By Cliff White 

Staff Writer

Some Gorham residents will be voting in a different location when the next elections roll around in June. The town council unanimously passed a measure on Tuesday to consolidate voting districts and reduce the number of polling locations in town.

Under the new plan, Ward 1 and Ward 3 will be combined to create a new ward with a polling place located at the Gorham Middle School on Weeks Road. Ward 2 will also be switching voting locations, as their site will be moved from the Masonic Hall on Cressey Road to the Gorham Municipal Center on South Street.

Town Clerk Christina Silberman, who is in charge of running Gorham’s elections, said the primary reason for the consolidation was logistics.

“Traffic and parking were becoming issues,” Silberman said.

Silberman said the location of the Little Falls School, where voters from Ward 1 voted in the last election, was now being used by the Sebago Alliance as a day treatment facility for children with developmental disabilities, which makes finding the space necessary to hold an election more difficult. She said space was also becoming an issue at the Masonic Hall, precipiatating the move of the polling place to the municipal center.

State Rep. Chris Barstow spoke in favor of the consolidation, calling for the eventual transition into the use of a single polling place. Councilor Matthew Robinson agreed, saying a move to fewer polling places would cost the town less in election-day expenses for poll workers and the setting up of locations, as well as simplifying the voting process. 

No councilor or member of the public of the public spoke out against the measure during the meeting, though Council Chairman Burleigh Loveitt read a letter from resident Elaine Bowles who expressed her disapproval of the measure, saying crowding would be an issue if voting sites were consolidated, especially considering the large interest the 2008 presidential campaign is generating.

Also at the meeting, the council unanimously passed a motion to expand the allowance gravel parking lots to commercial businesses with an estimated average of 35 vehicle visits or less per day. 

In addition, the council voted 7-0 on an action to consider reviewing and updating the town’s long-range Capital Plan, a motion put forth by Councilor Phil Csoros. After hearing that the plan had last been updated in 1999, Councilor Brenda Caldwell said, “It’s time for a review.”

In other business, the council unanimously approved an action to review existing fees and the status of the town’s municipal buildings, with both motions sponsored by Council Shonn Moulton.

“With revenues and the economy down, we need to know what kind of maintenance and care our buildings will need, so we can ensure that they will not put an undue cost onto the town,” Moulton said.

Rep. Chris Barstow brought up the issue of installing a traffic light at the intersection of Route 25 and Libby Avenue, the scene of an accident Feb. 18 in which the drivers of two trucks which collided both died. Barstow said he has written a letter to the Department of Transportation requesting a traffic light be installed, and that he had received confirmation that blinking red lights would be put on the stop sign at the intersection while the DOT completes a study of the area. Barstow said he was optimistic about seeing a traffic light installed by the end of the summer.

Moulton thanked Barstow for his writing of the letter and expressed a desire to see a light put in at the intersection soon.

“Hopefully we can get this done before another tragedy happens there,” Barstow said.