St. Cloud Beginning Process of Redrawing City Council Wards

ST. CLOUD -- Now that the Congressional and Legislative redistricting maps have been set, local governments like the city of St. Cloud can start working on their maps for city council wards.

City Clerk Seth Kauffman says the city charter requires that there be no greater than one quarter of one percent difference between the highest and lowest wards, or a less than 172 person difference.

He says that means two of the city's four wards will need to grow geographically.

Ward 1 needs to grow in area by about 1,800 people.  Ward 2 grow by about 150 people.

Ward 1 is currently represented by Dave Masters and encompassed mostly the downtown and university neighborhoods.

Ward 2 is currently represented by Steve Laraway and is the area east of the Mississippi River and the Hester Park neighborhood.

That, of course, means the city's other two wards will need to get smaller.

Ward 3 needs to get smaller by approximately 670 people.  Ward 4 needs to get smaller by about 1,300 people.

Ward 3 is currently represented by Paul Brandmire and is primarily the west end of town.

Ward 4 is currently represented by Mike Conway and the southwest part of the city.

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Kauffman plans to get some proposed new maps on the city's website by this Friday. The city council will set a public hearing during their next meeting, and then finalize the new maps during their March 28th city council meeting.