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City elections official proposes consolidating four ward polling places to Woodlawn barn
Summary
A city elections official told the Finance Committee she plans to seek a public hearing to consolidate four ward polling sites into a single polling location at the barn at Woodlawn, citing staffing shortages, ADA access and cost savings; councilors raised concerns about accessibility, location and timing tied to the school referendum schedule.
Tina (elections staff) told the Finance Committee she plans to ask the council to schedule a public hearing to consolidate the city’s four ward polling locations into a single site at “the barn at Woodlawn.”
“The barn at Woodlawn,” Tina said, explaining she has negotiated a contract with the property and that “they gave me a cost of 1300.” She described the move as a way to address problems staffing multiple poll sites and to improve accessibility: “We have the ability now to have actual proper, handicap spaces and parking.”
The proposal would replace four separate ward locations — wards 1, 2, 3 and 4 — with a single central site. Tina told the committee the barn measures about 40 by 40 feet and that the Woodlawn parking lot offers about 120 spaces; she said the town would need roughly 11 voting booths to meet projected turnout. She said the rental would cover three days (set-up, Election Day and tear-down).
Amy (school representative) and other members of the Finance Committee framed the consolidation request alongside the school budget timetable. Tina said she must set an election date now in order to meet state deadlines and asked the committee to lock in June 10 as the referendum date. “I have to have the date set in stone for June 10th,” she said, noting the school referendum is usually scheduled the second Tuesday in June.
Council members and other speakers raised several concerns. One member questioned whether moving one central site could “close out the voters” who live farther from Woodlawn and suggested a centrally familiar location, such as the high school, might be preferable. Another member objected to paying a private, tax-exempt property for polling space and said the price and location merited more council discussion.
Committee members also pressed for comparative cost information. Tina said current combined rental costs for the other two non-city-hall sites are about $600 total and that consolidation could reduce the number of temporary election workers from about 40 to perhaps 10, because only a single set of ward officials would be required at one location.
Several speakers recommended bringing full cost comparisons and accessibility documentation to the January meeting, including (1) a side-by-side cost estimate of running elections at four wards versus one consolidated site (staff pay, rental fees and other operational costs) and (2) plans showing ADA access and traffic flow. Tina said she has posted a consolidation comment form on the city website and had not yet received adverse feedback.
No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the Finance Committee meeting. Tina said she plans to place a public hearing on the January council agenda to present the consolidation proposal and the proposed election date.
The discussion also included procedural context: one council member noted a state rule was described to the group that can lock a jurisdiction into a chosen school polling site for a multi-year period if it is designated as the official polling place; another speaker said the city’s election registers have sometimes let voters cast ballots in the wrong ward, which consolidation would eliminate.
If the council sets the public hearing as requested, staff said they will return with the requested cost breakdowns, an accessibility plan and the contract terms with Woodlawn for council review.
