Brandon Twp.- The township will pursue a grant to update five of six polling places and make them compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The federally funded Access for All Grant is provided by the Help Americans Vote Act, and is granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Clerk Jeannie McCreery plans to turn in an application prior to Aug. 26.
‘If we don’t get approved, I don’t know what will happen,? said McCreery. ‘We don’t have the funds and it is mandated that we are compliant. We would have to move precincts. I don’t want to do that, because it’s a large project to move polling places and there is a cost involved to notify voters.?
Necessary changes include freestanding signs and striping for parking at precincts 1 and 2 at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School and replacement of a cement slab at precinct 6, the Old Town Hall, to make it level with the ADA ramp, as well as installation of electronic doors in a style comparable to what is currently there so as not to alter the historic nature of the building. The biggest, most expensive changes would be at precinct 5, the Sashabaw Meadows Clubhouse, where McCreery said the door hardware needs to be replaced, striping and temporary signs are needed in the parking lot, and a permanent ADA ramp needs to be installed with rails from the parking lot to the door.
McCreery is uncertain of the total costs to become ADA compliant, but the doors at the Old Town Hall are expected to cost around $10,000, while the door changes at the clubhouse will be roughly $8,000.