Commissioners get peek at redistricting

Following the results of the 2020 U.S. Census, Chase County Clerk Debbie Clark presented commissioners Jacci Brown and Duane Dinnel proposed county district maps during the Nov. 23 commissioners’ meeting.
District 1, which includes Wauneta, saw its population drop to 1,036. District 2’s population is 1,435 and District 3’s is 1,425.
Populations in the proposed districts are 1,293 for District 1, 1307 for District 2 and 1,293 for District 3.
If accepted, District 1’s border outside of Imperial would have a jog removed, bringing the border north and south along the east side of Imperial from Perkins County to Dundy County. In Imperial the border would move west from Park Street to Broadway between 5th and 12th Streets. One section along the Dundy County line would move from District 2 to District 1.
District 3 would lose the two blocks between Park Street and Broadway, but would move south one block to 5th Street between Douglas Street and Broadway.
District 2 will run from the corner of 5th Street and Highway 61 straight south to Dundy County.
If populations would have stayed within 10% of the previous census, changes would not have been needed. But the large population swing meant Clark’s office needed to redraw the districts.
In other business, Brown and Dinnel approved signing a contract with Baker & Associates for the Champion and Wauneta road projects.
They also approved resolutions for road studies in Champion. One is for the possibility of vacating 10 feet of each road in town and the other is for the possibility of vacating an alley along RJ and Debbie Teply’s property.
The meeting also included discussion between the commissioners, Clark, Assessor Dotty Bartels and Deputy County Attorney Rory Roundtree about the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s plan for commissioners to have to approve all easements, including Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and selling water rights, in their counties.
The group agreed that keeping track of it all would be a tough job for the county clerk and assessor, especially since the USDA and Farm Service Agency do not share its records with counties.
The law to do so has been in place since 1981 though rarely enforced, but Governor Pete Ricketts has encouraged the Department of Revenue to take action in response to President Joe Biden’s 30x30 plan to conserve at least 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030.
The next meeting of the commissioners will be Dec. 14 at 8 a.m. in the courthouse.