Portales looks over redistricting choices

PORTALES — The Portales City Council on Tuesday got a first glimpse of possibilities for redistricting as a result of 2020 U.S. Census results.

The council took no action on the districting choices, which will require more work sessions and public input, Mayor Ron Jackson said.

Brad Morrison, a project manager and redistricting specialist for Research and Polling, an Albuquerque-based market research and public opinion firm, presented two options for redistricting the city, based on the firm’s reading of census results.

Morrison said Research and Polling bases redrawing of district lines on achieving equal population in all districts, ensuring that minority voting is not diluted, compactness (a uniformity of geometric shapes among districts), and contiguity.

“You should be able to draw the district boundary without lifting your pencil from the paper,” Morrison said.

Portales noted a total population decline of 1.2% between 2010 and 2020, leaving a total population of 12,137 in the city. That means the city council districts or wards should be about 3,034 people, with some deviation allowed.

The loss of population also left inequality of population among the city’s four wards, with the biggest loss in Ward A on the city’s northwest side, represented by councilors Veronica Cordova and Jake Lopez. The population of that district is 2,730 people — about a 10% deviation from the ideal 3,034.

Ward B, just east of Ward A, includes 3,073 people. Ward C south of Ward B, contains 3,240 residents. Ward D, south and west of Ward A, has a population of 3,094.

Research and Polling presented two plans:

• Plan A would nudge Ward A’s boundaries with Ward C and Ward B, leaving 2,932 people in Ward A, 3,069 in Ward B and 3,042 in Ward C. Ward D would be left unchanged.

• Plan B would change boundaries between Ward A and Ward B to add more to Ward A’s population than in Plan A, and move a few blocks from Ward A into Ward D. The changes would leave 2,965 people in Ward A, 2,991 in Ward B, 3,042 in Ward C, and 3,194 in Ward D.

Portales has until Dec. 1 to submit a redistricting plan to the state, Morrison said.

Councilors proposed advertising and a workshop in November before announcing a final decision at the council’s Nov. 25 meeting.

In other matters Tuesday, the council:

• Authorized notification of a March 1 election for municipal officers to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office.

• Recognized the city’s entire Public Works department as employees of the month. Public Works Director John DeSha noted that public works employees have stepped in willingly to help out other departments, including cemetery maintenance sanitation truck driving to help alleviate manpower shortages.

• Presented a humanitarian award to Portales Police Officer Jarvis Hall for helping a disabled person in a powered wheelchair to get to warmth and safety in a downpour.

• Authorized grant agreements with the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration that will provide $250,000 to acquire land and plan for city cemetery improvements, and $85,000 to purchase a new backhoe and jackhammer attachment for the cemetery.

• Authorized an agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation that will result in $133,332 toward surface improvements and other work on 18th Street from New Mexico Drive to Avenue I. The local share of the funding comes to $33,330 with the remaining $99,999 coming from DOT.

• Approved a seventh amendment for development of the Blackwater Wellfield, a major source of Portales’ water supply in a contract with the Daniel B. Stephens and Associates engineering firm, based in Lubbock. The new amendment, adding $19,143.50 to the total cost, includes researching the city’s water rights in the area with the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, identifying other wells for future development, and other engineering services. The total value of the contract is now $497,769.24.

• Authorized application for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the city’s share of the cost of developing an “all-hazards mitigation plan” along with Roosevelt County and other county communities. The total cost of the city’s participation would be $75,000, and the city’s share would be $9,375, which would be matched by an equal amount from the county.

• Approved payment of $1.7 million in bills, and quarterly budget adjustments resulting in a net decrease of $533,794 in the city’s fund balances, which includes $22,251 in revenue and $556,145 in expenditures.

• Recognized in a proclamation signed by Jackson a “Walk to End Alzheimer’s Day” to be held statewide this fall.