Map quest: Springfield council members consider new ward maps ahead of 2023 election
Springfield City Council members got their first look at new ward maps at a presentation by the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission at Tuesday's committee of the whole.
Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso's reaction?
"I would say it's an extreme change (for Ward 6)," she said. "What we heard from the map drawers was that everything was moving south and west and I'm just moving south. I'm actually losing the west side on both maps (offered by the commission) of Ward 6, so that doesn't make sense to me.
"I'm losing a lot of neighborhoods and I'm barely in my own ward. It's pretty radical."
The commission configured two maps based on 2020 Census data. A map will have to be approved by Aug. 23, 90 days before candidates can start filing for petitions for the April 4, 2023 consolidated election.
Related: Springfield council will get a look at new maps that could change wards for 2023 election
Molly Berns, the commission's executive director, said council members requested several things in the map drawing, including that incumbents not be put in other wards and that precincts not be split.
There was also a focus on map drawing being "compact and contiguous to as great a degree as possible," Berns said.
The idea was to distribute the population equitably among the 10 wards, meaning as close to 11,439 people as possible in each, Berns said.
The map had to conform to a 1987 consent decree that resulted from a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit against the city.
The Census data confirmed that Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 all lost population. Ward 3 lost the most people: 1,218.
Wards 1, 8, 9 and 10 gained population. Ward 10 added 1,954 people.
Berns said it is fairly easy to look at a map of the city "and see where the new development is, so obviously that's where the new population is."
But there are driving factors about shifts in the population of wards, Berns added.
"Sometimes it's economic, sometimes it's housing, sometimes it's age," she said. "There's a whole series of reasons why someone might move from one part of town to the next: to be closer to a school, to be closer to their job."
Like DiCenso, Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer said his home is right on the edge of his ward now.
Hanauer also decried losing neighborhoods "where I've worked hard with people and have kind of gotten to know the families."
One of the maps did split precincts, Berns admitted, and used more natural boundaries like railroads and roadways.
Like School District 186 board members, city council members could trade off some neighborhoods as long as population level are adhered to, Berns said. The commission was contracted to draw the map for the school district, which was approved earlier this spring.
It is possible a special meeting might be convened to consider more ward map strategizing, Berns added. The commission will primarily work through corporation counsel James Zerkle and city council coordinator Tim Griffin to address city council members' questions.
More Station No. 6
As council members moved to the debate agenda an ordinance considering the possible purchase of land at 11th and Ash streets for the new home of Fire Station No. 6, they also heard a new figure about "the worst case scenario" in terms of cost for its remediation and environmental clearance.
The figure on the old Honeywell-Hobbs property could rise to $480,000, admitted public works director Nate Bottom.
The city is in the process of getting additional soil samples from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Bottom said.
Hobbs produced controls, switches, lighting systems, battery indicators and meters for the transportation industry on the site before it was shut down for good in late 2010.
As he has contended in the past, Fire Chief Brandon Blough said it was the best location given that it is "a 60-year decision."
Moving the station two blocks away, from its current location at 2156 S. Ninth St., would also move it from Ward 6 to Ward 2.
DiCenso reiterated her point last week that alternatives need to be considered.
"I think it would be wonderful to clean up a site that's an environmental hazard right now," DiCenso said, "but if we're talking about comparison of land, we just spent $219,000 at the west-side location (at Lawrence Avenue and Rickard Road for Station No. 8). We're talking of upwards of $500,000 at 11th and Ash. I think we need to start looking for alternative sites. The station at 11th and Ash is within a mile and a half of three other stations. So right now, there's a huge service area hole and service area hole is in Ward 6."
Several of those sites mentioned Tuesday included the old Bel-Aire Motel at Fifth and Stanford, 11th and Laurel and property by Scheels.
Mayor Jim Langfelder wondered what walking away from the 11th and Ash property might mean, though he did acknowledge the city needs to have alternatives.
"If we don't (put the station there), does it ever get developed?" Langfelder asked. "We should look at it for response (time for fire crews). I think that's the chief's aspect. The other side of it is for economic development. It does stabilize areas."
Fire equipment approval
A request for purchase of six new fire engines and one new quint fire truck came in at about $400,000 less than the next bid, Blough said. The total purchase price is just under $5.2 million and the ordinance was moved to next week's consent agenda.
The equipment should arrive in 7 to 14 months, Blough said, and will be placed in stations that run the most.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin reminded Blough that new fire equipment wasn't even in the original budget request.
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At "the big ask" on Feb. 8, Blough gave alderpersons a snapshot of the ages of the department's engines and trucks along with industry "best practices," opening the eyes of some alderpersons about the realities facing the department.
"This is a historic time," Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath said. "I don't recall in the 30 plus years we've bought this much equipment."
Public restroom closer to reality
A public restroom on the Old State Capitol Plaza is closer to becoming a reality.
Melotte Morse Leonatti Parker, Ltd. of Springfield will be paid $45,000 to design pedestrian entrance covers and a public restroom if the city council gives final clearance.
Bottom said the city had been looking at something similar to the Portland (Oregon) Loo. Those restrooms are defined by their graffiti-proof wall panels and open grating, but proved too pricey, Bottom admitted.
"We wanted something to look a little more natural," he said.
The Springfield restroom will be at street level, directly adjacent to the pedestrian cover in front of The Feed Store.
The secured pedestrian covers are for the Washington Street, Fifth Street and Sixth Street stairways for the Old State Capitol parking ramp.
Capital Township vacancy
The Capital Township board of trustees has a vacancy with the retirement of Richard T. "Rich" Berning, effective March 31.
There is an application process to fill Berning's seat. Applicants must submit a resume and cover letter by 5 p.m. on May 17 to Capital Township Supervisor Joe Aiello at the Sangamon County Complex, 200 S. Ninth St., Room 102, Springfield IL, 62701 or email Aiello at Joe.Aiello@co.sangamon.il.us.
The applicant must be from the Republican Party, be a registered voter and live within Capital Township. The vacancy will be filled by the board.
Berning was on the Capital Township board 14 years. He is a former Springfield traffic engineer, city engineer and public works director.
"Rich was a trustee with a deep and diverse understanding of Capital Township and the services we deliver," Aiello said. "His knowledge and expertise will be missed.”
Berning's successor will serve a little less than three years before being up for reelection.
The other trustees are Brad Carlson, Bernadette Gordon and Tammie Rockford, with Don Gray serving as clerk/assessor.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield IL city council members consider new ward maps
