Prep Work Continues for 2012 Polling Place Changes

It’s official – the new polling place for every election except in Wenham is .

And a similar move to change the polling place in underway in Hamilton.

Both moves are being made after the School Committee last year from the schools – Wenham is now at and Hamilton at – so that school did not have to be cancelled on Election Day.

On Tuesday, the Wenham Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 to officially move the polling place to Town Hall.

As of now, the first election that would be held at the new polling places would be the presidential primary in spring 2012.

Each household will be informed when the Town Meeting warrant is delivered in the coming weeks. A note will be attached to the warrant, which will be on a disk and delivered by Boy Scouts.

The Wenham board actually but didn’t take a formal vote until this week.

“You never took the technical vote,” Town Administrator Jeff Chelgren told the board before Tuesday’s vote.

In Hamilton, Town Manager Michael Lombardo said he and Town Clerk Jane Wetson have identified the , in front of the public safety building on Bay Road, as the best building to hold elections.

“Jane and I have been through just about every building in town that we have access to,” Lombardo said. Besides the old library, all of the other options “have come up somewhat short,” Lombardo said, including , which “is not really conducive” to holding an election because there isn’t enough room for all three of the town’s three precincts to set up.

But before the old library can become the new polling place, a second egress will have to be added to one of the rooms. The improvements wouldn’t be costly and could be include as part of other improvements planned for the money with Community Preservation Act money that will be decided by voters in May, Lombardo said.

“The intent is to change the polling place, but we have additional work to do before it is a certainty,” Lombardo said in an interview.

After explaining the process of reviewing all the possible sites, the Board of Selectmen last month gave him the OK to move ahead in changing the polling location.

Lombardo said the examination focused only on town government buildings and gave preference to building along Route 1A (Bay Road).

“I think it’s important that we stay within proximity to Bay Road,’ Lombardo said.

Selectman Marc Johnson said the wouldn’t work well because its location on School Street is “too far off.”

Board chairman Jennifer Scuteri said that since the discussion began last fall she has received several suggestions for a new polling place. She too said it should be located along Route 1A.