FARMINGTON — The Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed Tuesday to purchase a new floor cover for the Community Center gymnasium so the upcoming general election can be held on the main floor.

The money — no more than $11,900 — will come from the voting machine reserve account.

Expecting a large turnout for the Nov. 8 election, Town Clerk Leanne Dickey told the board the lower level can be cramped with additional portable voting booths to augment the 13 built-in ones.

She said there are four quads of portable voting spaces, allowing 32 spots plus a handicapped-accessible one. The town is required to provide one space for every 200 people, which means 31.9 spots are needed, she said.

Dickey suggested the covering the gym floor and using money from the voting machine account that has over $12,000 in it. The state furnishes vote-counting machines for municipalities so they are all the same, she said.

The Community Center has a cover to protect the gymnasium floor, but it ripples and requires masking tape in places, Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Foster said. The gym is seldom used for weddings or events because of the layout of the cover which provides for a dance floor in the middle, he said.

Tile covers could allow more flexibility in design of the cover and potentially interest more people to consider leasing the space for an event, he said. The cover would also require less work and time to set up and take down than the present cover.

The three estimates received were:

• Greatmats, $9,719 for carpet tiles and a three-year limited warranty;

• BSN Sports, 9,769 for tiles and a three-year limited warranty; and

• Hillyard, $11,910 for Gator Ecotile Mats and a seven-year warranty.

Hillyard has provided products for the university, local schools and the Town Office, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

The board voted to allow Foster and Davis to decide which company to contract and not to exceed $11,910. The company chosen must provide the product before Nov. 8, Dickey said.

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