Redistricting Commission will break into subgroups
Feb. 16—The Oneonta Redistricting Commission welcomed a new member and discussed breaking up the colleges' census blocks and breaking out into subgroups to work on redrawing the city's eight wards, during its meeting Thursday, Feb. 16.
Jonathan Visnosky was approved to represent the Eighth Ward by the Oneonta Common Council during its Feb. 7 meeting, after Sean Brunswick resigned.
After Visnosky was welcomed, Sixth Ward Commissioner Bill Shue said he contacted the U.S. Census about the disputed numbers in his ward to see if a special census could be completed. According to the previous article, the Sixth Ward lost 400 residents between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. Shue thinks the figures in the Oak Square Apartments along Market Street and Nader Towers census blocks were underreported.
Shue said the representative from the U.S. Census doesn't think it meets the criteria to hold a special census, but "we could qualify for a partial special census." He said he was given another person to contact at the Census Bureau, and he's waiting to hear back from that person. Shue said the mayor would have to request the partial special census and the city would have to pay for it if approved.
The commission decided since SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College supplied the U.S. Census Bureau with a list of the number of students living in each residence hall, the commission could use those numbers to figure out the different wards.
As previously reported, each of the eight wards can have only 1,635 residents. The SUNY Oneonta census block has 2,069 residents.
"We can't handle one block with 2,000 residents," Gary Herzig, commission chair, said.
City Administrator Greg Mattice showed members of the commission on two maps the Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta campuses overlayed on the current district map, with the number of students in each residence hall listed.
The Hartwick College residence halls are located in the Fifth and Seventh wards, while SUNY Oneonta's are located in the Second, Third, Fourth and Seventh wards.
Mattice also listed the total number of residents in each census block by ward in an Excel spreadsheet for members of the commission.
Shue asked Mattice if he could print out maps that included the population in each census block. Mattice said he could, but there are some census blocks shown in two wards and the commissioners will have to decide to which ward the blocks will belong. Commissioners also asked Mattice to come up with a preliminary redrawn district map they could use as a starting point.
Third Ward Commissioner Laurie Zimmiewicz said she started the homework Herzig gave them two weeks ago. Without the help of the representatives of Wards Two and Four, she couldn't figure it out and suggested the commission split into smaller groups to discuss redrawing their lines.
"I'm not in favor of breaking up the Sixth Ward," she said. "It's the only real neighborhood we have."
It was decided Commissioners David Hayes, First Ward; Jim Foot, Fifth Ward; Shue and Visnosky would work together, as those four wards border one other, while Susan Lettis, Second Ward; Zimmiewicz, Herzig and Glenn Pichardo, Seventh Ward, would work together, as those four wards border one other.
"It's the northern wards working together and the southern wards working together," Herzig said.
Hayes, Foot, Shue and Visnosky will meet at 5 p.m. March 2, and Lettis, Zimmiewicz, Herzig and Pichardo will meet at 7 p.m. March 2, to look over maps in the mayor's conference room.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
