Morgantown boundary commission reviews automated mapping runs, sets June 8 follow-up and public input plans

The Wharton Boundary Commission met on May 18 and reviewed updated ward data and a set of automated map runs generated in ArcGIS. Chair called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m., and staff demonstrated the commission's Sandbox tool to let members view, save and tweak proposed ward assignments.

The presentation showed nine computational runs produced by a "build balance zones" tool; staff warned some runs were invalid because they produced only six zones instead of the seven wards required. Phil, who ran the tool, walked commissioners through logging into ArcGIS, toggling layers and selecting runs, and explained: "If you look at run 1... it only created 6 of them so it's not really valid" and later that "the sandbox is live now." The demonstration emphasized that the tool assigns zone numbers arbitrarily and that staff will help map the tool's zone numbers to the commission's ward labels for easier review.

Commissioners debated which metric to prioritize when measuring balance. Staff said the runs used 2020 census blocks for total population and registered-voter counts from the 2024 general election. The Chair framed the technical choice as a trade-off: "This is a math problem," and noted the commission historically has preferred registered voters for balance because voter rolls can be measured more regularly than decennial census counts. Commissioners discussed retaining a practical buffer (previously treated as 10 percent) rather than insisting on perfect parity.

Members reviewed how the current wards deviate from an ideal average: the Chair said the city has 13,489 registered voters, yielding an ideal per-ward average of roughly 1,927, and that "4th Ward has 30% fewer registered voters" while "6th Ward has 24% more," evidence that rebalancing is needed even if exact targets are flexible.

On process, Phil offered two workflows: staff can set a selected run as each commissioner's personal sandbox for editing, and commissioners can save multiple versions ("James's map," "John's map," etc.). He also offered to add population statistics to the dashboard; commissioners asked that runs producing only six zones be removed from the primary dashboard to reduce confusion. Phil said he has documented the exact tool parameters for each run so the commission can inspect technical inputs later.

The commission discussed public engagement methods and agreed to prioritize earlier public input than in the last cycle. The Chair proposed short-listing two or three candidate maps, holding a show-and-tell work session, and staging a public session in early July. Commissioners tentatively agreed to a follow-up internal meeting on Monday, June 8, to review sandbox fixes and any edits before scheduling public sessions. The meeting ended with Sarah moving to adjourn and the Chair adjourning at 7:23 p.m.

Next steps: commissioners will review the runs in their sandboxes, provide staff with preferred runs to be set up as editable versions, and the commission will place a tentative public-input item on the next agenda to schedule an outreach session.