Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 26, 1991 TAG: 9103260447
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
A seven-member committee, appointed this year to work on Bedford County's redistricting plan, on Monday offered the Board of Supervisors what it had asked for: four scenarios for rearranging election district lines.
In assigning the committee its job, the supervisors had asked for two seven-district arrangements - the number of districts now - and two eight-district arrangements, based on census data collected last year.
But, in its search for the eight-district plans, the redistricting committee ran into trouble, Sue Gilbert, a member of the county administration staff who has coordinated the committee's effort, told the supervisors Monday. Creating a whole new district wasn't easy, she said.
The group came up with two eight-district scenarios, but "no one on the committee feels good about either one of them," Gilbert told the supervisors.
"They have real misgivings about an eight-district plan," she said. "They split communities of interest; that's the biggest thing."
After glancing at the eight-district options, the supervisors agreed.
"That won't fly at all," Supervisor Calvin Updike said when told the plans could divide Moneta down the middle.
"Eight districts doesn't cut it," Supervisor T.D. Thornton agreed.
The supervisors voted unanimously to drop the committee's eight-district maps out of the running. Only the two seven-member maps will go on display for public comment and later consideration, the board said.
At Supervisor Jack Mitchell's request, however, the supervisors also agreed to add another map that the committee hadn't recommended.
Mitchell said he wasn't happy with proposals to turn his district, in the center of Bedford County, into a "doughnut" around Bedford. He wants to post one of several plans drawn up but not recommended by the redistricting committee, one that would place Mitchell's district on the north side of the city instead of all around it.
Arguing against the added map, Supervisor Tony Ware said he believed a "community of interest" probably did surround the city.
"We could come up with three, 33, 333 . . . everybody could come up with a plan," Ware said.
Thornton agreed. "We have not asked for a third plan," he said. "I think we are going against their recommendation" by considering three.
On a 5-2 vote, the board agreed to post the third map.
Generally, each of the seven district scenarios shrinks the geographic size of districts 1 and 4 - to make up for a decade of population growth in the Stewartsville and Forest areas.
Ideally, each district ultimately would include 6,522 residents.
The maps will be posted in the lobby of the Bedford County Courthouse until next Tuesday for public comments. The committee then will make any needed adjustments based on those comments and present the supervisors with their final proposals April 8.
On May 16, the supervisors plan to hold a public hearing on redistricting and adopt a proposal to submit to the Justice Department for approval.
In other county business Monday, the supervisors approved plans to build a power-stepdown station off Virginia 608 off Rockcastle Creek.
Although neighbors of the proposed station had expressed concern about the idea, the supervisors unanimously accepted Southside Electric Cooperative's request, which scored 94.6 points out of a possible 200 on the county's Land Use Guidance System.
The supervisors also accepted a proposal to put a florist shop, nursery, ceramics and general merchandise store on Virginia 122.
They voted 6-1 on the project, which earned two scores - due to its different types of uses. For the rural elements of the business, the project scored 163.3 out of 200. For its commercial element, it scored 77.7.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB