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If you plan to vote in person on Tuesday, might want to check your polling place first

Especially in Boston, a number of polling places have had their locations changed due to Covid-19 or other reasons (for example, unfinished repairs at the Roslindale Community Center from a burst water pipe). You can find your current polling place at a site run by the Secretary of State's office.

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That broke in February. Construction and repair work is proceeding all over the damn place - what's the hold up with getting the building back open? Are Marty's buddies in the construction sector too busy with private sector work?

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I can offer some answers on the Roslindale CC building. I oversee the childcare program in the building.

A large fire sprinkler supply line broke near the roof and flooded all floors badly. By the time the fire dept arrived a few minutes after the alarms went off the water was already pouring out the doors into the street. At least half of the ceilings on the first floor catastrophically failed after being soaked and fell to the floor, tearing down air vents and light fixtures in the process. Ceilings on the 2nd and basement level had lighter damage. Wet floors buckled in some areas including the recently replaced gym floor funded by Omni Software and the Boston Celtics. The north end of the building (end with the RMV) was damaged the worse wiping out the RMV, and the preschool rooms on the 1st floor, and the athletic directors office on the 2nd. The HVAC system controller in the basement boiler room was also wiped out.

About 2 weeks after the flood, the pandemic restrictions on construction went into affect, and City Hall also closed sending all people home to work from home. This set back all of the processes associated with insurance claims, design and repair assessments, and the construction bid process. As a building tenant we were told about the setbacks as they got worse and worse, and our return date kept getting pushed back.

The day after the flood the RMV moved out lock, stock, barrel, and damp furniture. The 4 walls in that area are bare. Best rumor is that they will not return to that space since it is too small for their needs and they are looking for alternate digs in the general area. Worth noting that their process for relocation was also shut down due to pandemic restrictions.

The childcare service was able to get enough material for their management to work from home but the service eventually had to be suspended when its license ran out. In late July we were told to remove all of our salvageable furniture and office equipment and by Aug 19 we had what was salvageable in storage at a major cost. The program remains suspended and staff was laid off after a Federal CARES Act PPP loan (turned grant) was exhausted and cash reserves also depleted.

The age of the building and the water that got into ceiling crawl spaces set the stage for more than just some ceilings to be replaced. Mold and mildew is now a factor as well as wall board and flooring. The HVAC control system was also a dozen years old and will need to be replaced 100% and will then need various zone controls upgraded and various valves and the in-out air lines (which were insulated fabric-fiber) to be replaced, and new carbon monoxide sensors will have to be added beyond obvious expectations to meet new fire and safety codes. Many electrical fixtures will also need replacement especially suspended light fixtures that were torn out from the ceilings falling in.

With the shut down of construction and city offices, as well as private construction firms doing the same, everything was continuously pushed back. With the childcare business now out and in exile, and temporarily out of business, the city process has moved forward. Sometime in September the remainder of the city-owned holdings that can be salvaged will be removed to storage and anything left will fill the dumpster... or rather multiple dumpsters... since at this point, what ServePro left in place after the flood damaged mess was originally cleaned up, has progressed to a worsened state.

Let's remember this was due to pandemic closures statewide. This was a perfect storm, and the place does look like a hurricane went through it in some areas. At this point we are talking "millions" in the cost to repair.

As of this writing, the Roslindale Community School Council, a 501c3 made up of Roslindale residents, that ran the childcare and preschool has been told it will be sometime after Thanksgiving before much of the work is done, and possibly closer to mid-December of Christmas. When (and if) it restarts, it will be rebuilding its programs from scratch like it did back in 2008 when the last construction on that building was done.

Standard city process is that a major rebuild like this will need to have it brought up to new and current code in the process. Once the construction firm moves in, they will take control of the building during the construction process and no one will be allowed in until the job is finished and the facility is returned to city possession.

The childcare service will likely be asking for community help when it gets back into the building since it lost all of its rugs, games, toys, office supplies, school supplies. At least 1/3 of the furniture could not be saved including an office computer, printer,and a refrigerator, and a wide diversity of other stuff you need to run such a business. It cannot ask for help at this time since its return date is still ambiguous, and there is no place to store donated items. we also do not want to take any cash until we know what the future will look like for us.

The pandemic and return to school plans will change how the preschool will look, and it will also change how the childcare (after school) program will look. Hopefully by the end of this year we will have a better grasp of what that will look like. As it stands everyone is still guessing, and the restrictions now in place from the state on childcare services cannot be attained by many programs. Indeed only about 70-75% of prior services are running. Many, like Kids Fun Stop in west Roxbury, threw in the towel and went out of business.

Due to pandemic closures at this location, and elsewhere, the insurance claim on our losses are still in the loop and could still be months before there is a decision on what will be covered and what will not.

So for us this was a perfect storm. Some community centers will be opening up this week with limited programming but the Roslindale facility will remain closed to the public with many things not working (like damaged lights) and a dead ventilation system that is not working in many areas of the building.

City staff that is normally in that building has been transferred temporarily to other facilities. A single lone staff person may be in the building limited hours to admit occasional repair people that still gather info, but otherwise that place is closed for the duration.

EDIT - I do not speak on behalf of the City of Boston or its BCYF Department. The information provided is my own based on my personal experiences dealing with this issue.

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Many moons ago, I had a kid in the after school program, very fond memories. I'm glad to hear that this valuable resource is well underway to reopening.

RMV should move to the Petco building - parking lot out back, on bus and train route, keeps it in Roslindale.

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I don't know the reasons for all of them, but some are to move polling places out of senior-citizen residential buildings.

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Mailed my ballot a week ago and it still isn't showing up as received in the ballot tracker.

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I hate to say it, but...you can vote in person. Your in-person ballot will be counted and your mailed ballot will be discarded whenever it shows up.

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Unfortunately, I never received a mail-in ballot to complete and return for the primary, despite having requested it back around July 15 (as well as for the general). I'm comfortable enough taking time to go to Matthews Arena (my new voting location) tomorrow, but it's confusing. Did they ever receive my request? Did the USPS lose my mail? Did my college-age neighbors—who broke the front door and had mail just laying on the stoop for over a week—let it blow away? Who knows ...

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Those that previously voted at the Roslindale Library, and who were moved temporarily to the community center last year, have been transferred to the Washington Irving School on Cummins Highway.

Voters will enter a rear door off Hawthorne St and will proceed to Rooms #102 and #103 to vote in their assigned precinct. Rooms will be labeled accordingly. This impacts ward 19-10 and Ward 19-13 which is a large swath of that area.

So if you previously votes at the Library or Community Center, now go to Washington Irving School.

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Worth noting that mail-in ballots have to be hand-delivered to City Hall at this point. They will continue to validate ballots through election Day and move them to the local precinct where you normally vote to be counted and processed. Mail-ins, early voters, and absentee ballots are all treated the same; cast at home or via early voting opportunities, are returned to city hall for validation, then transferred to the precinct where sworn staff process the votes.

If you have not returned your mail-in ballot yet, and do not plan to get to City Hall today or tomorrow morning (early!), uyou can still vote in person. Bring the un-cast mail-in ballot with you. It will be "spoiled" by election dept staff and you will complete a fresh ballot in person.

You cannot drop off a mail-in ballot at your regular voting location on Election Day. The ballots are coded in such a way that they have to be certified at city hall before election staff can process them on your behalf. YOU WILL VOTE but will need to complete a fresh ballot on Election Day..

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On the corner of Norfolk and Morton Street is open for polling.
Only one other voter at 7:45 AM.

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