HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 08.01.2001 CC-SMINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING
on the
PROPOSED REDISTRICTING .
forthe
CITY OF •- •
Wednesday,August 1, 2001
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CouncilCity •
101 Ew 7,th Street, Georgetown,
The Georgetown City Council hosted a Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 1, 2001,
at 6:30 p.m, in the City Council Chamber at 101 E. 7th Street, to receive comment
regarding revising the current Georgetown City Council Single -Member District Plan.
Mayor MaryEllen Kersch opened the Public Hearing at 6:32 p.m.
Kersch called on Redistricting Committee Chair Mary Steger who read the names of the
members of the Redistricting Committee, gave a brief outline of the Department of
Justice Regulations, and recalled for Council the activities of the Committee.
Steger introduced GIS Consultant John Yeager of AIMS who explained the procedure
used by the Committee and demonstrated autoBound Software whereby census blocks
and population counts could be viewed and manipulated on a projection screen. He
recounted the efforts of the Redistricting Committee to re -draw the districts in the most
equitable way possible.
Della Green, 1901 Vine, read the letter she provided to the Council, expressing concern
for the African-American voters of Georgetown and suggesting a change to an at -large
voting system. Kersch asked and Yeager explained and demonstrated the reasons for
the proposed changes between Districts 1 and 2.
Joyce Perry, 405 W. 2nd Street, told Council the new plan "cuts" the voting power of the
blacks. She said she prefers to have it like it was before the proposed changes. Kersch
and Yeager explained that the population numbers weren't adequate enough to
designate a black district. Yeager explained that the Department of Justice has changed
the rules to say that it is not allowable to draw district lines specifically for ethnic
reasons. Perry asked Council to work with the blacks and try to put the lines back where
they were.
Carolyn Liverman, 1402 Forest Street, acknowledged that the African-Americans are
definitely a minority. She asked if there are supposed to be schools in each district. She
said she wants her four children to have representation in Georgetown.
James L. Brown, 117 Randolph Road, asked Council about the possibility of someone
who is running for Council being moved out of that district. Council said there was no
effort to retain even the current councilmembers in their respective districts, and
therefore no effort to draw lines in such a way as to include or exclude certain persons in
certain districts.
Minutes of Public Hearing on Redistricting
Page 1 of 2 Pages
Della Green asked about the "unassigned" designation on the population statistics and
asked what percentage of the population are eligible voters. John Yeager explained
that the Department of Justice instructs that voting age cannot be considered.
With no further questions or comments, the Public Hearing was closed at 7:36 p.m.
Approved:
MaryEllen Kersch, Mayor
Minutes of Public Hearing on Redistricting
Page 2 of 2 Pages
Attest:
andra D. Lee, City