Voters in an Adams precinct may have their polling place moved out of the township building, and Adams supervisors are not pleased about it.

The Butler County Bureau of Elections has notified township supervisors of a decision to move Precinct 1 from the township building to the clubhouse in the Adams Ridge housing development. Under the current Bureau of Elections plan, Precincts 2 and 3 would remain at the township building. The change would be permanent, beginning with the April 22 primary.

Township supervisors voted unanimously March 24 to file an appeal of the polling place change in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Adams Supervisor Linda Lees said the township had complied with requests the Bureau of Elections made after the 2004 presidential election to improve parking and finish the second floor of the township building. The improvements were completed in 2007 at a cost of about $150,000.

"We did what they asked," Ms. Lees said. "We now have sufficient parking to accommodate a large crowd."

According to Regis Young, director of the Butler County Elections Bureau, his office received a petition and several phone calls from the voters in Precinct 1 asking that their polling place be moved.

After monitoring the past several elections, Mr. Young said, the bureau determined that one precinct should be removed from the township building, particularly in anticipation of the heavy voter turnout in the upcoming primary.

" ... with over 7,000 registered voters in Adams and with the high voter turnout expected, I feel the township building cannot handle the volume using the front entrance," Mr. Young said.

He also said Precinct 1 consistently has had the lowest voter turnout of the three precincts, and he added that he believes the reason is the location of the polling place in relation to voters' homes.

"My office has an obligation to the voters and, if possible, [to] make polling sites a convenience for them, so not to disenfranchise their voting rights," Mr. Young said.

Ms. Lees said the supervisors' main goal is to keep all three Adams precincts in the township building. The entire board plans to attend the appeal hearing.

"We want to show we are a united board, just like the residents of Adams Township are united in voting together," Ms. Lees said.

Also at the March 24 meeting, the supervisors voted to approve a request from the Mars Baseball Association for use of the township's T-ball and baseball fields.

The association will use the baseball fields on Saturday mornings until noon and the T-ball fields on weekday evenings and from 10 a.m. until dark on Saturdays.

In other business, the supervisors unanimously approved an additional payment of $3,750 to the Mars Area Public Library.

The township had previously planned payments to the library this year of $35,000 for operating expenses and $20,000 for a building expansion project.

The supervisors also approved a site plan for the Stillwater, formerly Pineview Pointe, residential housing development.

Stillwater will have 11 homes, starting at $600,000. The approval is contingent on agreed-upon changes to the Stillwater homeowners' association agreement. Township supervisors also voted unanimously to approve a site plan for Lube Pro at 635 Route 228. Lube Pro owner Kevin Smith said he had removed a lift and outdoor storage from the property in compliance with zoning requirements.