't want to jeopardize the fact that we've got something good going now," Mayor Malloy said.

He added that the center has proven itself in that it can generate the revenue necessary to operate...there was a 400 percent revenue increase over the prior year.

"It has also proven that it can be a multi-faceted community center, the one that we always envisioned. Now we're not beating ourselves up over the fact that we had a bad first year. But we do need to get the debt load off of the building. That's what this is about. And a 'yes' vote will allow that to happen," Mayor Malloy said.

He added that this project has been in the works for about a year, and that there were a lot of pieces put together and a lot of compromising along the way. Mayor Malloy also expressed that the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center is an attraction for area visitors.