05-13-2026 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MAY 139 2026 Miller asked whether the school or the School District is making the decision. The City Clerk replied that it could be both, but from her understanding, the District is making the decision not to allow many of their schools to be used for summer elections. Malone asked if there had been any issues with using schools in the past for summer elections. The City Clerk stated this was the first year that the District was not allowing elections in the summer at schools and was unsure if they were doing new programming this year at Little Canada Elementary. Kwapick stated that the District does hold a daycare program in the summer at different school locations, and if that is the reason why, he can understand that. He stated that he also has concerns about moving this on such short notice. He noted a recent conference call the Council was involved with related to voter turnout and stated that in order to maintain a high voter turnout, they need to keep things as simple as possible. He recognized that there are state elections that will have primaries, and there may also be local primary elections, and changing the polling location in the same year creates a lot of confusion. He explained that people will go to the elementary school where they are used to voting, and then come to City Hall, and then in the general election, they will maybe go to City Hall to then realize they need to go back to the school. He commented that going to the wrong location can be disenfranchising to voters, and if they keep doing this, people may not fulfil their obligations to vote. He believed that it would be productive to have additional discussions with the School District to reach more appropriate outcomes, and for those reasons, he is not supportive of this plan. Mayor Fischer stated that he has heard concerns from schools and a desire to get out of the voting process. He commented that schools are community property, as 40 percent of property taxes fund the schools. He stated that voting is one day, and the gym could not be used by students that day. He believed that there was a way to coexist, as the gym is set up to be locked off from the remainder of the building. He commented that this change would create confusion for the senior community. He stated that they are right at the 90-day limit and is frustrated to be in this situation. He believed that there needs to be additional conversations between the city and the School District. He commented that he does not want to vote yes on this but recognized that voting no could perhaps create a violation'for the city. The Assistant City Administrator stated that with more contact and more time, they could have done more legal analysis. She stated that changes are allowed to polling places up to 90 days before an election, and they are at that threshold. She stated that notices are required to be sent at least 25 days before an election, so notices will be sent to those residents with a changed polling location. Mayor Fischer stated that if this does not pass, it would seem they still have enough time to get the notice out. The Assistant City Administrator stated that if the polling place is changed, they would also include information in the City newsletter. Mayor Fischer stated that he wished they had had conversations with the School District in advance of this. He recognized that staff had conversations with District staff where the District reiterated its position. Miller stated that he understands the desire for additional conversations, but also believes that this is a fallout from ICE activity. He stated that Little Canada Elementary was the number one school that was targeted. He believed that they should cut them some slack and have a better understanding of what is 91