Redistricting Board Basically Done Except Anchorage/Matsu to Valdez and Fairbanks

I was wishfully thinking the Board was coming back at 3:30pm, but it was 3:00 so I missed the first ⅓. They were working on Southeast when I got there. 

At the end Chair Torgerson said that Kenai and Southeast are settled using Board member McConnochie’s reworked plan that puts Haines and Skagway with downtown Juneau. The North and Northwest are settled too.

Still left to be settled tomorrow is

• whether Matsu or Anchorage will attach to the Richardson Highway district  and
• finishing Fairbanks area.  

The Calista map they'd been working with had all of Matsu in five districts and used about 400 people in northernmost Anchorage to hook up along the highway to Valdez and the Richardson Highway.  They are still trying to see if they would rather have Matsu connect to Valdez rather than Anchorage.

The rest are my rough notes as I tried to hear and keep up:

3:16
Torgerson:  Arctic Village willing to come in.  PeggyAnn why don’t you relocate over there.  Mr. White gave us another memo, July 5, yesterday.  A little more depth on Socio-Economic Integration and court rulings. 
I’m still struggling with the Valdez into Anchorage, whether the Richardson Highway Corridor should come to Anchorage that way.  I can see it coming to Southern part because that’s ore integrated.  Page 3 of White:  Kenai and Anchorage integrated.  State argued South Anchorage and Anchorage should be considered the same - so if we interact with any other Borough or Municipality, then it should be considered as one - so it doesn’t matter if it’s north or south - for considering SEI ties is that right?
White:  You have to consider that nexus - look at nexus of entire area.  If connected with a portion, then considered with all of it.  Don’t have to look specifically at ties of North Kenai and South Anchorage - they said no one goes to south Anchorage, they go to the airport, the business area, etc.  But court says the whole entity.
Torgerson:  Borough proportionality is not a constitutional mandate.  Interpreted by the courts right?
White:  Based on equal protection clause - proportional rights by areas, unique to Alaska.  Proportionality based on equity clause.
Torgerson:  This goes on about minimally changing, integrating them, this flexibility should be used only to maximize other Constitutional factors.  If going to use relatively compact districts, the flexibility of the work minimal only used against compact and contiguity.
White:  Also, other things could go there, like proportionality.  You’re right, geographical proportionality is not in sec 6, but comes from equal protection clause of constitution. 
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  One change, dramatically change deviation - put Hydaburg in with Ketchikan and Wrangell.  … Deviation??  33 is .67 and 34 is .29? 
Torgerson:  35 [can’t quite hear]
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  downtown Skagway and Haines, if you put North Juneau with them the the dividing line middle of Mendenhall Valley which is less desirable that this one.
Torgerson: looks to me, trade off, S Juneau but overall, about the same except you traded ?? districts.  Deviation 2%,   [talking about the deviation, but can’t hear]  Are you concerned about SEI of S Juneau and Haines and Skagway?
PeggyAnn McConnochie: no I’m not and testimony we had in Juneau mirrors that. 
Torgerson:  Eric can you load the ??

???? I think it’s happened quite a few times, quite honestly.  This just help me in my mind.  Either the AFFER or Calista 2. 
Eric:  This one is the AFFER2
Torgerson:  Is that 3000?  That’s one problem, how we treat ????  They’re both the same, they married each other.  tied the knot … into Anchorage.  Trying to compare the pros and cons - it goes into Matsu - excess Anchorage pop to Matsu.  Chickaloon ?????
Holm:  Borough mayor preferred
Torgerson:  He testified he liked . . .What’s the deviation on 38?  That’s the traditional corridor for a couple of cycles.  1990s?

It appears we have a solution for Kenai Borough split.
Agreed with Western Alaskan, exclusion of Arctic Village from norther.
Successful redrawn SE.
It appears to me a big piece of the puzzle is the Matsu/Anchorage/Richardson highway, still dangling.  Not suggesting we do anything with it tonight.
Oh yeah, also some Fairbanks issues.

Two regions to finish up before motions to adopt.  I would encourage Jim to work on Fairbanks and have something ready, for us to a peek at.  What time do you leave tomorrow Jim?  3 hours in the morning?  Hopefully we’ll have this done.  Move to more technical aspects -
Mr. White how long to write up a proclamation. 
White:  After you had the map adopted in concept, I could do it in a day or overnight?
Torgerson: submittal to court?
White:  Have to put in all the paperwork and filings, say 3 days.
PeggyAnn McConnochie: after Eric does metes and bounds.
White:  Some simultaneously, after adopt, the write up and metes and bounds and then final signing.
Torgerson:  You need time to make findings.
White:  Yeah but I can sit down. 
Torgerson:  I know contiguity tests, metes and bounds 2 days, hell do that from Juneau, truncation report has to be done tomorrow, legal bit 2 days, findings I left a question mark.  If Board had to adopt findings and how long it would take.  Basically four days after adopting conceptual plan, then four days.
White:  I think Court said adopt, not file. 
Torgerson:  I don’t need the whole board to sign the proclamation.  We all did the first time, but I did myself that last time.  Last time we gave Eric authority to move up to ten people per district if necessary, wouldn’t change deviation.
Trying to get a quorum by the 14th. 
I guess we’ll adjourn.  Everyone think about the Matsu.  Options are like the proclamation plan or run the Richardson Highway into Anchorage.  Anyone else?
Time is 3:43.  Stand adjourned until tomorrow morning at 10am.  Thank you to those listening on teleconference.  We are adjourned.