Politics & Government
Common Council Discusses New Ward Map as Deadline Looms
One plan proposed by city staff would reduce Little Muskego Lake's representation from three to two aldermen, among other changes. Aldermen weigh in, and Soltysiak presents ideas to further discussion.
During Tuesday’s meeting of the Common Council, the Council took up the issue of having to draw new ward and aldermanic district boundaries following the 2010 census. The process is mandatory, and the city must approve a Ward Plan and submit it to Waukesha County by July 27.
The city’s population per the 2010 census is 24,135.
John Wisniewski, the city’s GIS/IT Director, gave a brief presentation describing the plan that city staff ultimately came up with. That plan, in which there were a total of three draft attempts made to get all the numbers and formulas to line up correctly, would eliminate Ward 8 and hence bring the number of wards down to 16 from 17.
These ward adjustments would impact aldermanic districts 2 and 3, and would see two current aldermen representing district 3. Little Muskego Lake, which has traditionally been represented by three aldermen, would lose one.
That did not sit well with a group of concerned residents on the lake, who were troubled over the possibility of losing a representative.
To that, Fifth District Alderman Dan Soltysiak distributed to members of the Council a packet containing eight conceptual maps that he drew up over the weekend. He admitted that his renderings reflected the limited tools and resources he had available to him, and that the numbers and formulas didn’t always line up perfectly. However, he stated that he came up with these maps purely for the sake of spurring further discussion and ideas.
Soltysiak pointed out that city staff presented only one viable option, whereas, following the 2000 census, the city offered up five plans and the matter was diligently discussed by the Committee of the Whole.
At Soltysiak’s motioning, followed by a second made by Second District Alderman Kert Harenda, the Council voted 5-1 to table the matter in order to discuss it in a special session of the Committee of the Whole. Seventh District Alderman Noah Fiedler cast the only dissenting vote, and First District Alderman Tracy Snead was absent.
In a follow-up interview following the Council meeting, Soltysiak stated that his major concern is to preserve neighborhoods, and as a byproduct, of that, he said there should still be a way to keep three aldermen representing Little Muskego Lake.
He emphasized that adequate time needs to be devoted to this, as any decision that is ultimately made can have serious consequences over the course of the next decade and most likely beyond that.
In an exclusive interview with Fiedler today seeking comment on his vote, Fiedler stated that there is no more basis for having three representatives for Little Muskego Lake than there is for having three for Big Muskego Lake or Lake Denoon. He called the move “politically motivated.”
“The currently proposed ward map that city staff drew up is devoid of any political motivations. It simply took into account objective numbers,” Fiedler stated, adding, “The moment we start determining which areas should have more representation than others, we’re doing exactly what we should not be doing.”
Big Muskego Lake is represented by both Fielder and Sixth District Alderman Neome Schaumberg, while Schaumberg’s solely represents Lake Denoon.
The special Committee of the Whole meeting is set for next Wednesday, July 20, at 6:00pm.
This story is ongoing, and Patch will present additional comments from citizens and the city prior to next week's meeting.