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TR-2016-59 -- � �o�� -sq % � TR-2016-59 A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF$1,500.00 PURSUANT TO M.G. L. c.44,§53A FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE TO THE TOWN OF AGAWAM Sponsored by Mayor Richard A Cohen WHEREAS, the Town of Agawam applied for a grant to offset the costs of early voting in the upcoming Presidential election;and WHEREAS,the Town of Agawam desires to accept said grant;and WHEREAS, the grant is in the amount of one thousand five-hundred dollars and no cents($1,500.00);and WHEREAS,the Town of Agawam will use the grant funds to defer some of the costs associated with the eleven day period of early voting to take place between October 24 and November 4, 2016;and WHEREAS,it is in the best interests of the Town of Agawam to accept the grant from the Secretary of State's office. NOW THEREFORE, the Agawam City Council resolves, pursuant to M. G. L. c.44, §53A, to accept this grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Secretary of State in the amount of$1,500.00. Dated this day of ,2016. PER ORDER OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL James P. Cichetti,President APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY Patrick M. Toney, City Solicitor r The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin,Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division MEMORANDUM TO: Local Election Officials FROM: Ramon Trinidad, Elections Specialist Michelle K.Tassinari, Director/Legal Counsel DATE: September 19, 2016 RE: Early Voting Grant Program: Application Process We are writing to provide information relative to the process for applying for a grant for the 2016 Early Voting Weekend Hours Incentive. As you are aware, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin created a municipal grant program to encourage cities and towns to provide early voting hours on the only weekend during the early voting period. City and town election offices could receive from $250 to $2,000, depending on the amount of registered voters and the early voting hours offered during the weekend of October 29t', 2016 and October 3e, 2016. To receive such grant, please complete the enclosed application and sign the enclosed Early Voting Agreement and return to: Ramon Trinidad, Elections Specialist Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division One Ashburton Place, Room 1705 Boston, MA 02108 Once the application and agreement are reviewed and a determination is made that the municipality is eligible, the grant will be provided. Please do not hesitate to contact the Elections Division at 617-727-2828 for more information or with any questions. One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor,Boston, Massachusetts 02108•(617)727-2828 I 2016 EARLY VOTINGWEEKENUOURS GRANT APPLICATION Name of Municipality: ov �dl- Date: Q 2l v Name of Election Official Completing this Application: 4 6� Cld`�' Current Number of Registered Voters in your Municipality: y Weekend Hours: DATE CIRCLE ONE HOURS Saturday,October 29,2016 es No A r Sunday,October 30,2016 Yes No TOTAL weekend hours for Early Voting: PLEASE READ BEFORE SIGNING: By signing below,I agree that the municipality named above will be open for the hours mentioned above on the days m"oned above for the purpose of providing Early Voting to all voters in this municipality.The Board of Registrars or Election Commissioners further agree to advertise the Iocatlo%dates)and hours,Including weekend hours,of all Early Voting sites as required by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 54,Section 25B,subsection(S).We further agree to submit cerMization as to the actual hours the municipality was open after the early voting period ends. We understand that If the Beard of Registrars or Election Commissk wwrs are unable to make the stated number of hours available for Early V the munidpaihy will be required to retum the the unt funding. Signature of Election Official: 4��rzvx� Date:Printed Name of Election Official: f rr)i ce r**%- 109.CrII�- Mailing Address: t0 1 irk /W 5;4 r1 e 7— *P A., 0± o/uv� Email Address: i ,att - 0. 0- Mid VS Telephone Number: — 104 ' 00 Early Voting Grant Agreement 2016 Eady Voting Weekend Hours Incentive Grant All or portions of grant funds may be used for spending relating to the implementation of Early Voting for the 2016 State Election.To be eligible to receive grant funding, a municipality must agree to be open a minimum number of hours on either Saturday, October 29'h or Sunday, October 3Wn. Grant Ellgibility: #of Registered Minimum nd Minimum Grant Eligible Amount Per 2 Voters Hours Amount Additional Hours Total Eligible Amount' Hour Less than 5.000 3 $250 — $250 Over 5,000 but less than 4 $500 $50 $600 10,000 Over 10,000 but less than 4 $1.000 $100 $1,200 20,000 Over 20,000 4 $1,500 $250 $2,000 "The maximum amount is capped for an 8 hour period" Municipalities applying for the Grant must include their Early Voting weekend hours in the notice that is provided to the Secretary of the Commonwealth as required by 950 CMR§47.04 Section(2), subsection(c). The hours must also be published as required by M.G.L. c. 54, §25B(g). In order to be eligible for a Grant,the 2016 Early Voting Weekend Hours Grant Application, along with a signed copy of this agreement, must be filed with the Elections Division no later than October 7 h,201 S. CERTIFICATION �tq(!N� �1t0.,. I _ . certify that will cerrrpiy wtri the (Nwm of Ebcbm Offidel) ( of Municipality) Early Voting Grant Agreement, 1 further certify that grant funds will be used for the implementation of Early Voting for the 2016 State Election. I further agree to comply with the notification and advertising of the Early Voting weekend hours as required by the Massachusetts General Laws and Code of Massachusetts Regulations. t Date :g- 2f-- a 5 n ture Printed Name of Authorized Signatory Name of Muniapality Title/Positian Early Voting Update Page I of 1 early Voting Update Trinidad, Raman (SEC) Sent; Monday,September 19,2016 9:10 AM To: TrinEdad,Ramon(SEQ Or. Adowd, VvOmas*audborough-ma.gov Attechnmrdm G7ard Program intro Menw.pdf(25K13);Early Voting Grand Applka-l.pol(68 KB);Early voting Grant Awwrient.pdi (19 KB) Dear Election Official, Attached,please find the paperwork for the 2016 Early Voting Weekend Hours incentive Grant.Please complete the application and the agreement,and return to this office as soon as possible.You may scan and email or fax the documents for us to review them,but please mail us the original documents as well.Please let us know if you have any questions. We are glad that many of you are taking advantage of this opportunity to offer Early Voting hours on the weekend of October 29u'and October 3e.We will continue to find ways to help make the launch of Early Voting in Massachusetts as successful as we can.We will be contacting you soon with more Information about the signs we are working to make available to you to help you with the advertising of Early Voting in your community.Also,for those communities which have asked for help with the acquisition of poll pads In order to successfully open multiple Early Voting sites in your municipality,we continue to work on making that happen. We know that we have been seeing,and will continue to see, many of you at different conferences throughout the commonwealth,but if you have any questions or concerns that you would like to discuss,we are here to help—please let us know. Hope you're well, Ramon E.Trinidad Election Specialist One Ashburton Place, Room 1705 Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-878-3445 fax:617-742-3238 http://ct-mail l/owaPae=Item&t=IPM.Note&id=RgAA►A,A,B03EUPGf ymRryVKF6wCno... 9/19/2016 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division September 26, 2016 Vincent Gioscia 36 Main Street Agawam, Massachusetts 01001 Dear Mr. Gioscia: I am writing to confirm receipt of the application and signed agreement for the 2016 Early Voting Weekend Hours Incentive Grant. The application has been reviewed and approved. Accordingly, the amount of the grant is$1,500, based on the number of registered voters in your municipality and the amount of hours you have agreed to open for early voting during the weekend of October 29t', 2016 and October 30t', 2016. The grant amount of$1,500,will be disbursed to your municipality soon. Please note that after the early voting period ends, you will need to submit certification as to the actual weekend hours the municipality was open. Thank you for participating in this program to expand voting opportunities. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Very truly yours, r - Michelle K. Tassinari Director and Legal Counsel Elections Division One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston,Massachusetts 02108 9 (617)727-2828