FARMVILLE – Responding to a question by Vice-Mayor, and Ward C council member, Armstead D. Reid, Town Manager Gerald Spates said redistricting of the Town's Wards would begin when Census data is finalized.

“As soon as we get the final Census,” he answered. “The Census figures are out for the whole country and Virginia and all that but they don't have the ones broken down yet for towns and counties.”

Town officials believe the final Census figures for Farmville will be provided some time in late February or early March.

“And then we will have to go through the process of redistricting,” the town manager told Town Council during its January work session.

Asked by Ward A council member Dr. Edward I. Gordon how the redistricting process works, Spates explained, “you've go to take your population. It depends on the population in the different areas and how the present Wards pan out with that population.

“I guess, theoretically, some of them may stay the same,” Spates said regarding Ward boundaries.

The Town does the redistricting itself, Spates continued, and then the plan is submitted to the United States Department of Justice for its approval.

Spates said he has already received a letter from the NAACP “asking to be involved in the process.”

The Town of Farmville has five Wards, each represented by a Town Council member, in addition to two At-Large seats that represent the town as a whole.

“You take the population and divide it by five,” At-Large council member David E. Whitus explained, “and there's a percentage that it can vary.”

The goal, asked Dr. Gordon, “is to get each of them equal?”

“The same number of potential registered voters,” Spates answered before correcting himself that Ward boundary lines are based on population, not registered or potential registered voters. “Population, yes, population.”

“Not registered voters,” Whitus agreed. “Population.”

Town Council members were also reminded that Longwood University students are considered and counted by the Census as citizens of the town.

“Some Wards have a larger percentage of students,” Spates noted, “than others.

“Of course, if you're like Mr. Whitus or Mr. (Tommy) Pairet, you don't have to worry about it,” Spates said of the possible changes to Ward boundaries, “because you're At-Large.”

Town officials speculated about the population count and they expect it to increase over the 2000 Census count.

“We're going to top 7,000,” Whitus predicted.

“Oh, I know,” Spates agreed. “It should be a lot more than that, I think. If they count the students correctly. I want to say 7,400 or 7,500…Probably, theoretically, it should go up more than that.”

In addition to Longwood increasing its enrollment, new subdivisions and housing has been built in the last 10 years, Town officials also pointed out.