City Council - Rules & Government Relations Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 RULES and GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Meeting 10/7/2021 Attendees: R&GR Committee Members: Councilor Thomas Peake, Chair Councilor Peg Conniff, Clerk Councilor Dan Rist Other Attendees: Councilor JP Kwiecinski Meeting called to order at 6:00 pm. The meeting was recorded and held remotely. Minutes from September 20, 2021 were approved 2-0. Councilor Rist abstained.. 1. NEW BUSINESS A. Precinct Redistricting based on 2020 Federal Census Numbers Councilor Peake stated that he would have liked this process to not be as rushed as it is. The presentation of the proposed changes from the state were presented by City Clerk Barbara LaBombard. • Easthampton did not lose the population it had anticipated losing. All precincts must be within 5% or each other and none of them can go over 4000 residents (not voters). Every 10 years based on population the mix is reviewed. Based on revised map, some gained and some lost residents. The state provided an initial view of the new district delineations at last Rules meeting(attached). Precinct 2 and 4 are the largest based on revised map  • Changes: • along Lovefield street dividing P1 and P2, it will now use natural sep- aration like ponds and rivers. Rather than Lovefield, the dividing line will be the Manhan river. • Briggs Street: Will now all be P3. • A small portion of D4 near Brewster on Williston campus is moving to P2. All of Williston is now in P2 • Holly Circle: North of Holly will now move to P5 from P4. These maps go into effect for the next election in the future. Discussion around the proposed changes. These changes must be approved so the legislature can change the district mapping. Precinct Boundaries - 2020 census Pct Pop Variance 1 3,135 -3.30 2 3,328 +2.65 3 3,146 -2.96 4 3,335 +2.87 5 3,267 +0.77 Tom Peake presented his desired changes for P2. Everett Street/Davis Street/ Knipfler Ave. He also expressed frustration with the process being so rushed given that we only can do this every 10 years. Discussion around making some changes to align to natural boundaries. Barb will reach out to the State for the proposed changes to understand what is possi- ble vs. what is not possible given the time frame this needs to be approved by. Until we better understand what the State is able to do, we cannot make a rec- ommendation to the full council. A second meeting by this committee will be held in the event changes are made to the proposed map. 2. CONTINUING BUSINESS (Not Discussed) A. Resolution re: De-Criminalization of therapeutic psychedelic plants B. Proposed amendment to council rules: Add Rule 20 - Remote Participation 6:51 pm - Meeting adjourned Next Meeting: 10/14/2021 @ 6:00PM