Gloucester voters resoundingly defeated a proposed $39 million bond referendum that would have provided for many needs and amenities in the community … but would also have raised property taxes.

The county needs to find another way to achieve its goals.

The most pressing need, it seems, is to arrange funding for construction of a new headquarters of Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue. This was the first item on the list. The land sits empty and waiting on Main Street.

Many decades ago, when the volunteer fire company was established, the community found a way to purchase and house the equipment. It started from scratch. And while the original station has been expanded many times, with satellite stations in strategic locations, it is now maxed out and inadequate for current needs.

GVFR is always running to fires, to accidents, to medical emergencies, as is its slightly younger sibling, Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue. That organization also would have benefited from the bond issue, expanding bunk space to make its responders more comfortable between runs.

In any locality, the list of needs runs very long and the sources of money are hard to find. Sometimes it may be a good idea, for the amenities such as pickleball courts, to turn back to the community for funding: if this is important, can you raise at least half of the money?

Gloucester County Parks, Recreation and Tourism once had an effective fundraising arm, Park Partners, made up of community volunteers. Perhaps that group could be revived to help in these desired improvements to parks.

It’s likely that some of the bond’s targeted projects will occur sooner rather than later. Some may wait for years. It’s likely that being done in a piecemeal fashion the total cost will be higher than it would have been in a bundle, but perhaps the cost can be spread out to avoid hurt.

In an ideal world, everything would be built on time and to meet current needs. Gloucester’s board of supervisors, its school board, and its people, who rejected the bond issue, have to find another way. We can’t stand in place. What that way forward will be is not clear.