COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE -Minutes 20110720
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – CITY OF MUSKEGO (Approved)
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD TUESDAY, July 20, 2011
Mayor Chiaverotti called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti, Aldermen Snead, Harenda, Borgman, Werner, Soltysiak and
Fiedler. Also present Sharon Mueller, Director of Finance & Administration
and John Wisniewski, Director of Information Technology. Alderman Schaumberg was
absent.
STATEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICE
The meeting was noticed in accordance with the Open Meeting Law.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
There were no issues with the agenda item listed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ald. Snead moved for approval of the July 12, 2011 minutes. Ald. Werner seconded;
motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Discussion on Establishing Ward Boundaries Using 2010 Census Figures.
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Mayor Chiaverotti stated that at the Common Council meeting on July 12 there was a
lot of concern regarding council representation on Little Muskego Lake with the
proposed re- districting map. That map reduced the council representation from three to
two Aldermen which Ald. Soltysiak was not in agreement with.
Ald. Soltysiak stated that traditionally there have been three Aldermen who have
represented Little Muskego Lake though he is also concerned with preserving the
neighborhoods as outlined in the guidelines by the Legislature. The proposed map
besides reducing the number of Aldermen representing the lake from three to two, also
splits up various neighborhoods and the ward districts are not as compacted as well as
they could be. Ald. Borgman agreed with his statement and feels that a number of the
subdivisions are split in half.
In checking with the current map it didn’t appear that the district lines cut through any
subdivisions. Ald. Fiedler agreed that it probably makes sense to relook at trying to keep
the subdivisions intact.
Ald. Harenda feels that the guidelines were not followed in that they state how and the
reason why you merge wards in order to build the strength of voting district blocks. He
Committee of the Whole meeting page 2
July 20, 2011
brought up a number of different options that included moving, swapping and changing
wards in anticipation of future growth. Ald. Snead feels that he is skewing the numbers
drastically by his proposals. Ald. Fiedler stated that doing something to obtain
additional representation is wrong.
Mayor Chiaverotti stated that other municipalities are moving away from doing the
redistricting process as we are – this should not be political.
After much discussion it was decided that Director of Finance & Administration Sharon
Mueller and Director of Information Technology John Wisniewski would work on two
additional district maps that reflect the following:
1. Map to maintain neighborhood integrity.
2. Map to reflect the changes as shown on the map submitted by Ald.
Harenda.
If possible these maps are to be done by Friday for review by the Council. Director
Wisniewski brought up his concern about the time limitation as they are required to
have legal descriptions ready by the due date which is July 27. If the council is
requesting three different maps then they will have to have all three legal descriptions
ready as well as resolutions for Tuesday’s Council meeting. Council directed them to
interpret this to the best of their abilities working within the confines of the redistricting
criteria.
Ald. Harenda requested to meet with Director Wisniewski prior to the council meeting
should his proposed map not work out. Mayor Chiaverotti reminded everyone that
direction to staff comes from the entire committee. Questions can be asked at the
Council meeting. It was agreed that questions prior to the council meeting should be
directed to the Mayor to avoid manipulation of the map by individual council members.
COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY
LAW
ADJOURNMENT
Ald. Snead moved to adjourn at 7:22 p.m. Seconded by Ald. Fiedler; motion carried.
Minutes transcribed by
Cindy Schweitzer