Dublin leaders miffed by election board

DUBLIN — As expected, town commissioners on Thursday night responded to the Bladen County Board of Elections’ decision that has left the community building here out of the lineup for early voting sites.

Mayor Darryl Dowless and Commissioner David Hursey attended the most recent meeting representing the town. They questioned the election board, said their town staff did nothing wrong, and requested the election board have all future communications with either the mayor or board.

In the most recent exchange, the election board sent representatives to scout the location and were shown it by hourly employees rather than the elected officials. The Dublin contingent indicated rental prices were not negotiable, and hard-wire internet was not going to be done for such an occasion. Dowless said this was correct.

But at the meeting, Dowless said Dublin would reconsider those positions. Dowless also questioned how the town wasn’t aware of the election board putting Dublin into consideration. The election board, by the choice of Chairwoman Louella Thompson, in January ceased a practice of putting out agendas in advance of meetings; everyone finds out upon arrival.

It is unclear if, or how, Dublin’s elected leaders didn’t know election board representatives were scouting the location.

State law requires early voting sites have hard-wire internet; WiFi is not an option. Dublin’s rental cost, $200 per day, is more than twice other locations used and would cost the county board between $4,000 and $5,000 to use; the election board said that’s not feasible in its budget.

Thursday night, Dublin’s board scrutinized what it called a miscommunication.

“The question there was, were they going to have to pay $200 a day, or could we amend the rent, for the special circumstances of election, so that they only pay $100 a day,” Dowless said Thursday.

The board expressed their frustrations about how the Board of Elections handled everything, and felt that the miscommunication was slightly targeted to exclude Dublin from the voting sites. The election board, however, immediately named Dublin among more than a half-dozen wanted possibilities in its initial list and Patsy Sheppard, a Democrat on the election board, had noted in June the spot would be among the most used if not the most used if details could be worked out.

“I certainly want the election held here,” Hursey said Thursday, echoing exactly what Sheppard had said in June. “I think it’s an asset for the community for the election to be here.”

Dowless said he felt making the staff answer concerns was putting them into the spotlight unnecessarily, and that further concerns should be brought to the board or board members.

The board also voted to continue the closure of Town Hall to the public, and the community building as well. The town is in the process of making the Town Hall office enclosed enough to allow access but not expose the staff to potential concerns from the coronavirus. Public Works Director Jonathan Ward stated that the plan has been to get multiple quotes on different style plans to present to the board. The board voted to allow Ward to have flexibility in making the best plan and move forward with narrowing down the choices.

A mold issue is also a concern in the building, and the board is having Ward move forward in determining the cause, which is yet to be determined.

The board approved the Baker Creek Sewer Outfall Replacement resolution and awarded the Water Asset Inventory and Assessment project.