9th time the charm? Supervisors redraw districts

Colusa officials have drawn yet another proposal for new district boundaries.

The latest version — the ninth is a series of proposals that attempts to adjust the supervisorial district boundaries using the new census population estimates — is virtually the same at the one proposed in June.

The only changes is the new map gives back the small portion of southeast Williams that was previously removed from Mark Marshall's District 3, and extends Denise Carter's District 2 to include the far end of Clay Street in Colusa, which is slated for future development.

"It's just another way to look at it," said Colusa County Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Moran, who spearheads the redistricting process. "Now it looks more balanced."

Moran said the county tweaked the boundaries slightly to make the county seem less fractured.

In order to put the Morning Star area back in District 2, Marshall had to give a larger block of people in north west Williams to District 4, which is represented by Gary Evans of Stonyford.

"That area was mostly in District 4 already," Marshall said.

The decision to restore the southeast portion of Williams to the district came after the 22 residents in the area voiced concern that they would not get equal representation if their supervisor lived in Stonyford or Maxwell.

Marshall said he wasn't sure how valid the concern was, considering current board members make an effort to represent all residents of the county.

"Not one of us has a problem with being contacted by anyone in the county," Marshall said. Still, Marshall said that has not always been the case, and may not be the case with future boards.

The next redistricting will occur after the 2020 census.

County officials have done extensive work to deal with the unusually hard redistricting process, which resulted from an uneven growth in certain parts of Colusa County.

The 37 percent population increase in Williams, from 3,633 to 4,962, had officials stumped about how to carve out new supervisorial districts, which are required by law to be as even in population as possible.

The county's total population grew from 18,804 in 2000 to 21,419 in 2010.

But county officials said their biggest concern was to not split Williams at the freeway, which would further the division between the old and new communities.

Everything else was just about making the populations come out as evenly as possible.

Only the Colusa City Council has voiced concerns about the division of Colusa among three supervisors, but county officials say it is unavoidable with the way the entire county is populated.

Most of the county in uninhabited, making District 4 cover the greatest land mass, while District 3 is virtually contained within the Wiliams city limits.

Colusa has the second highest population, making it necessary to portion it out to multiple supervisors.

The Board decided Tuesday to seek public input on what they hope is the final version, before they give final approval.

Supervisors want to see the boundaries adopted Aug. 30 to give the county election department time to prepare for the 2012 election. The law, however, does give them more time.

"If we don't decide by Nov. 1, then the district attorney gets to decide," Marshall said.