Politics & Government

Redistricting Commission Looks to Shift St. Charles County Council Districts to Southwest

Council has 10 days to decide to accept redrawn boundaries or request changes.

The St. Charles County Council is taking on a southwestern flavor.

“Everything is shifting south and west,” said Tom Kuypers, a Republican member of the county’s Redistricting Commission. “The population center is right along Highway K near Highway N (in O’Fallon).”

The Redistricting Commission submitted recommendations for new boundary lines for St. Charles County Council districts during the council’s meeting Monday.

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The council has 10 days to consider the proposal and approve it or return it to the commission. The council will call a special meeting within 10 days to decide which course to take.

County Counselor Joann Leykam said if the maps are sent back to the commission, the members have until Nov. 30 to make changes. The commission is not obligated change the recommendations.

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

County council members opted not to vote on the changes Monday.

“They took weeks to put this together, and we’ve had just an hour to look at this,” said Council Chairman Joe Brazil, R-District 2, of Defiance.

By county charter, the Redistricting Commission had to:

  • Base the boundaries on 2010 Census results
  • Arrange boundaries so the districts with the highest and lowest populations are no more than 5 percent apart

Commission members said their primary goal was to keep population numbers as close to the ideal number—51,498—as possible. Under the proposal, the district with the biggest population, District 4, is just 1 percent larger than the district with the smallest population, District 2.

Commission members said they also tried to keep the current council members in their current districts to avoid having a district unrepresented for a period of time. The boundaries will affect the next council election after they are approved.

“As far as my district is concerned, the new boundaries make more sense than the old ones,” said Councilman Joe Cronin, R-District 1, of St. Paul.

The commission is recommending Highway 79 as the District 1 eastern border and Interstate 70 as a north-south border for nearly the entire county.

North vs. South

A couple of minor items were questioned, including two sections on both ends of the county that dipped south of Interstate 70.

An audience member, Anita Foelsch, questioned why an area just south of I-70 was placed in District 6, which is almost entirely north of the I-70. The area includes the Noah’s Ark redevelopment area.

Brazil also questioned why the Foristell area south of I-70 was placed in District 1 instead of keeping it in District 2.

Brazil and Foelsch received similar answers.

Gary McKiddy, a Democrat commission member, said they did that to make the district populations more equal.

Commission members said that they were not allowed to split census blocks, which often are irregular shapes and sizes.

“You might have a census block with 1,400 people next to a census block with three people,” said Republican commission member Dave Evans.

The commission is composed of three Democrats and three Republican members. Democrat members are McKiddy, Mark Miles and Jackie Hosack. Republican members are Kuypers, Evans and Burt Biermann. They were appointed by their respective parties.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Wentzville