Dexter Forum Notes, 01-15-22

From John Hansen, Forum Moderator

We were back in action after a little break and I am back at my desk after going out to fetch my free box of K95 masks. Distribution began at the western county building on Zeeb Road at 10 AM and concluded at 10:10 AM with long lines backed up in both directions. Better luck next time. At least lots of folks are taking the new mask guidelines seriously.

We started off with a discussion about redistricting - both efforts - county-wide for commissioners and state-wide for congress and state house and senate. We learned that the county grew about 8% in the last decade and since the growth was more or less evenly spread the committee did the sensible thing and left the lines pretty much alone.

Clerk Kestenbaum is delighted that all of Washtenaw County is now in one congressional district (the 6th). We do know that Debbie Dingell will move to this area to run for this seat which she already represents a significant part of. You have to look at the maps to understand the state senate and house districts - and you have to wait for the inevitable lawsuits to be settled to really know what is going on. In any case, potential candidates need to file by April 19 to be on the November ballot.

Aimee from the Dexter Guardian let us know that the newspaper hopes to resume publishing again soon but currently will continue to be included in the Chelsea Guardian.

And then we heard about the struggles involved in spending the one-time funds coming our way as a result of pandemic-induced federal spending. County-wide broadband for sure, maybe a parking lot in Webster and lots to be determined.

The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, February 5, 2022 (January is a five Saturday month) at 8:30 AM on Zoom.