Reapportionment Citizen Review Committee Mtg. Notes 3-27-01
Attending: Ted Kyle, Aleta Woodruff, Robert Pung, Sr., Bob Taylor, Andy Leonard, Kay Durtschi, Jerry Hermann, Sarah Carlin Ames, James Draznin, Tim Barnes, Gussie McRobert, Kari Chisholm
Metro Officials and Staff: Presiding Officer David Bragdon; John Houser, Senior Council Analyst; Marv Fjordbeck, Senior Assistant Counsel; Mark Bosworth, GIS Program Manager and John Donovan, Council Outreach Coordinator
The meeting was called to order at 6:10pm. The committee members and staff introduced themselves. Presiding Officer Bragdon greeted the committee, thanked them for their service and discussed the redistricting effort from the point of view of the council.
Marv Fjordbeck then discussed the requirements set out in the reapportionment-organizing ordinance, which the Metro Council adopted earlier in March. The ordinance sets out the basic parameters, which will guide the policy discussions of a Council Reapportionment Task Force. The Task Force is made up of the three Metro Councilors who were just elected or re-elected in Nov. 2000. Councilor Rod Monroe will chair the task force. The reapportionment ordinance sets out some basic parameters that the process must follow. The new redistricting plan must have six contiguous and compact districts. The districts must be equal in population size, within a range of 5 percent of the average population.
After meeting those requirements, the plan must give consideration to existing precincts and communities of interest, which include but are not limited to cities under 15,000 in population, regional centers, town centers, watershed boundaries, established neighborhood associations, neighborhood planning organizations, community planning and participation organizations and other similar groups as defined by the Metro Council.
The Reapportionment Citizen Review Committee is made up of 16 members who have been appointed by the Executive Officer and the members of the Metro Council (each official appointing two). The role of the citizen review committee is to provide information, advice and assistance to the council task force.
John Houser then reviewed the redistricting timeline handout for the committee. The key dates are as follows. The review committee will provide a set of advisory views on the draft reapportionment plan no later than May 1, 2001. The task force is required to forward a recommendation to the full Council by May 15, 2001. The Council is required to adopt the reapportionment plan ordinance by June 15, 2001.
Mark Bosworth of the Data Resource Center demonstrated the geographic information system (GIS) that Metro uses to produce planning map products. The federal government released the 2000 Census data for Oregon on March 15, 2001. Mark and his staff have applied the new data to the existing Regional Land Information System (RLIS) and demonstrated how this data will assist in the process of creating a redistricting plan. He announced that the regional population figure from the census is 1,304,756, which when broken into an average for six equal districts is 217,459. Mark then demonstrated some of the community of interest data that are available via the GIS system.
The committee then asked Metro staff some clarifying questions regarding their role as a group, the role of the chairperson and the data that will be used. Staff announced that a draft map would be provided to the committee at their next meeting. The committee expressed interest in meeting together with the Council Task Force or representatives from that body before providing its final review report. There was also interest by committee members in attending the four public hearings that the Council Task Force will hold in early May.
The committee elected a chairperson, Kari Chisholm, and a vice-chair, Sarah Carlin-Ames. Chairman Chisholm then conducted a discussion regarding scheduling upcoming meetings, which are:
Tuesday, April 10, 2001 6:00 PM in the Metro Council Chamber
Tuesday, April 17, 2001 6:00 PM in the Metro Council