Redistricting Board Last Half Hour Pretty Mundane

The Board had adjourned for 90 minutes and was scheduled to return at 3:30pm. I tried at 3:30 and there was no sound.  I did a few things and tried again in ten minutes and caught them midstream.

They’ve been playing with maps and they are basically just checking what they can and can’t do. Moving census blocks around to make better looking maps (no weird justs or fingers).  In some cases it makes no difference at all because there is no population in the block, it just looks better one way than the other.   Brodie was looking at Kenai.  Marie Green won't be there Saturday and Chair Torgerson said they wouldn't vote on options without the whole Board.


What's been interesting this week is the close alignment of the Calista and AFFER plans. Today, Randy Ruedrich came in with a plan that made some minor changes that made it even closer to Calista's. And as my notes of the end of the afternoon shows, Board member McConnochie, who, with Marie Green were the Native district specialists last time around, sounds impressed Calista's Native districts.

These are rough notes of the meeting, rely on them at your own risk. 

3:43pm  PeggyAnn McConnochie:  . . .see how Calista had organized areas, comparing groupings to testimony, they’ve done a phenomenal job making sure groupings were intact.
Holm:  Difficulty what we call 38 and marry AFFER’s ideas somewhat with Calista’s.  You have to make the connection down with the Matsu down to Anchorage to make that work.  Hard to take each of those Census blocks and pairing them down without under populating the other side.  I’m not there yet but working on it.
Brodie:  waiting - [I guess for the computer]  Started with 32 out of road system of Homer, Seldovia, etc.  Not Whittier, Cordova and Yakutat.  Kept out of road system of Borough, just the isolated roads.  Not entirely comfortable with this number yet.  Then into Kenai area, got 4-500 extra people and played with this border to even out 3?, 31.  Started looking at Fairbanks and here, if you [pause] my computer thinks for a long time.  This district 4 had ?? river.  lot of people didn’t seem practical, seemed they should stay in 3.  You had 3 districts coming together in odd combination, back to one and 3 and moved population around in here.  ?? River - I put these guys back into 1 and these into 3.  Just making a nicer picture.  Just changed a couple on the top here.  I don’t think they’re meant for ????.  Moved this over a bit, just for something to do.  Keeping 4 on the south side of the Tanana.  I didn’t change city boundary at all or the rest inside.  This lower part.  I tried to play with SE.  I don’t know if it will be possible.  Have to split Prince of Wales no matter what.  Dropped Wrangell and stuck with Petersburg and Sitka, still too many people left on the island to make a clean break.  Had it close.  Got to break it anyway if take in Wrangell.  Craig either in Petersburg and Wrangell or with Ketchikan.  Don’t know where Craig has closer ties.
Torgerson: Yours traded Craig for Wrangell, left Prince of Wales intact.
Eric:  yes, SEI group.  Mayor of Wrangell said fine to be with Ketchikan, testimony from two years ago. 
Brodie:  Just trying to see if could do this. 
Torgerson:  Still breaking Kenai Borough twice?
Brodie:  Hadn’t played with that.  If boundaries are good between these two regions, if you give Tyonek back - 500 people -
Torgerson:  If split it twice have to justify.
Brodie:  Even now 37 is ??? short.  If take this back, 500, be six percent under. 29, 30, and 31 are all over anyway.  If everything went back to Kenai B it would be about 5% over in each district. 
Torgerson:  Census block with 30 people in it.
Brodie:  Ugly block, goes all the way up here.  Tried it once and it looked bad.  I don’t know where those 30 people live in that block.  Closer to Seward? 
Torgerson:  We figured Day Harbor.
Brodie:  Ugly picture around Seward.
PeggyAnn McConnochie: I think it looks better like that. 
Torgerson:  Jumps a little bit across,
???:  Not sure we do
Torgerson:  Anyone else?
Brodie:  Conceivably, have to look at the numbers, although D32 slightly under, could give all of this to that one, 37, then only splitting it once, but then 32 3 or 4% under.  Connected by water like Gambell is.  Haven’t given us an opinion on how we do an island. 
Green:  Testimony from anyone there?
Torgerson:  OK, anything else?  Jim you’ll continue on your piece Fairbanks way.  Bob you’ll continue on your connections.  You won’t be here tomorrow (Marie) back Sunday. 
You’re ok?
Green:  Yes.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  I have no idea ????? as close in Fairbanks as we’re going to get.  I don’t -
Green:  39, 38, 37 - 40, 39, 38, 37.  Should we wait. 
Torgerson: You don’t think any of those are in play.  Only maybe Fairbanks then we have the two options of AFFER and Calista 4, everything else is the same.  Give Eric not divide the Borough twice.  I’d rather wait until Sunday to bring it all together.  If as Bob says, take Tyonek and move it to the west.  Can we make some facts findings about why we’re delaying.  May be a magic bullet.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  I like 38-40.  We should all be aware it is an incredibly delicate balance and can’t compromise how we do it.
Torgerson: I don’t disagree.  But if we move Tyonek, we ??? the deviation.
OK, then Eric you and I will hook up on what we want to do tonight.
Adjourn today and come back in at 10 tomorrow morning.  Agree on stuff and then work session.  Miss Green won’t be here tomorrow so don’t want to adopt anything til we have all five members.  38, 39 ,and 40 about as good as anyone can do.
Adjourn at 4:03 and reconvene at 10am. 

We are adjourned.