Public Hearings Conclude This Week

“I was glad to see the interest of the people in the County since everyone would be affected”

For the past three weeks, now, Pickens County has held public hearings on the new Commissioners’ Districts. Next year, Pickens County citizens will vote for two new commission posts, changing the County government to a board of three commissioners. Currently, Pickens County has only one commissioner, Commissioner Robert Jones.

The hearings were informational and a chance for citizens to ask questions. The hearings also gave citizens a chance to see a map of the new districts and understand how the districts were formed. Monday, November 21, was the final hearing and was held at the Pickens County Administrative Offices.

As a member of the Reapportionment Committee, State Rep. Rick Jasperse gave the presentations on the new districts. He explained that the new districts were formed by population, where each district is as equitable in population as possible, with a deviation of under 5 percent. Jasperse highlighted that the two new districts are divided by Old Highway 5 with some slight variations. With the two new districts for commissioner posts, Pickens County Voters will have three districts to pay attention to in the next election: 1) Senatorial 2) Congressional 3) Commissioner.

The public turn-out, though, seemed mediocre at best. During the first hearing at Hinton Community Center, only 15 or so citizens attended. At the second meeting at the Tate Elementary School, an estimated 20 citizens attended. According to a recent correspondence with FYN, Jaspers said 45 citizens attended the three hearing, adding that he also spoke with two other groups for an approximate total of 125 citizens.

“I was glad to see the interest of the people in the County since everyone would be affected,”

he commented, despite the relatively low public response. When asked about the turn-out at a Commissioner’s Meeting this month, Jones seemed disappointed with the low attendance.

Jasperse said he appreciated Commissioner Jones’ participation in the meetings and that he intends to

“move the proposal along ASAP and get the proposal in the hands of the Justice Dept.”

In his presentation, he said that the proposal for the new district maps will have to go to Legislature and be approved by the Justice Department by the first week in January in order for them to be valid for the 2012 Elections in the spring.