City
of Platte City
redesigns voting wards
by Kim
Fickett
Landmark reporter
The Platte City Board of Alderman took action Tuesday
evening to amend the voting wards in Platte City to comply
with the intent of a state statute and balance the levels
of population within the city's three wards.
"With the city's growth in the last couple of years
and availability of the 2000 census data, staff felt it
prudent to assess whether the population of our current
wards complied with the 'intent' of state statutes,"
said Keith Moody, city administrator.
"In November of 1998 the city re-districted its
wards sizing them to allow for as much growth as possible
in the east and south before re-districting. Staff completed
this redistricting by estimating populations in the existing
wards. According to our tabulations in 1998 our population
was 2,966."
The state statute calls for a balancing of the wards
which allows for equal representation. According to Mayor
Frank Offutt, due to the recent 2000 census, the City
of Platte City decided it would have to, "tweak the
ward boundaries."
"The state statutes are not specific as to how much
deviation in population is allowed between wards. MARC
(Mid-America Regional Council) has provided a guide based
on court decisions," stated Moody.
"These rulings establish a 10 percent deviation
from the average ward population as acceptable. Our population
according to the 2000 Census was 3,866. The average ward
population is 1,288 (3,866 divided by 3 wards). Applying
a 10 percent deviation allows for a 1,159 minimum ward
population to a 1,416 maximum ward population."
The proposed ward populations are in Ward 1-1,422, Ward
2-1,276, Ward 3-1,168 for a total of 3,866.
The mayor stated that Ward 1 and Ward 2 received a slight
shift of boundaries to include a few additional blocks.
"Staff has again structured the populations in a
way that allows for as much growth as possible in the
wards (II & III) that we know will growth. This provides
for the longest period of time before the process will
need to occur again. If we see 300 new people in Ward
II and 400 new people in Ward III without any growth in
Ward I, we will need to re-district," said Moody.
"The boundaries proposed are nearly the same as
before. Ward I has been enlarged to the maximum population
as this area has little potential for additional growth.
Ward II and Ward III have smaller populations as both
of these wards anticipate rapid growth in the near future.
This allows a greater time before having to redistrict
again," Moody explained.
The board of aldermen also announced passing annexation
in Platte City to include the I-29 corridor to I-435.
The city boundaries are now changed to meet the Kansas
City city limits. The original petition for the annexation
was filed by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Aldermen also announced a resolution amending the speed
limit on Fourth Street from Maple Drive to Blake from
35 mph to 25 mph due to speeding complaints in that area.
"For the safety and general welfare of our citizens,
the board decided to modify the speed limit from 35 to
25 mph," said Offutt.
Mayor Offutt also announced the City of Platte City is
entering into an agreement with the Mid-America Regional
Council Solid Waste Management District for a Regional
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection program. The
program will offer cost effective household hazardous
waste services. The cost to the city is $.77 per capita
for the year 2002, with adjustments to be made annually.
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