Chippewa County approves tentative supervisory districts
By Julia Wolf
Municipalities in Chippewa County can expect to see a map in the near future, as the Chippewa County Board approved a tentative supervisory redistricting plan, Sept. 14. The updated map follows a board decision in August, to increase the county board from 15 supervisor districts to 21 supervisor districts.
Municipalities are asked to forward their ward plans to the county by Monday, Oct. 18, so the final redistricting plan can be presented for approval Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Doug Clary, director of the Planning and Zoning Department, and part of the redistricting committee, explained the two options for boundaries they came up with. He says they had to wait for the census data, which they received Aug. 16.
“From that time to today, we were working at putting together these maps,” said Clary.
The maps are based on the population, with the target supervisory district population set at 3,157 people, plus or minus 5 percent. Clary says the top criteria of the Redistricting Committee was to keep the municipality boundaries within the county intact.
“We aren’t able, in all situations, to follow municipal boundaries,” said Clary.
He says they then went to the next criteria, looking at populations with similar characteristics, or road or waterways to set the lines.
Dennis Falkenberg, GIS coordinator for Chippewa County, says Option 1 for the district lines saw 22 of 32 municipalities kept entire within a supervisory district.
“So, they weren’t split in any fashion,” said Falkenberg.
He says Option 1 was formed with the best information they had at the time, but District 6, containing the townships of Ruby, Colburn, Arthur and Goetz, deviated too much, population-wise.
He says the Redistricting Committee talked over the deviation issue, as well as how the district is not very compact. Falkenberg says the City of Stanley was also looking to have a district of their own.
Falkenberg says he contacted the Legislative Technology Services Bureau, where he learned he could re-portion the population of the Stanley Prison. He says all the population for the prison was assigned to one census block, which meant the entire population had to go in one supervisory district.
“The prison itself actually sits on two different census blocks, with three dorms on one side and two on the other,” said Falkenberg.
He says they were able to work with the bureau to more accurately fit what is there.
That is part of Option 2, which also made District 6 more compact and allowed Stanley their own representative. District 2, which contains Cornell and Holcombe, also came out exact for the population.
“So, with this plan, we have 21 of 32 of the municipalities are entire,” said Falkenberg.
A board member asked county clerk Jaclyn Sadler if all the municipalities are OK with the changes in Option 2. Sadler says she did not speak to all of them. She says the Redistricting Committee members, with the exception of the Town of Estella, are happy with the changes and preferred Option 2.
“Town of Estella does not like Option 2, because it does break up their township into two pieces,” said Sadler.
State Hwy. 64 would be the dividing line in the Town of Estella.
“They’re a smaller township, so there’s just some concerns there that they would have an additional ballot style for elections,” said Sadler.
Supervisor Kari Ives questioned why the boundaries of Districts 9 and 18, in the Chippewa Falls and Town of Wheaton area, looks so choppy.
Clary says portions of the Town of Wheaton are surrounded by Chippewa Falls, because of how annexations have occurred. Since the criteria is to keep the municipalities together, the boundary appears choppy.
Supervisor Buck Steele also expressed concerns that the Town of Estella is cut in half.
“Estella is all one, too,” said Steele.
Clary says, no matter how they adjust the municipalities in the northeast portion of the county, one of them is always going to need to be cut in some fashion.
“Yes, municipality lines first and then, secondarily, we looked at that compactness out there, as well,” said Clary.
Clary says Option 2 is not a perfect plan, but is as close to perfect as they could get it, given the criteria.
Option 2 of the tentative supervisory redistricting plan was passed, with 10 in favor (Dean Gullickson, Glen Sikorski, Ken Schmitt, Lee McMenamin, Donald Hauser, James Mickelson, Mechele Shipman, Ives, Chuck Hull, Ronald McGill) and one opposed (Steele).
[caption id="attachment_261059" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Option 1[/caption]
