A new ward boundary proposal for Chatham-Kent will soon be available for public viewing and comment.
Council approved a motion on October 7 to bring back options to reduce Council down to 13-15, including the Mayor, and to include the option of keeping the Council number the same. Chatham-Kent Council currently has 18 members.
Consultant StrategyCorp will be presenting options of ward boundaries at the Council meeting on Monday night. The consultant said all the drafts presented were designed to preserve both rural/agricultural representation, and urban representation.
StrategyCorp noted all the drafts presented divide Chatham-Kent using a boundary around the Chatham urban area, adding that Chatham’s new boundaries were designed based on feedback received in the first round of public engagement.
The new draft boundaries has Chatham with five representatives in a 12-ward model and six in a 14-ward model.
Wallaceburg could also be split between two wards in a 12 or 14 ward model, using the river as the boundary, but would not be divided in drafts with two councillors per ward.
In all cases, the consultant said boundaries were designed to avoid dividing established settlement areas or communities and follow major transportation arteries (roads and rail) or natural features (rivers), the consultant's report stated. And in some cases, boundaries may follow less clear boundaries to keep communities of interest together, as was previously done in the boundary between existing ward 1 and 2 around Merlin.
The option to keep the status quo has some improvements to achieve better parity among wards; better overall balance between Chatham and the remainder of the municipality by increasing the Council representation of Chatham by 1; and better representation by better aligning new growth areas that did not yet exist at the time the boundaries were first drawn with their actual communities of interest.
Public consultation is set for November 14 and November 25 at the John D. Bradley Centre starting at 6 p.m. These public meetings will be live streamed. Deputations will be permitted at these public meetings, but not Monday night.
The final proposal is scheduled to go before Council December 16 with public comments and a recommendation for Council consideration and approval. No deputations will be allowed at the Council meeting on December 16 because public consultation has already been done by that time.
CK Director of Municipal Governance and Clerk Judy Smith said the presentation is to make sure Council is comfortable with the proposed options and to direct the consultant to facilitate public consultation on those options only.
"StrategyCorp wanted to ensure they have captured Council intent prior to going out for full public consultation," wrote Smith in her report.
Public engagement will also be encouraged on the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent webpage and all public comments will be included in the final report, according to Smith.
Council approved a third-party review of Council composition and ward boundaries on May 27 to ensure the municipality can provide an effective and equitable system of representation for all residents.
The review is examining the size and structure of Council; how councillors are elected; and CK electoral ward boundaries.