Acton Almost Had One Designated Spot for Voting

At the July 9th Board of Selectmen meeting (which Acton Patch did not attend) the Selectmen voted to consolidate all the voting precincts into one designated area, the at the high school. All was well until the Town received word that the school calendar was already booked and could not readily accommodate such a change.

"[There was a previous agreement between Town Manager Steve Ledoux and Superintendent Steve Mills] There seemed to be a misunderstanding... I think the primary September and March election are school days which means parking is obviously a pain," said Ledoux.

On July 10, Ledoux wrote to the Board of Selectmen, "Despite my discussion with the School Superintendent, the High School cannot accommodate voting at the Upper Field House on the Primary day or Town Election day as their school calendar is already set. We will have to rescind our vote and plan on starting the following year."

Acton resident Charlie Kadlec attended the Selectmen meeting Monday, July 23, and voiced his opinion on the matter in regard to the Selectmen's vote to revoke their previous vote. 

"This year we have a very important election... I don't know what the conflict is with the Field House on the election days but whatever it is it cannot possibly be as important as elections," said Kadlec.

He went on to say, "Snow days change their calendar – I think something could have been done. It was such a great plan and now we're putting it off."

Selectmen Chair, Pamela A. Harting-Barrat followed with, "We wanted to consolidate and we just missed the school calendar and it is much harder for the schools to make those changes."

Ledoux went on to reiterate the student parking conflict.

"I think the big issue is with the parking situation," said Ledoux. "A lot of kids have cars and it would be very difficult for voters to park on those days [elections]."

Kadlec later said, "The students parking lot is not available. Isn't that awful? Maybe the kids should take the bus. We pay for the parking lot."

for updated information on voting precints for upcoming elections.