Plymouth Select Board Amends Polling Location Decision, Reduces Sites to Five
Town Also Considers Digital Legal Notices to Cut Costs
PLYMOUTH - February 11 - The Plymouth Select Board voted unanimously Feb. 11 to amend a previous decision on polling locations, reducing the number of sites from 14 to five. The board also heard a citizen’s proposal to allow the town to publish legal notices online instead of in print newspapers.
During public comment, several residents expressed concerns about the board's previous decision to reduce polling locations, citing potential impacts on voter turnout and accessibility, particularly in South Plymouth.
Bill Arienti, a Plymouth resident, urged the board to reconsider its initial vote. "I therefore call upon select board members, Canty, Bletzer or Quintal, to make a motion to reconsider their vote to reduce the number of polling places to four," he said.
The board's amended decision to include five polling locations, with South Elementary School serving the southern part of town, appears to address some of these concerns.
Select Board member Charlie Bletzer, who initially voted for a four-location plan, moved to reconsider his vote.
"I made a mistake and I admit to it. I should have gone to plan B," Bletzer said. "South Elementary has to be included. We need, because it's Buttermilk Bay, Redbrook, that area, it's too far away to go to South Middle."
The new plan includes five polling locations: Plymouth Community Intermediate School (PCIS), West Elementary, Indian Brook, Plymouth South Middle School, and South Elementary School.
To address concerns about accessibility, the board added requirements to include vote-by-mail information on postcards notifying voters of location changes and to add an additional day of early in-person voting for local elections.
Town Manager Derek Brindisi reported that in recent elections, 53% of voters cast ballots either early in-person or via mail.
"We have significant public input as to how people want to vote, because we have the data of how they are actually voting in our community," said Select Board member Kevin Canty.
The board emphasized that the decision was data-driven and considered input from various town departments. Public safety officials favored consolidation to ease the burden on police resources during elections.
"Public safety is very much in favor of consolidation in order to ease their other operations, which are important," Canty said.
The board members expressed confidence in Town Clerk Kelly McElreath's ability to manage the consolidated polling locations effectively.
In other business, the board heard a proposal from resident Richard Serkey for a home rule petition that would allow Plymouth to publish legal notices online instead of in print newspapers.
Serkey argued that the current state law requirement for print publication is outdated and costly. "State law currently requires that all legal notices must be published in a print newspaper. But we all know that since that state law was written, delivery systems to inform the public have dramatically changed," he said.
The proposal aims to save the town money on advertising costs and potentially increase public access to information. However, some board members expressed concerns about the transition from print media.
Bletzer suggested that the town website could be a suitable platform for legal notices. "Personally, the town-wide website makes the most sense to me," he said.
The board voted 3-2 to recommend the article for town meeting approval, with the understanding that the language may be amended before the final vote.
As the meeting concluded, Town Manager Brindisi provided updates on various town projects, including the demolition of the boardwalk at the town boat ramp and the ongoing construction of a dog park in Cedarville.