Over the past 10 years, the city of Springville has roughly doubled in population. With the help of the Rural Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, the city is working to redraw the council district lines in order to make sure all residents are represented correctly.

However, maintaining the city’s 1st District, a majority-minority district, proves a challenge to the process.

“The city has seven council districts, and the new census data shows that there are 4,080 residents in Springville. Because of that, the ideal population per district is 583,” said Brett Isom, GIS Manager for the RPCGB.

Currently, District 1 consists of only 254 residents. Citywide, there are only 260 non-white residents, making it impossible to maintain a minority-majority district even if it were possible to include all non-white residents in one geographic district.

“It’s almost a question of, are you going to violate federal law or are you going to violate state law,” Isom said. “The fed doesn’t pay much attention to the state code, so it’s conceivable that District 1 could have a 10 percent deviation instead of a 5 percent.”

“We don’t have to submit a minority-majority district. But what’s the likelihood of getting sued? Pretty good,” Mayor Butch Isley said. “You’re going to get sued either way you go.”

“You’ve got to protect that minority district, that’s what I’ve heard the number one concern is,” Councilman Brian Skinner explained.

In an effort to maintain the majority-minority district, the city council decided to leave District 1 mostly intact, while adding in members on census blocks that had previously been divided oddly, such as neighborhoods where each side of the street have different representatives, to add to the district’s numbers without disrupting the racial balances of the district. The remaining population of the city will be divided between the other six seats. District 1 will consist of roughly 300 residents, while the other districts will contain 630 residents each.

While the council decided their course of action is the best way to proceed currently, it’s not guaranteed to be accepted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Any census blocks that are split differently through the re-districting process may need to be explained and could be open to criticism, and the population disparity could also be an issue.

“You can basically do something like this and see if it gets kicked back, or you open yourself up to potential lawsuits on the other side,” Isley said.

If the plan is not able to pass, the city will have to find an alternative method, such as turning to an alternative voting plan.

“It may be impossible to maintain a seven-member, single-district voting plan and avoid lawsuits,” Isom said.

The council has scheduled another work session on the matter for 5 p.m. Aug. 1, and expects to schedule a public hearing for September. The proposal will be submitted by Oct. 1. They expect to hear back from the Department of Justice by approximately Dec. 1, which would allow them enough time to submit and process another plan by the Feb. 28 deadline, should the first plan be rejected.

In other actions:

— The council recognized the city’s 8 and Under boys baseball team, which will play at the 8 and Under World Series this weekend in South Haven, Miss. The council also donated $1,200 to the city’s Chamber of Commerce, which will be routed to the team to defray costs of the tournament.

— An off-premises beer and wine license was approved for Mazhor Investments, Inc., which owns the Springville Texaco station. The council decided, due to the process of approving this permit, that the city clerk and chief of police need to rewrite the city’s liquor license ordinance. Currently, the ordinance requires a criminal background check for liquor license applicants, which is no longer allowed, as permitting is a civil and not a criminal process. The only acceptable check is a statewide background check, which the chief of police is researching.

— The construction of the Springville Sports Complex was approved to be divided into three phases: Site preparation, construction, and landscaping.