LIVERMORE — Successfully meeting state requirements for elections while protecting the fire department’s equipment was discussed by town officials Monday night.

Elections in Livermore are held at the Town Office/Fire Department complex. When voter turnout is expected to be large, firetrucks are parked outside and the polling booths set up in the bays where the trucks are usually housed. For smaller elections, booths are set up in the conference room.

This year there will be a primary election on Tuesday, March 3 and Town Clerk Renda Guild expects heavy voter turnout.

Medical supplies and other equipment on the firetrucks can’t be kept in temperatures below freezing.

Guild said she understood the issue with the firetrucks. The primaries will have to be held at the complex.

“There is a window with the state in order to change a voting facility,” she said. “We can’t change it that quickly.”

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Guild said the place for voting has to have internet connection, be handicap accessible. The community building was ruled out.

“We were given a list of almost 60 reasons why,” she said. “We had to be here.”

Guild said the problem with the Spruce Mountain Primary School is that school is in session that day. Parking there is also an issue.

“We would need to have a computer on site, bring a station from here over there along with all the equipment the state has. I just don’t think it would work,” she said.

Selectperson Brett Deyling said having the election at the school could be a good teaching experience.

“We’re trying to find a location. It’s got to be able to accommodate all the election machines, the booths, everything has to be centralized. It’s not that easy,” Guild said. “There aren’t many options at this point.

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“The conference room is good for a town election, school election. But to put a presidential year, a primary; oh my God it’s not going to work.

“We need a little bit of the bays. We don’t need the whole thing.”

Several suggestions for places to take the trucks for the day were mentioned. Some are not available while others may not be heated.

Selectperson Wayne Timberlake said the firetrucks need to be accessible in case the department is called out.

Selectperson Chairman Mark Chretien said the trucks should be kept on town property.

Selectperson Benjamin Guild said the trucks could be taken outside and kept running and pumping all day. Another option would be to take all the temperature sensitive equipment off the trucks and pile it in the back of the bay.

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Selectperson Scott Richmond said if a call came in the equipment would have to be put back on.

“I worry about getting a call during voting with all the cars here,” he said.

Richmond said in the past the town has held caucuses. This is the first year a primary election is being held in Livermore.

Timberlake asked if there was room to keep the rescue truck, which houses the most sensitive equipment, at the town garage.

After Highway Foreman Roger Ferland was told that truck is about the size of an ambulance, he said it could be kept there.

“There are two bays, it could be heated, we wouldn’t have to take the equipment off,” Benjamin Guild said.

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Renda Guild added, “If we can make it work, we could do it for November too.”

In other business, Selectpersons unanimously voted to hire Mike Cote full time for the highway department conditional on his obtaining his Class B license within six months.

Ferland said Cote is willing to continue doing maintenance.

“Cote has been in the truck in the yard. I’ve set up cones so he could parallel park, practice shifting all four gears. There are no issues there,” Ferland said.

 

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