Cape Girardeau officials present possible new city ward map

Prompted by the most recent U.S. census Cape Girardeau will be rezoning its wards to fit with population changes.

The third version of the new map, displayed by city manager Kenneth Haskin at the Cape Girardeau City Council workshop Wednesday, proposes a shift of the six ward borders to align with population flows.

Two major challenges faced when creating the redistricting proposals was balancing the major increase in Ward 4's population and the major decrease in Ward 2's population over the last decade.

"The idea was to make sure that we tried to create a seamless model that wouldn't necessarily disrupt or disturb the area of the entire city but ensure that Ward 2 continues to thrive and grow," Haskin said of the thought process behind this version of the map.

The map was created by Teresa Heifner, the city's geographic information systems coordinator. Haskin said Heifner did a "heck of a job" on the maps at the workshop and she decided version three was the best possible one for the city.

Heifner said she chose the final of the three versions because it had the wards closest in population and maintained clean street lines.

When creating the versions, Heifner factored in natural roadway barriers and the current residence of council members to determine where she could and could not adjust wards.

Council members Tameka Randle, Robbie Guard and Shannon Truxel all live near their respective ward borders, limiting the amount of options Heifner had for expansion or reduction.

Then, there were also other districts to factor in for voting and tax purposes.

"You cannot inadvertently leave some small taxing district cut off from itself," Heifner said.

If approved, the ward map would be used for election districts, making it important people voting on things such as taxes for school districts or the library are actually in those districts. Heifner said she used district maps for schools, libraries, county townships, the Missouri House of Representatives and more to create the map.

In total, the city's GIS coordinator estimated she worked for 50 to 60 hours creating the three drafts.

Under the proposed map, four of the six wards will get increased populations, with Ward 2 gaining the most with 611 people added to its current population of 5,900. Ward 4 would lose 966 people from its current population of 7,649. Ward 6 would see a decrease in 165 people from its current population of 6,824. Ward 3 would add 374 people, while Wards 1 and 5 would add 64 people and 82 people, respectively.

"My hope is that in 10 years from now we're going to have the same conversation, and hopefully, you know, Ward 2 will continue to expand in population and the adjustments will be relatively minor," Haskin said.

The map will officially go before the council in August and is posted on the city's website for residents to view.