HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-26-11 La Porte Redistricting Committee Redistricting Committee
Minutes of July 26, 2011
Members Present: Charles Harrington, Nolan Allen, Mark Follis, Paul Berner, Nancy Ojeda, and
Charlie Perry
Members Absent: Charles Montgomery, Lisa Garcia, Nanci Lotze, Martha Gillett (Alternate),
Venessa Guerrero (Alternate), and Champ Dunham (Alternate)
City Staff Present: Planning Director, Tim Tietjens; GIS Manager, Brian Sterling; Assistant City
Attorney, Clark Askins; and Planning Coordinator, Peggy Lee
1. Call to order
Meeting called to order by Chairman Charles Harrington at 6:00 p.m.
2. Roll call of members
Roll call of members by Planning Coordinator Peggy Lee.
3. Consider approval of July 12, 2011, meeting Minutes
Motion by Paul Berner to approve the July 12, 2011, meeting Minutes. Second by Nancy Ojeda.
Motion carried unanimously.
4. Apply 2010 Census data to Census block geography.
Planning Director, Tim Tietjens, provided a brief overview of the changes recommended by the
Committee during the previous meeting. As it currently stands, to be within the 5% variation,
Council Districts 4 and 6 will need to increase in population and District 3 will need to decrease in
population.
Paul Berner noted that District population numbers shown on the map have changed, but the
ethnicity numbers have not; this was attributed to the split block populations.
The Committee discussed at length, multiple scenarios for decreasing the population in District 3
and increasing the population in Districts 4 and 6. The following actions were taken:
Motion by Nolan Allen to move Census Blocks 1000, 1001, 1002, 1004, 1005, and 3008 from
District 3 into District 6. Second by Mark Follis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Nolan Allen to move Census Blocks 1773, 1768, 1769, 3077, 3078, 3083, 3084, and
3085 from District 5 into District 4. Second by Paul Berner. Motion carried unanimously.
For the next meeting, staff was directed to re- calculate demographic elements of the proposed
districts based upon the proportional amount of split blocks in each district. Staff will include their
methodology for arriving at those numbers.
5. Administrative Reports
The next regular meeting, scheduled for August 9 was re- scheduled for August 16 at 6:00 p.m.
in the City Hall Council Chambers. The change of meeting date was due to City Council Budget
Workshops being held in the Council Chambers during the week of August 8th.
Redistricting Committee
Minutes of July 26, 2011
Page 2 of 2
6. Committee comments on matters appearing on agenda or inquiry of staff regarding
specific factual information of existing policy.
Mark Follis noted there appeared to be minor differences in the population number for La Porte
as he recalled seeing a reference on a website that was a few numbers off the number reported
by the Census Bureau. Staff confirmed the population for La Porte is 33,800.
In reading through Minutes from the 2000 Redistricting effort, Mr. Follis noted the Redistricting
Committee had the task of setting election dates and determining polling locations. Mr. Tietjens
stated it was probably due to the City's Secretary's involvement with the Committee. Members
agreed this Committee would not be taking on those duties; they would be handled by the City
Secretary.
7. Adjourn
Motion by Paul Berner to adjourn. Second by Charlie Perry. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Harrington adjourned the meeting at 7:48 p.m.
Submitted by,
Peggy -e
Planning Coordinator
Approved this ! day of , , 2011.
eV/
Charles Harrington
Redistricting Committee Chairman