LOWVILLE — While Lewis County now has adequate space for its Board of Elections office and new voting machines, a zoning issue is delaying some finishing touches to the new space.

The town and village code enforcement office has issued a stop-work order at the new elections office in the former St. Peter's Catholic School on Shady Avenue, saying the office is not compliant with the residential zone in which it is located.

While the school was an accepted use in such a zone, office space is not, said Charles W. Stevens, town and village code enforcement officer. And while a municipally owned building would typically be exempt from such restrictions, the former school is still held by a private owner: the church.

"If they owned it, then we wouldn't have anything to do with it," Mr. Stevens said of the county.

County legislators earlier this month approved a two-year lease agreement with St. Peter's Catholic Church to house the Board of Elections office in its former school.

Mr. Stevens said he is checking with town Attorney Raymond A. Meier "to make sure my interpretation is correct." If so, the church probably will have to seek a use variance from the town and village Zoning Board of Appeals, he said.

County Manager David H. Pendergast said the matter is between the town and the church.

"That's not going to hold up anything from our point of view," Mr. Pendergast said. "We are enjoying the facility, as is the public."

The county on Friday afternoon received its final shipment of 22 handicapped-accessible voting machines for use in this fall's elections. Two machines arrived in May.

All of the machines are being stored in a secure area at the old school, and election commissioners plan to begin testing them Monday.

However, until the stop-work order is lifted, some extra improvements and proposed added security measures have been put on hold, said Democratic Election Commissioner Elaine McLear.