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Farmington selectmen discuss poll times, parking lot lights

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Town officials, left to right: Town Secretary Linda Grant, Town Manager Richard Davis, Board Chair Joshua Bell, Selectman Stephan Bunker, Selectman Andy Buckland, Selectman Michael Fogg.
Town officials, left to right: Town Secretary Linda Grant, Town Manager Richard Davis, Board Chair Joshua Bell, Selectman Stephan Bunker, Selectman Andy Buckland, Selectman Michael Fogg.

FARMINGTON – Selectmen met briefly prior to Tuesday’s special town meeting, setting poll times for future local elections and discussing the installation of lights in the parking lot under construction on Church Street.

The issue of default times for local elections came up after selectmen discussed the issue at a previous meeting in relation to Thursday’s school vote. The polls will be open in Farmington on July 28 from 12:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., and selectmen previously expressed concern that the timing was too compressed to allow for some voters to participate.

The first budget vote coincided with the June 14 statewide primary elections, resulting in the polls being open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. The selectmen were discussing what optimal hours of operation should be for local-only votes, such as municipal elections or the school vote.

There is a cost to operating the polls, specifically for the employment of ballot clerks and overtime for the town clerk. Running the polls from noon p.m. until 6:30 p.m., which requires clerks to basically be present for seven hours to count votes, costs the town $118.50. A full day election, at 12.5 hours, costs the town $317.75.

Town officials surveyed the poll times in all Mt. Blue towns. Polls are open for an average of 7.1 hours in those 10 towns, averaging a 12:07 p.m. start time and a 7:18 p.m. closing time.

Selectmen agreed that having the polls open for seven hours, running from noon until 7 p.m., should meet the needs of most voters. Town Clerk Leanne Dickey noted that absentee ballots are available for voters unable to make the polls, with approximately 80 ballots already submitted in relation to Thursday’s school vote.

The four selectmen present voted unanimously to set the poll times for local-only votes to noon until 7 p.m.

That policy will not apply to Thursday’s vote, which has already been committed to warrant. Polls will be open this Thursday from 12:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., at the Community Center. More details about the school vote itself can be found here.

In other business, Town Manager Richard Davis informed the board that the new parking lot under construction at the intersection of Cony and Church Street will require the installation of two to three streetlights. While some light is cast on the Cony-side of the lot from streetlights that line that street, the rear corner is too dark.

Davis noted that planners hadn’t realized the issue until the large house that previously occupied the lot was torn down. As the lights were not budgeted for in Jordan Excavation’s bid, a change order will be issued. The conduits for the lamp posts, which would be the same brand as the ones lining Cony Street, needed to be installed now, Davis said, before the lot was paved.

Davis did not have an exact cost for the lights, although he believed it would be comparable to the $5,000 the town received for selling the demolished building’s salvage. The funding for the lights would come out of the town’s tax increment financing program, as did the cost of purchasing the property, demolishing the building and paving the lot.

Selectmen also voted to cancel their Aug. 9 meeting, due to a lack of items for the agenda.

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1 Comment

  1. I think one good light is enough. Heck, the one on my house lights up the whole neighborhood!

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