HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 55.1 from Chair Siracusa re Topics for Final NarrativeRENE SIRACUSA
Chair
DRU MAMO KANLJHA
Vice Chair
VALERIE POINDEXTER
JEFFREY MELROSE
JOHN "MIKE" MIDDLESWORTH
PATRICK KAHAWAIOLA`A
LINDA UGALDE
CRAIG "BO" KAHUI
JOSEPH CARVALHO
2011
HAWAII COUNTY
REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
TO: Members of the Hawaii County Redistricting Commission
FROM: Rene Siracusa, Chairperson
DATE: November 23, 2011
RE: TOPICS FOR FINAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Members of the 2011 Hawaii County Redistricting Commission,
Attached herewith is a list of very generalized potential topics for our Final Narrative Report.
This list is not exhaustive, but is meant to be a starting point for the process. You may want to
add or make changes to the list, or to its organization, and we will want to add recommendations.
Please note that the list does NOT include the reasoning behind the decisions involved in setting
the district boundaries, which we will be able to distill and extract from the meeting transcripts.
This communication will allow us to discuss the above matters.
Sincerely,
Rene Siracusa
Chairperson
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
COMM. 55.1
Bullet points for final narrative report:
A. Obstacles faced by commission:
1. Census (legally required to use federal data)
a. island undercounted, but unknown by how much /where
b. census didn't elicit answers needed for definitive extractions
c. many census blocks weirdly configured (don't follow subdivision
boundaries, put half of one subdivision in same block as another
community, strange shapes, etc.)
2. Late start
a. commissioners not approved until March 31St
b. software not available until end July
3. Esri software
a. convoluted means of accessing for commissioners /public
b. paper roads on maps are misleading
c. included roads, subdivisions that no longer exist (i.e., Royal Gardens
buried under lava)
d. did not show all roads /streets (i.e., Shower Dr. cross - streets on north
side of drive), or identify all subdivision /community boundaries
e. difficult process to print amap - or a zoomed -in portion of a map
f. County had no say in contract details between Esri and State.
4. Bill 11 -29 /Ordinance...........
a. requirement that plan with smallest deviation get priority,
irregardless of other factors
b. not clear which criteria should have more weight (allowance for
future growth is based on past trends which may not continue into
future and is therefore rather nebulous compared with definitive
criteria like road connectivity).
c. limitation to 4.99% deviation per district as an overriding mandated
priority NO MATTER WHAT, AND DESPITE PUBLIC IN PUT THAT
KEEPING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER SHOULD BE THE VERY HIGHEST
PRIORITY ( "people vs. numbers "). If commissioners are considered
capable of judging how to weigh various criteria, deviations should
be included, as long as the 10% overall deviation is maintained.