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Politics & Government

City Holds Pat On Polling Places

New lease of Beebe School property requires elections use; parking a concern at Winthrop School.

Melrose elections commissioners are looking into alternative polling locations for four city precincts due to concerns over parking, but with limited time before the fall elections, any changes in polling places are unlikely at this time.

The Melrose Board of Registrars of Voters met briefly Tuesday at City Hall in the Elections Office to discuss possible alternatives to polling places at the Beebe School and Winthrop School, but there appear to be few alternatives due to state requirements for access for the disabled.

Last year, the city's request to move polling out of the Winthrop School into Memorial Hall was rejected by the state because the handicap ramp at the hall's main entrance is not in compliance with state voting accessibility requirements or parallel mandates under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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Currently, voters from Ward 4, Precinct 2 and Ward 6, Precinct 2, use the Winthrop School on election days, but parking at the school is a problem.

Election Administrator Linda-Lee Angiolillo said Tuesday that she has looked at the possibility of moving polling out of Winthrop School to Incarnation Church, but ramps would be needed to comply with the ADA.

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Angiolillo has also looked into alternatives to the Beebe School, which hosts the polls for Ward 3. The city just signed a lease on the vacant property with a private school.

Gregory Zammuto, business manager for the Melrose Public Schools, said the city has agreed to lease the property to the ANOVA School, but a stipulation in the contract requires that the school be available for city elections. 

"As part of the lease, the school will be available for any election," Zammuto said. "We put that language in there because the Beebe School has long been a polling place."

As it stands, parking could be a problem on election days at both the Beebe and Winthrop School sites, but any changes to polling places require approval from the Board of Aldermen and the Secretary of State's Office.

Plus, results of the 2010 Census could lead to a redistricting of the city's seven wards, which are divided to keep population parity among the wards.

Angiolillo said any changes may have to wait until the spring. 

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