Farrand explained that the local ….

Farrand explained that the local process is supposed to be nonpartisan and because she is a partisan elected official she cannot lead the redistricting.

“How do you find someone who is nonpartisan,” joked committee member Chuck Zenner.

Grimm said the goal of the redistricting is to make the populations in each of the districts roughly equal without making major changes. “We are trying to keep it as similar as possible,” she said.

Committee member Lester Lewis also said they should work to make the lines as straight as possible for the boundaries. “I don’t like fingers,” he said, of narrow parts of district that jut into adjoining areas.

The overall process is fairly straightforward with the county staff to develop a preliminary plan by the beginning of September. That plan will be on review to the public during the month of September with a formal public hearing before the September 21 county board meeting. The plan will then formally be shared to the other municipalities for input with a final public hearing on any changes on October 27 with action to approve the redistricting that day at the fall county board session.

Medford city clerk Ashley Lemke said she knows there will be some significant changes in the city boundaries with signifi cant population shifts to the northeast area of the city due to the Schultz housing development and the southwest portion of the city due to the development of the Eagle Ridge Subdivision. Lemke will be working with the county from the beginning of the process to incorporate proposed city boundary changes as part of the overall redistricting efforts.