Commission districts to change County to present options next month

Santa Rosa County officials are beginning to brainstorm about possible boundaries for the new commissioner district lines following the results of the 2010 U.S. Census.

Santa Rosa County’s population increased from 117,743 in 2000 to 151,372 in 2010. A majority of the 29-percent population increase was in District 4, which includes Navarre. Escambia County’s population only increased by 1 percent while Okaloosa County’s population increased by 6 percent.

“It’s a remarkable increase to me,” said County Administrator Hunter Walker, who has been through the redistricting process before in 2000. Each of the five newly-drawn districts will have to have about 30,000 people to equally divide 151,372.

For more on this story, see the August 18 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.