NEWINGTON - The referendum results for the proposed Newington Town Hall renovation are in, but now the Town Council is trying to gauge what made residents vote one way or the other regarding a $30.3 million project that would have involved constructing a new Mortensen Community Center on a 1.6-acre parcel on the Willard Avenue side of Mill Pond Park.

       Through Triton Polling, an independent polling agency, the town has been conducting a telephone survey consisting of 14 questions pertaining to the referendum, which failed in a landslide Sept. 9. Ten thousand households will be called over a three- to four-day period that began Sept. 11 in an effort to accumulate a 400-person sample, Councilors said at the Sept. 9 meeting in a discussion held just before the polls closed.

       â€�"The results from the poll might be different from the votes of the referendum, so it’s a good start,” said Mayor Stephen Woods. â€�"It’s a small amount of money.”

       It will cost between $5,000 and $7,000 to conduct the survey, which will be paid for through the town manager’s contingency fund, said Town Manager John Salomone.

       Conducting an exit poll was first suggested by Newington resident Natalie Backe Harbeson during the public comments segment of a previous Council meeting. Councilors agreed, saying that it would help clarify the positions of different voters, but the method has drawn some concern.

       â€�"I feel like it’s something you do the day of, not after,” said Newington resident John Bachand at Sept. 9’s meeting. â€�"You take a piece of paper, fill it out and drop it in. Voting’s supposed to be a private matter anyway.”

       It was for that reason that voters might feel less comfortable elaborating on their choice at the polls, said Councilor Beth McDonald.

       â€�"People may not feel comfortable voicing their opinion with a neighbor who voted differently coming out, so I see why this is an appropriate way,” McDonald said.

       It’s also less expensive--paying for town staff to man the poll locations to solicit responses would have cost around $14,000, McDonald said.

       â€�"Would we rather have paid double to not get reliable results and have neighbors not feel emotionally comfortable?” she said.

       But people might be harder to reach by phone, depending on timing if it’s a cell phone, and whether or not they even use it if it’s a landline, said Councilor Maureen Klett.

       â€�"Personally, if someone calls my cell phone during work time, I’m not going to pick up,” Klett said. â€�"If you call the home phone, I don’t even pick that up.”

       â€�"They vary the times,” Salomone said. â€�"It’ll take a few days. They do it in blocks of times to get different hours because people are available at different times.”

       The calls will be made between 1 and 8 p.m., according to the town website.