To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Kristin Zagurski, Senior Management Analyst
Title
Discussion/Direction: Initial Results of 2015 Community Survey
Body
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Executive Summary
The Town's 2015 Mayor Projects Work Program calls for a community survey to be conducted and completed by July for presentation to Town Council. To help accomplish that project, the Town retained the firm Northwest Research Group.
Northwest conducted a statistically valid survey beginning April 10 and ending May 3 for residents and May 10 for local Town-licensed businesses. Northwest has completed initial analysis of the data collected from residents. Results overall were very favorable, with the Town receiving a very strong 4-Star Rating overall in Northwest's 5-Star Rating system, and with most comparable items showing improvements from the 2013 community survey. 713 residents completed the survey, for an overall statistical confidence of plus or minus 3.6 percent.
An overview of Northwest's major findings is contained in the Executive Summary in Attachment A. Northwest Project Director Nathan Wiggin will go over the findings and entertain questions from Council regarding the data at the June 16 Council meeting. A full report on the survey is anticipated to be posted to CRgov.com/2015survey by the end of the month.
Based upon the data, Northwest has suggested several areas in which Council might wish to invest (see Page 27 of the attachment). One area, which is key to improving the Town's 5-Star rating, is seeking residents' involvement and input. Since the beginning of this survey process, it has been staff's intention to work with Northwest to develop a plan for qualitative research to delve deeper into key topics identified during the quantitative survey. As staff works with Northwest's team to finalize the full report on the survey, they'll also be finalizing a plan for this subsequent work, which will be brought back to Council for consideration for implementation during the remaining months of 2015.
Discussion
The resident survey generally took respondents just under 30 minutes to complete and included questions in these areas:
· General questions about the quality of life and quality and value of services in Town and a question regarding whether the Town is headed in the right direction
Nearly all of the residents surveyed said the quality of life in Castle Rock meets or exceeds expectations, and the mean rating in that area held steady from 2013. Nine out of 10 residents said the quality of services the Town provides exceeds or greatly exceeds expectations. Similarly strong, eight out of 10 residents surveyed said they are getting their money's worth for their tax dollars. Opinions were more mixed regarding the direction the Town is headed, with three in four saying the Town is heading in the right direction but one in five saying it's headed in the wrong direction. This perception does not seem connected to opinions surrounding the Town's strategic priorities, as residents surveyed believed all six priorities are on the right path and are leading the Town in the right direction. This theme is one suggested for exploration during subsequent qualitative research.
· Questions regarding Castle Rock as a place to live, including about important issues in and aspects of the Town, as well as regarding how well the Town keeps residents informed and how likely residents are to recommend Castle Rock as a place to live, work, visit, raise children, retire and do business
Residents provided good to excellent ratings regarding most aspects of living in Castle Rock, with ratings for all comparable attributes now above average and increased from 2013. Respondents identified sprawl/growth and traffic/congestion as the biggest issues facing Castle Rock when asked an open-ended question about that topic. Residents believe the Town does a good job at keeping them informed but could use some improvement in seeking their involvement and input, offering further support for the planned qualitative research. They are very likely to recommend the Town as a place to live and raise children but not very likely to recommend it as a place to work or do business. Business owners might have different views in these areas, which will be contained in the full report.
· Evaluations of specific aspects of Town services including Police, Fire/EMS, Roads/Public Works, Water/Utilities and Parks and Recreation
Respondents indicated they feel very safe in Castle Rock and are pleased with the Police and Fire departments. They said the Town does well at providing walking/biking paths, maintaining clean streets and plowing the roads but are less happy with the increasing congestion on the streets. Residents are increasingly pleased with the Utilities Department, though more education could be useful surrounding the Town's long-term water issues. Finally, residents are increasingly pleased with the Town's parks and the Recreation Center and also rate the new Miller Activity Complex high all around.
· Thoughts regarding the Town's strategic priorities, how growth in Castle Rock should be managed and regarding community character and special events
Strategic priorities are covered in the first section of this discussion. As the population in Castle Rock expands, residents believe maintaining the Town's infrastructure, including improving the downtown core, is important. Nine out of 10 respondents said Castle Rock has some or a strong sense of community, and a majority of residents agreed that special events serve a positive purpose for the Town and are a good use of the Town's money and resources.
· Demographics and other general information
This year's survey report is different than in years past in a couple of key regards 1) results in this report include residents' responses only, whereas 2013 results represent the opinions of both residents and business owners, because they were asked the same questions; and 2) results in this report are sometimes broken down by Town Council election district - this option was not available with previous vendors. Additionally, throughout the report are benchmarks with all cities nationally, as well as with other cities with a similar 5-Star Rating. These benchmarks help provide context for the Town's results.
Another aspect in which this year's results report is different than in years past is that qualitative research has yet to be completed. So, while we have ample empirical data, we do not have yet contextual data to provide the "why" behind the responses. A presentation outlining suggestions for qualitative research and associated costs is anticipated in the coming months. The full report on the survey will, however, include details on the other key findings identified on Page 33 of the executive summary. Staff anticipates having that posted at CRgov.com/2015survey by the end of June.
Attachment
Attachment A: Executive Summary of Survey Results