City council preps for redistricting

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Greenfield’s proposed new city council district boundaries.

Submitted image

GREENFIELD – Officials in Greenfield are preparing to make changes to city council district boundaries in light of population changes reflected in the 2020 census.

The city has five council districts. Gary McDaniel represents District 1, John Jester represents District 2, George Plisinski represents District 3, Jeff Lowder represents District 4 and Kerry Grass represents District 5. Mitch Pendlum and Dan Riley represent the city at large.

Greenfield’s current city council district boundaries.  Submitted image

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Greenfield had a population of 20,602 in 2010 before growing to 23,488 by 2020.

Council members noted the proposed redistricting plan doesn’t result in any drastic changes as they set out to establish as much of a population balance as possible among the five areas of town.

“This is something we’ve got to do every so often to make sure everything stays in alignment,” Jester said. “We’ve had a lot of residences built; we want to make sure that we’re staying pretty consistent and balanced as far as the number of people in the districts.”

He doesn’t expect the new boundaries to change how he approaches representing residents, adding he always votes with all of Greenfield in mind.

“The District 2 voters elected me, but I kind of feel like I represent everybody in the city,” he said.

Plisinski supports the proposed changes as well.

“It doesn’t hem in any particular district from the current growth pattern,” he said. “The last thing we want is a landlocked district.”

He thinks the eventual ideal scenario for Greenfield is to have council districts split among four quadrants of the city, with State and Main streets at the center, and a fifth district downtown. That would make it simpler for residents to know which district they’re in, Plisinski added. He hopes the growth anticipated for the city allows that scenario to carry out after the 2030 census and redistricting that would follow.

“To me, the most important thing is trying to not separate neighborhoods and for people to know where they’re at – which council district they’re in,” he said.

City council members voted unanimously on first reading to approve the redistricting last month. They’re slated to have a public hearing on the matter and a second vote at their upcoming meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at City Hall, 10 S. State St., Greenfield.

Populations of proposed redrawn city council districts

District 1: 4,447

District 2: 4,823

District 3: 4,662

District 4: 4,727

District 5: 4,829