Better options for the 98th

I appreciate what a chore it has been for the redistricting committee to create these new maps, and as a Lancaster County resident, I am pleased with most of the changes that have been made to our county's districts in the preliminary maps. However, as a resident of the 98th House district, I am concerned with the lines that have been drawn for the new 98th. It makes sense to include Columbia borough with the new 41st House district, but with Columbia removed from the 98th, the territory added to the 98th under the proposed maps drastically changes the character of this district. The 98th has been a district of river towns that share a common cultural connection as river towns. Yet, the proposed 98th has lines drawn far off to the east of the current district, to include three municipalities in Lebanon County. To use some population and geography numbers to show how drastically these new lines change the district, Columbia borough has about 10,200 people and a population density of 4,300 people per square mile. The proposed area in Lebanon County to be added to the 98th district has about 11,500 people with a population density of only 220 people per square mile. Under the proposed map, 15% of the 98th House district would change from densely populated to very rural, and the proposed areas of Lebanon County do not share much cultural continuity with the rest of the 98th district. Obviously, space and population concerns require that the 98th district extend outside Lancaster County, but why not continue up the river into Dauphin County like the current 98th does, and replace Columbia borough with Middletown borough? The current 98th district extends into Dauphin County around the borough of Middletown without actually including Middletown. Expanding the 98th up the river and including the borough of Middletown instead of parts of Lebanon County makes more sense for maintaining the cultural continuity of the district as a district tied to the river. Replacing one borough with another borough also makes more sense than replacing a borough with 45 sparsely populated square miles that are not even all that geographically close to the rest of the towns in the district. By the numbers, Middletown has about 9,500 people to Columbia's 10,200, and Middletown has a population density nearly identical to Columbia's, around 4,300 people per square mile. Replacing Columbia borough with Middletown borough in the 98th district is a much more straightforward approach than the current proposal. I hope you are able to take into consideration these concerns about the 98th House district. I know through conversations that these concerns are shared by other residents of the 98th, and hopefully the legislature is able to make these changes that would create a more compact and culturally congruent 98th House district. Thank you