(Spirit Lake)– The city of Spirit Lake will see some changes in its precinct boundaries as a result of the latest census.
City Administrator Mark Stevens told the city council Tuesday that according to the data, 4,000 people live in the city’s south precinct and that 800 live in the north. Under re-precincting guidelines, no more than 3,500 people can live in a certain precinct. As a result, Stevens says the city must re-draw its boundaries due to the fact the south precinct is over that threshold.
Stevens presented two options to the council to redraw the lines. The first would once again divide the city into two precincts…one north and one south. It would move the boundary line south to Highway nine. The current boundary follows 15th Street from Hill Avenue west and 14th Street from Hill Avenue east. The new boundary would follow Highway 9 the city’s entire width.
A second option, Stevens said, would divide the city into three precincts. Under that scenario, Highway nine would still be the dividing line between the north and south, with a new precinct that would be formed on the city’s west side. It would be along and to the west of Peoria Avenue south to 23rd Street, then along and to the west of Sunner Avenue to the south city limits.
Several council members favored the three-precinct option, saying it would allow for what’s expected to be significant growth on the city’s south side over the next 10 to 20 years.
The council directed Stevens to bring back a formal proposal for a three-precinct option, which will be presented in the form of an ordinance the council will consider in July.
While the precincts mean little to the city as council members are elected on an at-large basis, it is important to the county as it begins the process of re-drawing boundaries for supervisor districts.
