Tackling election parking
The Stephens County Board of Commissioners and Elections Supervisor Bruce Carlisle recently announced that they would be testing out holding all county elections, including election day voting, at the historic courthouse.
Following that announcement, WNEG News has received numerous comments from residents expressing concern about election day parking.
WNEG News sat down yesterday with County Administrator Christian Hamilton to discuss the issue, and he said many of the concerns being expressed by citizens are the same concerns and questions that Commissioners have been facing, and that is one of the reasons they are using the March Presidential Preference as a test run.
He said that the increased public participation in advanced voting, as opposed to election day voting, plays a part in any discussion about voting locations in general, including the parking issue. He said that the numbers from recent elections show that a larger number of citizens already take advantage of early voting at the courthouse than those visiting the polling location at the senior center on election day.
He pointed out that there have been even further improvements at the Historic Courthouse since then to accommodate parking, especially for accessible parking.
Currently, within the downtown district, there are more than 900 parking spots, not including private lots, even with the city losing approximately 50 spots when they create the greenspace.
He said the test run of the dedicated handicapped parking during the Harvest Festival went well.
A primary goal for the Board of Commissioners is to make Historic Courthouse access as easy as possible, and Hamilton said they are working on restriping 55 parking spots in the lot across Savannah Street from the Courthouse, and that there is another lot behind and below that lot that belongs to the county.
He said the Senior Center had approximately 100 parking spots that have been available to voters during elections held there, and said the county can match that number near the Historic courthouse with those two lots, before even considering general parking in downtown Toccoa.
He explained that convenience of immediately parking has to be balanced with use of taxpayer money – and said that moving the voting machines to different locations incurs an expense and takes up personnel time and added that the use of the Senior Center does impact the services offered there.
Hamilton explained that the test run during the March elections will be an opportunity for both commissioners, and the public, to see what works and what doesn’t prior to the October election.
He added that county staff and officials are looking to hear feedback from the community.
A priority considered when making the decision to hold the March elections at the courthouse, was to allow any final long term decision to be made without rushing to make that decision/
He said Commissioners and staff have been working and trying to consider the elections, and the parking issue, from a resident standpoint, and how to make it as easy as possible., and encourage people to participate in the voting process. He mentioned that procedures have been created to make voting easier for those that, while not holding a handicap parking permit, may have difficulties walking any distance to the courthouse.
WNEG News will look at the issues surrounding the Tabor Motor Building, which the county purchased for the purpose of housing the county election office, and voting, in upcoming articles as we feature discussions on a number of county-owned buildings the possibilities administration and commissioners are considering for each of them.