By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Seven options.
That’s how many different versions consultants have come up with to reconfigure Chatham-Kent’s ward boundaries and the composition of council.
Citizens will have their chance to examine the different options in two public meetings to be held at the John D. Bradley Centre in Chatham Nov. 14 and Nov. 25. The livestreamed sessions begin at 6 p.m.
Officials from StrategyCorp – the firm hired to examine the issue – made a presentation to council at the Nov. 4 meeting, outlining the choices, which range from keeping the status quo to redrawing the map of Chatham-Kent to reflect how the population can be better represented.
Options include dropping the number of members of council from the current 18 to 15, and possibly even lower to 13, inclusive of a mayor. Different variations could see the number of wards increased from six to as many as 14.
According to the report, StrategyCorp has attempted to follow natural boundaries, such as the Thames River and major roadways, in order to keep communities intact whenever possible. However, one of the options would see Wallaceburg split along the Sydenham River in two wards.
In her comments, StrategyCorp consultant Sabine Matheson explained what the review is trying to achieve.
“What we’ve done, is we’ve tried to do things that made the most sense based on a rational starting point,” Matheson said, noting the biggest challenge is trying achieve fair representation in populated areas.
“Every one of these options we’ve presented to you is viable,” Matheson told council. “We’ve really tried to respect the balance between existing communities and making sure we’re not dividing them for no good reason.”
Matheson said there’s a “kind of happy coincidence with the way Chatham has been growing,” posing different alignments that are attractive.
“The real purpose today is to underscore, to get that initial read from you on what you might be missing and any obvious problems you can see,” she said.
A project page on the municipality’s Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent page has been launched to keep residents informed throughout the project. Maps outlining the different options can be viewed on the page.
A final report on the matter from StrategyCorp will return to council Dec. 16.
A ward boundary/council composition review was launched earlier this year following a motion put forward by North Kent Coun. Rhonda Jubenville.
