“We have some issues with some of the polling places that have arisen,” said Bloom. “The Northside Fire Station has been a problem, and my No. 1 concern is it's exposed to the elements and we've had to make repairs to some of our machines. I don't know that the repairs can be directly attributed to that, but it's something we need to be aware of. During the primaries we had a major sand storm, and it worries me, having those machines in the fire station's truck bay, which is open.

“We've also had complaints there isn't enough parking around the fire station, and even though the polling place can be there, the accessibility is questionable. I've talked to Father Gulley and they have offered use of the St. Thomas parish hall, and as far as I can see it meets all of the accessibility issues. It's an idea we're looking at. I'm anticipating an increase in the number of voters in that precinct for the election, and while we've used the fire station for years and years, we've had a lot of complaints about it.”

Bloom said use of Life Church, located on FM 700, and the Kentwood community center, located in the Kentwood Community, are both issues that have to be addressed before the presidential election.

“While it's been really well received and the voters love it, the church has sold the building to Lone Star Bank,” said Bloom. “It's questionable. I've talked with Ron Brooks and he has said we're welcome to use it, however, come November it may be under renovation. We will have to re-evaluate that one after the remodeling is finished to see if it is adequate for the number of voters.

“Kentwood (community center), I can tell you right now it doesn't meet accessibility standards. It's owned by the First Methodist Church. I haven't contacted anyone with the church on a formal basis, but I don't believe they are in the mood to put the money out there to bring it up to code. We've gotten by with it in the past because we've offered curbside voting, but that is not acceptable under federal guidelines. As a backup, I've talked to the manager at Big Spring Mall, and we're welcome to use it. I don't want to make it a permanent change because I'd like to see how it goes, but I feel like we may have to use it for the November election.”

Bloom said issues with Forsan High School and Elbow Elementary also need to be addressed.

“It's been my goal to get the polling places out of the schools because of the security issues,” said Bloom. “And both of these parking areas are fairly small, and when they have their staff and students there, there really isn't a lot of parking left for the voters. The people in Forsan have really encouraged me to move it to First Baptist Church of Forsan, which is just a couple of blocks from the high school. I haven't been able to get in touch with the pastor there for an OK; however, a lot of the members of the church are the ones that have said they would like to see it there. In Elbow, Central Baptist Church is right across the street from Elbow Elementary.”

Bloom also said problems have been identified with Salem Baptist Church — which may be replaced by the Sand Springs of Jonesboro fire stations — and the Sand Spring Community Center.

“The community center in Sand Springs was recently vandalized,” Bloom told the court. “The Lions Club indicated they are not going to renovate the building and later sold it, so it's no longer available. I'm suggesting Sand Springs Baptist as a permanent change for this polling location, and I'd like to see the Salem Baptist change made permanent as well.”

Bloom advised commissioners to table the proposed changes until the court's next meeting, however.

“I have a gentleman coming next week who is with the advocacy group that inspects a lot of our polling places,” said Bloom. “So instead of making changes now and having to adjust them later, I think it would be better to just table it until we can get a stamp of approval. We may have to make more changes than what's in this proposition.”

The court agreed to table the matter.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it