Logan County Board to redefine district borders, considers reduction in number of districts

 

[October 10, 2021] 

At the Logan County Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 6, one focus of discussion was the reapportionment plan for the board.

Committee members present were Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman David Hepler, Board Chairman Emily Davenport, David Blankenship, Keenan Leesman and Annette Welch. Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea and Board Vice chairman Scott Schaffenacker were also present.

The board voted in June to stay in districts rather than having 'at large' representation. However, due to the new census numbers there is a need to do some reapportionment of the districts.

In his report last month, D’Andrea said the 2020 Census data does not meet the standard for existing district boundaries. With just 3,913 residents in District 4, this population does not comply. The number falls below the 10 percent variation between districts, which would be 4,117 residents.

To make needed changes, D’Andrea presented a few ideas. He said the easiest adjustment is to move the boundaries of District 2 and District 4. Right now, the existing District 4 boundaries are College, Kickapoo and State Street. The proposal is to move the boundary west to follow Third Street, Lincoln Parkway and Broadwell Drive, which have been part of District 2.

Adjusting the boundaries this way would reduce the size of District 2 and increase the size of District 4. It would mean the numbers for each would fall in the required population range. Each district would still have two members even if the boundaries were moved.

There was also discussion about going down from six districts to four districts with three members in each district. D’Andrea proposed two different options for a four district structure that would comply with the population requirements.

In option 1, D’Andrea said Lincoln would be split into east and west districts. The other two districts would be in the northern and southern parts of the county that include some of the more rural areas.

Option 2 is to have four districts split into four quadrants. With this option, D’Andrea said each district would have part of the city of Lincoln in it and be a mix of city and country areas. Three members would be in each district for this option.

Due to lack of a quorum last month, the committee could not vote to bring the information to the full board. It was put on October’s agenda to allow for more discussion.

At the October Planning and Zoning meeting, Hepler asked committee members for their input on the two options.

The slight change of boundaries between Districts 2 and 4 is what Welch said seems to be easiest. She would also be fine with splitting into four districts with three members each from east and west Lincoln and three each from the south and north parts of the county. Welch said having fewer districts might make board seats easier to fill.

In splitting the districts between east, west, north and south, Hepler said the rural parts would likely still be well represented.

If the county goes down to four districts, Davenport said it would not really affect any of the current board. All could run again. She said D’Andrea should go with what is easiest.

To Leesman, staying in six districts seems like the better option. Leesman said he is not sure what the county stands to gain from going down to four districts. He wants to make sure all areas needing representation are covered. Leesman said just changing the boundaries of Districts 2 and 4 would not be a big change.

With the new district boundaries, D’Andrea said the breakdown of districts would be similar.

Having three members from each area of the county seems equitable to Welsh. However, D’Andrea said all members could end up being from in and around Lincoln.

Blankenship likes having people from all parts of the county and feels switching to four districts could cause some chaos and frustration. He said everyone should keep in how active people are in District 1.

The Option 2 proposal for four districts [in four quadrants] is something Schaffenacker does not see as beneficial. Schaffenacker is not completely opposed to going to four districts the way option 1 sets them up, but wants more research done. He feels it would be more beneficial to sync up district lines with townships and school districts to ensure more shared representation.

Because there are so many townships and school districts in the county, D’Andrea said that would be complicated. Option 1 has almost the same boundary lines as the existing districts but moves the District 4 line a bit. Other districts would stay the same.

With the four-district option, D’Andrea said Lincoln would be broken up more and be split into east and west sides. Even with four districts, some existing boundaries would not change much.

Option 1 would change Districts 2 and 3 the most, and Welch said she does not like that option as much.

District 3 includes Beason. Schaffenacker said there is no overlap with townships or school districts. If going with four districts, he would mainly like to see option 1 further researched.

Adjusting boundaries would mean D’Andrea would have to refigure numbers again. It would be time consuming to adjust school district and township boundaries.

Additionally, D’Andrea said he would have to see if the numbers would still fall within the 10 percent variation between districts. D’Andrea asked committee members what the priority boundaries would be.

Since Welch feels going to four districts seems less palatable to some, she said it may be easier to just move the lines between Districts 2 and 4.

With option 1, Hepler said the board may be more likely to get people from small, rural parts of the county.

In option 2, Leesman said it seems likely Lincoln would represent the whole county. He has no support for that option.

Population wise, D’Andrea said Lincoln would not dominate with these options.

Lincoln is split into all four quadrants of the county even in option 2. Welch said it is not overwhelmingly Lincoln people when split four ways. She is fine with either option but wants all areas to feel they have adequate representation.

Option 1 would limit how many Lincoln people could run, so Davenport likes that option.

Hepler said he likes option 1 because it guarantees the north and south parts of the county would have equal representation.

Having six districts with 12 people is what Leesman feels makes the most sense. He said that gets the best representation for specific areas.

Right now, the county is in six districts and Davenport said eight members have Lincoln addresses.

In option 1 with four districts, D’Andrea said the boundaries would mean six members would be from rural areas.

With a six and six balance of people in four districts, Blankenship said it would give equal representation to rural areas.

Welch motioned that option 1 with four county districts be brought to the full board for discussion.

The board has until December to make the final decision, so they may or may not vote on the proposed reapportionment this month.

[Angela Reiners]