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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5H Community Survey O� p ��+� t� � v � 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 � .II � , NESp ,Sq' CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: December 9, 2013 AGENDA #: 5H PREPARED BY: Frank Boyles, City Manager PRESENTED BY: Frank Boyles AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A COMMUNITY SURVEY DISCUSSION: Introduction This agenda item requests Council approval to proceed with the community survey. Hi StON The City Council has adopted a practice of conducting periodic (every two or three years) scientific community surveys. The purpose of the survey is: 1. Receive feedback from a scientific sample of 400 people in our community regarding in excess of 138 service, program and perception areas. 2. Provide information for the City to conform to the State's Standard Measures Program. 3. Act as a database for the City's update of its 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan. 4. Track reliable and valid changes in perceptions and concerns over time. Current Circumstances The survey (attached) which has been administered consists of about 138 questions covering virtually all aspects of City services, programs and related perceptions. To prepare for the update of the 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan next spring, it is appropriate that the survey be conducted now. Winter / spring is the right time of year as people tend to be available to participate as part of the sample. By conducting the survey at the end / beginning of the year, we can spread the costs over two years as well. Conclusion The Council should decide if it wishes to proceed with the survey as proposed. ISSUES: Eight of the ten State standard measures which we annually report come from this survey. Each year the State has provided $3,191.44 to help us defray the cost of data collection. Therefore, $6,382.88 of the survey costs are paid by the State in the form of their 2012 and 2013 contributions for participating in the Standard Measures Program. We could switch to another data source, but we will lose our ability to track answers to these questions over the years. Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com Attached is a copy of the 2011 survey and a summary of the survey results for Council information. I have asked Dr. Bill Morris and Peter Leatherman to be present at the City Council's work session on December 9 so the City Council can learn more about the survey, ask questions and provide input on the type of questions you would like to include in this year's community survey. One or more work sessions in spring will be devoted to discussing the results of the survey and implications for the staff and Council. The information generated is also shared at City Council meetings, cable TV and City publications. FINANCIAL Not to exceed $20,000 to be paid half in 2013 and half in 2014. I M PACT: ALTERNATIVES: 1. Adopt the attached resolution authorizing the administration of the community survey. 2. Take no action and provide staff with direction. RECOMMENDED Alternative #1. MOTION: 2 � DECISION RESOURCES, LTD. CITY OF PRIOR LAKE 3128 Dean Court RESIDENTIAL SURVEY Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416 FINAL NOVEMBER 2011 Hello, I'm of Decision Resources, Ltd., a nationwide polling firm located in Minneapolis. We've been retained by the City of Prior Lake to speak with a random sample of residents about issues facing the city. The survey is being taken because your city representatives and staff are interested in your opin- ions and suggestions. I want to assure you that all individual responses will be held strictly confidential; only summaries of the entire sample will be reported. (DO NOT PAUSE) 1. Approximately how many years have LESS THAN TWO YEARS....6% have you lived in Prior Lake? TWO TO FIVE YEARS.....12% 5.1 TO TEN YEARS......27% 10.1 TO TWENTY YEARS..24% 20.1 TO THIRTY YEARS..17o OVER THIRTY YEARS.....150 DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....Oo 2. How would you rate the quality of EXCELLENT .............300 life in Prior Lake -- excellent, GOOD ..................64$ .� good, only fair, or poor? ONLY FAIR ..............60 POOR ...................Oo DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0% 3. What do you like MOST about living DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....lo in Prior Lake? LOCATION ..............240 SMALL TOWN FEEL.......34% QUIET ..................60 SAFE ...................5% SCHOOLS ................2% NEIGHBORHOOD...........7$ THE LAKE ..............10� PEOPLE .................70 PARKS AND RECREATION...3$ ACCESS TO METRO AREA...2o � 1 4. In general, what do you think is DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....11$ � the most serious issue facing the CRIME ..................2� community today? GROWTH ................14% TAXES .................27� SCHOOLS ...............lOs TRAFFIC ................90 LACK OF COMMERCIAL.....80 LACK OF INDUSTRY.......3� STREET MAINTENANCE.....40 CITY SPENDING..........8% SCATTERED ..............4$ 5. How would you rate the general EXCELLENT .............140 sense of community that Prior Lake GOOD ..................72% residents feel -- excellent, good, ONLY FAIR .............12% only fair, or poor? POOR ...................2� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0$ 6. Now which of the following state- STATEMENT A...........36$ ments comes closest to your STATEMENT B...........53� feelings? STATEMENT C...........11% A. I feel a real tie to the entire NONE ...................10 Prior Lake community. DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� B. I have strong ties to my neigh- ^ borhood, but weak ties to the rest of Prior Lake. C. I have neither strong ties to my neighborhood nor the comm- unity as a whole. Changing focus.... 7. When you compare the property EXCELLENT ..............6% taxes you pay and the quality of GOOD ..................50� city services you receive, would ONLY FAIR .............34a you rate the general value as ex- POOR ...................4a cellent, good, only fair or poor? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....60 The City of Prior Lake reviews the cost effectiveness of the services it provides to residents. Your opinions on this portion of the survey are particularly important to decision-makers. I am going to read you a list of some of the current services either directly provided by the city or partially subsidized by it. For each one, please rate each service as excellent, good, only fair or poor. If you have no opinion, just say so.... � 2 � EXCL GOOD FAIR POOR D.K. 8. Police service? 41� 520 3� 1$ 3� 9. Fire service? 43% 49$ 3� 0� 5� 10. Water quality in lakes? 6� 43$ 33� 13� 6% 11. Quality of drinking water? 8� 53� 26� 13� 1% 12. Animal control? 15� 63� 12� 2� 90 13. Park and trail maintenance? 25� 67� 40 0� 4� 14. Recreation programs? 14� 69� 50 0� 12� 15. Building inspection and permits? 7� 69% 8� 2� 150 16. 911 emergency response time to calls? 30� 55� 30 0� 13% 17. Zoning code enforcement? 30 73� 9� 2� 13� 18. Economic development services? 3� 720 11� 3� 12� 19. Transit services, such as the local Laker Link and the Blue Express? 10� 58� 15% 30 150 20. Neighborhood street lighting? 9$ 70� 150 4� 2� 21. City communications, such as the city newsletter and website? 13� 70� 9% 2� 70 22. Sanitary sewer service? 11� 83� 4� 0� 3% For the next two city services, please consider only city streets. ^ In particular, do not consider State Highway 13 or County Roads 12, 21, 42, 44, 82 and 83, as these are not maintained by the City of Prior Lake. EXCL GOOD FAIR POOR D.K. 23. City street sweeping? 20$ 69$ 8$ 1� 2� 24. City street repair and maintenance? 13� 59� 21� 7$ 1� 25. Snow and ice removal? 21� 63� 12$ 4� 1� Now, I would like to re-read you that list of city services. For each one, please tell me if you consider it be an essential city service, a very important city service, a somewhat important city service, or not a very important service at all. ESS VRI SMI NVI DKR 26. Police service? 67� 33� 0$ 0� Oo 27. Fire service? 70� 30$ 1� 0� Oo 28. Water quality in lakes? 29$ 610 9� 1� 0� 29. Quality of drinking water? 42$ 53� 5� 1� 0� 30. Animal control? 17% 60� 22� 1� Og 31. Park and trail maintenance? 16� 59g 240 1� 0� 32. Recreation programs? 14� 54� 24% 7� 1� 33. Building inspection and permits? 18� 59� 15% 6� 2% � 34. 911 emergency response time to calls? 46� 50� 4% 0$ 0� 3 ESS VRI SMI NVI DKR � 35. Zoning code enforcement? 16� 60% 18$ 4� 3� 36. Economic development services? 180 56g 16� 8� 30 37, Transit services, such as the local Laker Link and the B1ue Express? 21� 49� 21� 10� 1$ 38. Neighborhood street lighting? 23� 64� 11� 2$ 1$ 39. City communications, such as the city newsletter and website? 19� 56� 19� 5% 1� 40. Sanitary sewer service? 30� 66� 3� 10 lo 41. City street sweeping? 23% 64� 12% 1� 10 42. City street repair and maintenance? 470 51% 2� 0� 0� 43. Snow and ice removal? 50� 50s 1� 0� 0� Now, for the final time 1 am going to read the list of city services. Given the current economic and financial environment, the city may have to make some additional tough choices in the next couple of years with respect to scaling back or eliminating certain city services. For each of the following please tell me if you would support an increase in funding for the service, keep the funding for the service at its current level, make cuts in the funding for the service, or eliminate funding for the service. (ROTATE) � INC CUR CUT ELM DKR 44. Police service? 6$ 940 1� 0� 0� 45. Fire service? 6� 940 1� 0� 0% 46. Water quality in lakes? 23% 75g 1� 0� 1a 47. Quality of drinking water? 24� 740 2� 0� Oo 48. Animal control? 30 820 14� 1� 1� 49. Park and trail maintenance? Oo 87% 12� 0� lo 50. Recreation programs? 2� 83� 15� Oo 1% 51. Building inspection and permits? 1� 850 11� 10 3% 52. 911 emergency response time to calls? 4� 940 3� Oo lo 53. Zoning code enforcement? 10 80% 150 l0 3% 54. Economic development services? 2� 800 15� l0 30 55. Transit services, such as the local Laker Link and the Blue Express? 9� 76� 12� 2� 2% 56. Neighborhood street lighting? 6� 86� 6� 1� 1� 57. City communications, such as the city newsletter and website? 2% 83� 14� 10 0� 58. Sanitary sewer service? 3� 930 5g 0� 1� 59. City street sweeping? 7� 86� 7$ 1� Oo 60. City street repair and maintenance? 17� 83� 1� 0% 0� 61. Snow and ice removal? 130 86� 2$ 0� 0% � 4 � Moving on.... 62. How would you rate the general EXCELLENT .............18� appearance of City of Prior Lake GOOD ..................750 -- excellent, good, only fair, or ONLY FAIR ..............7% or poor? POOR ...................1a DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0% 63 . Now, how would you rate the gener- EXCELLENT .............23� al appearance of your neighborhood GOOD ..................69� -- excellent, good, only fair, or ONLY FAIR ..............8� or poor? POOR ...................1� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0$ For each of the following, please tell me whether the City is too tough, about right, or not tough enough in enforcing city codes on the nuisances. T00 ABO NOT DK/ TOU RIG TOU REF 64. Animal control? 7� 77$ 9$ 7� 65. Junk cars? 4� 79� 14% 4� ^ 66. Messy yards? 2� 77� 18� 3� 67. Noise? 3� 84� 110 3� 68. Construction site management? 4� 78� 8� 11� 69. Exterior home maintenance? 30 79� 14� 3� 70. Snow shoveling of side- walks? 30 77� 16s 5� 71. Maintenance and appearance of property line fences? 30 830 10� 5� 72. Prevention of soil erosion? 2a 81� 60 12� 73. Storage of recreational equipment, such as boats, snowmobiles, ATVs and personal watercraft? 9� 78$ 90 4� 74. Signs for real estate, yard sales and elections, in the right of way or along city streets? 130 77� 6o 4� Moving on.... 75. Other than voting, do you feel YES ...................600 that if you wanted to, you could NO ....................320 ^� have a say about the way the City DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....80 of Prior Lake runs things? 5 76. How much do you feel you know GREAT DEAL............10� � about the work of the Mayor and FAIR AMOUNT...........51$ City Council -- a great deal, a VERY LITTLE...........38� fair amount, or very little? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1$ 77. From what you know, do you ap- STRONGLY APPROVE......11$ prove or disapprove of the job SOMEWHAT APPROVE......48� the Mayor and City Council are SOMEWHAT DISAPPROVE...17� doing? (WAIT FOR RESPONSE) And do STRONGLY DISAPPROVE....60 you feel strongly that way? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....18� IF OPINIONS ARE STATED IN QUESTION #77, ASK: (N=327) 78. Why do you feel that way DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....4a about the Mayor and City GOOD JOB ..............27� Council? LISTEN .................9� POOR JOB ...............2$ DO NOT LISTEN..........50 COULD IMPROVE.........14% ISSUES .................5� SPENDING ..............110 NO PROBLEMS...........11� NEED MORE BUSINESS.....5$ TOO MUCH GROWTH........5� ^ SCATTERED ..............3$ 79. From what you have seen or heard, EXCELLENT ..............6� how would you rate the job per- GOOD ..................72� formance of the Prior Lake City ONLY FAIR .............15� staff -- excellent, good, only POOR ...................lo fair, or poor? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....6� 80. During the past year, have you NO ....................58� contacted by telephone, in person, YES/TELEPHONE.........24� or electronically any City staff YES/IN PERSON.........15� member? YES/ELECTRONICALLY.....30 DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....2$ IF "YES," ASK: (N=163) Thinking about that last contact, for each of the following characteristics, please rate the Prior Lake staff as excel lent, good, only fair, or poor.... n 6 '� EXCL GOOD FAIR POOR DK/R 81. Courtesy and helpful- ness of the Information Desk receptionist? 31% 58a 9� l� 1% 82. Ease of reaching a department staff member who could help you? 290 53� 16$ 1� 10 83. Courtesy and helpfulness of the department staff? 310 52$ 13� 40 0% 84. Overall, how would you rate the EXCELLENT ..............4$ financial management of the City GOOD ..................50� of Prior Lake -- excellent, good, ONLX FAIR .............29� only fair or poor? POOR ...................8� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....9% 85. Do you think the city is doing too T00 MUCH ...............5� much, not enough or about the ABOUT RIGHT AMOUNT....61� right amount financially to plan NOT ENOUGH............24� ', for Prior Lake's future? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....11� ! ^ Moving on.... 86. Are there areas in the City of YES ....................2� Prior Lake where you do not feel NO ....................970 safe? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1� IF "YES," ASK: (N=9) 87. In which areas do you not feel safe? EVERYWHERE, 11%; PARKS, 330; LOW INCOME HOUSING AREAS, 11�; BY LAKE, 11$; BUSY ROADS, 11$; CASINO, 11�; TOWER STREET, 11$. 88. What would make you feel more safe? UNSURE, 11%; MORE PATROLS, 22%; MORE LIGHTS, 22$; LESS PEOPLE LOITERING, 11$; NO LOW INCOME HOUSING, 11�; MORE SIDEWALKS, 22�. I would like to read you a short list of public safety concerns..... � 7 89. Please tell me which one you consider to be the greatest � concern in Prior Lake? If you feel that none of these prob- lems are serious in Prior Lake, just say so. (READ LIST) Violent crime ...............................1� Traffic speeding ...........................15% Distracted driving .........................25� Drugs.......................................8� Youthgangs .................................1� Business crimes, such as shop- lifting and check fraud ................3� Residential crimes, such as burglary, theft, and vandalism........15� ALL EQUALLY .................................5� NONE OF THE ABOVE ..........................26� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED ..........................2� 90. How would you rate the amount of T00 MUCH ...............3� police patrolling in your neigh- ABOUT RIGHT AMOUNT....79$ borhood -- would you say they do NOT ENOUGH............18� too much, about the right amount, DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� or not enough? Let's talk about economic development for a few minutes..... ^ 91. Do you feel that Prior Lake resi- YES ...................57� dents have an adequate opportunity NO ....................28� to provide input into the zoning DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....16� and land use decision-making process? 92. Do you support or oppose the City STRONGLY SUPPORT......16$ providing financial incentives to SUPPORT ...............52% attract specific types of develop- OPPOSE ................14� ment? (WAIT FOR RESPONSE) Do you STRONGLY OPPOSE........7� feel strongly that way? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....11� The City has an objective of 50% of its residents working in Prior Lake by 2030. 93. Do you agree or disagree with this STRONGLY AGREE........15� objective? (WAIT FOR RESPONSE) AGREE .................48� Do you feel strongly that way? DISAGREE ..............16� STRONGLY DISAGREE......6� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....15� � 8 � A business incubator provides support and mentoring to small businesses to help the businesses during their start up period. Typically, small businesses occupy one building to share services, such as telephone and internet service at a reduced rental rate. After a set amount of time, the business would leave the office space, but hopefully remain in the city providing jobs for the community. The City of Prior Lake is considering supporting business incubators. 94. Would you favor or oppose the City STRONGLY AGREE........24% supporting business incubators? AGREE .................48a (WAIT FOR RESPONSE) Do you feel DISAGREE ...............90 strongly that way? STRONGLY DISAGREE......5% DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....15� Fiber-optic high capacity broadband service provides a wide array of services for businesses and residents, with faster download and upload speeds and expanded content capacity for education, finance, entertainment and medical information. 95. How important do you think improv- VERY IMPORTANT........41� ed Internet access and speeds are SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT....35� , to the recruitment and retention NOT T00 IMPORTANT.....110 ', ^ of businesses in the City of Prior NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT...4� Lake -- is it very important, DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....10� somewhat important, not too impor- tant or not at all important? 96. Which of the following do you OPTION A ..............34% think is the proper role of the OPTION B ..............34� City of Prior Lake with respect to OPTION C ..............120 fiber optic, high capacity broad- NONE (VOL) .............60 band service? (ROTATE} DON'T KNOW/REFUSED....14� A) Continue to identify service gaps and opportunities, but let the private sector alone deter- mine these services; B) Consider public-private part- nerships to increase service availability; or C) The City should own its own network and provide this service either as a wholesaler or retailer. Turning to park and recreation issues..... The Prior Lake Park System is composed of 51 smaller neighborhood ^ parks designed to serve residents within a one-third mile radius, four larger community parks containing ballfields and other 9 athletic amenities, two open space parks which accommodate passive � recreation, a trail system and two swimming beaches. For each of the following facilities, first, tell me if you or members of your household have used it during the past year. Then, for those you have used, please rate them as excellent, good, only fair or poor. If you have no opinion, just say so.... NOT EXC G00 FAI P00 DKR 97. Smaller neighborhood parks? 22� 330 43g 2% 0� 0� 98. Larger community parks, such as Lakefront, Memorial, Ponds, and Ryan? 18% 44� 37$ 2� Oo 0� 99. Open space parks, such as Wood- view Park, Deerfield or Raspberry Ridge? 33� 30� 34� 3o Oo 0� 100. Trails and sidewalks? 20% 28� 48� 30 0� 1� 101. Watzl's and Sand Point beaches? 31� 30� 36� 3$ Oo 1� 102. Overall, would you rate the park EXCELLENT .............250 and recreational facilities in GOOD ..................69� Prior Lake as excellent, good, ONLY FAIR ..............4� only fair, or poor? POOR ...................0� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....10 ^ 103. Do you think the city has too many T00 MANY ...............8� parks, too few or about the right T00 FEW ................3� amount? ABOUT RIGHT AMOUNT....87� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1$ 104. Are there any park and recreational facilities missing from the community you would like to see in Prior Lake? (IF "YES," ASK:) What are they? NO, 89a; DOG PARK, 2�; SWIMMING POOL, 4$; MORE TRAILS, 1$; COMMUNITY CENTER, 1$; SCATTERED, 3�. 105. Have you or members of your house- YES ...................41� hold participated in city recrea- NO ....................59� tion programs during the past two DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� years? IF "YES," ASK: (N=164) 106. How would you rate your ex- EXCELLENT .............32� perience with the City GOOD ..................65� recreation programs -- ex- ONLY FAIR ..............2$ cellent, good, only fair or POOR ...................0� � poor? DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1� 10 � 107. Have you or members of your house- YES ...................20� hold participated in any programs NO ....................80$ offered by sports associations in DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� the City of Prior Lake in the past two years? IF "YES," ASK: (N=82) 108. Do you think the cost to parti- TOO HIGH ..............29� cipate in sports association ABOUT RIGHT...........67� programs in the city is too DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....4$ high or are the cost about right? 109. Have you or members of your house- YES ...................63� hold participated in a community NO ....................37� celebration or event, such as Jazz DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� Fest, Lakefront Days or Lakefront Dazzle, during the past two years? IF "YES," ASK: (N=252) 110. How would you rate your ex- EXCELLENT .............27� ^ perience with the City event GOOD ..................69� -- excellent, good, only ONLY FAIR ..............4� fair, or poor? POOR ...................0% DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� As you may know, almost every Saturday morning there is a Farmer's Market in Downtown Prior Lake on Main Street between Dakota Street and County Road 21. 111. Do you think this is the right YES ...................80� location for the Farmer's Market? NO ....................12� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....8� IF "N0," ASK: 112. Where do you think the Farmer's Market should be locat ed? UNSURE, 15$; PREVIOUS LOCATION, 150; LAKEFRONT PARK, 13$; LESSY BUSY AREA, 35�; SCATTERED PARKS, 9�; SCATTERED AREAS, 13$. Moving on.... � 11 For each of the following communication channels, please tell me � whether it is a major source, minor source or no source at all about Prior Lake news, activities, events or City policies? MAJ MIN NOT DKR 113. The "Prior Lake American?" 71% 22� 60 1� 114. Government access cable television channels 8, 15 or 81? 12a 29� 59� 1� 115. "Wavelength," the city newsletter? 40$ 45� 16� 0% 116. Co-workers/Neighbors? 220 580 200 0� 117. The Star Tribune? 10$ 34% 560 1$ 118. The City's website? 24% 34� 420 0� 119. City's e-mailed newsletters? 12� 190 69% 10 120. The City's Facebook page or Twitter? 40 11a 85°s lo 121. Webstreaming of city meetings? 6% 16� 770 20 122. If you could choose the best way for you to receive informa- tion about City government and the issues facing the commun ity, what would it be? CITY NEWSLETTER, 14�; PRIOR LAKE AMERICAN, 44$; MAILINGS, 6$; E-MAILED NEWSLETTER, 11�; WEBSITE, 18�; WORD OF MOUTH, ^ 4�; SCATTERED, 3$. 123. Does your household currently sub- CABLE .................60� scribe to cable television, satel- SATELLITE .............30� lite television or neither? NEITHER ...............10� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0$ IF "CABLE," ASK: 124. How would you rate the qual- EXCELLENT ..............7% of service provided by your GOOD ..................54$ cable company -- excellent, ONLY FAIR .............260 good, only fair or poor? POOR ..................13� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0� 125. How satisfied are you with VERY SATISFIED.........9$ your choice of cable SOMEWHAT SATISFIED....60$ services -- very satisfied, NOT TOO SATISFIED.....16$ somewhat satisfied, not too NOT AT ALL SATISFIED..14� satisfied, or not at all sat- DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1� isfied? � 12 � 126. How do you normally access the In- DSL ...................27� ternet AT HOME -- DSL, broadband BROADBAND CABLE.......42� cable, satellite, wireless, dial-up SATELLITE ..............5g modem or do you not have access WIRELESS ..............14� to the Internet? DIAL-UP MODEM..........2a NO ACCESS TO INTERNET.11g IF INTERNET ACCESS, ASK: (N=356) 127. How satisfied are you with VERY SATISFIED........24� the dependability of your SOMEWHAT SATISFIED....59� internet service -- very sat- NOT T00 SATISFIED......9� isfied, somewhat satisfied, NOT AT ALL SATISFIED...7$ not too satisfied or not at DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1� all satisfied? 128. How satisfied are you with VERY SATISFIED........24$ the speed of your internet SOMEWHAT SATISFIED....60o I service -- very satisfied, NOT T00 SATISFIED......9� somewhat satisfied, not too NOT AT ALL SATISFIED...6� satisfied, or not at all sat- DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1� isfied? � 129. Overall, how would you rate the EXCELLENT ..............5a job the City does in communicating GOOD ..................730 with residents -- excellent, good, ONLY FAIR .............20� only fair or poor? POOR ...................2� DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....1a Now, just a few more questions for demographic purposes.... Could you please tell me how many people in each of the following age groups live in your household. Please include yourself in the proper age group. Let's start oldest to youngest.... 130. First, persons 65 or over? NONE ..................83� ONE....................6$ TWO OR MORE...........11� 131. Adults, 18 to 64? NONE ..................14% ONE ...................140 TWO ...................63� THREE OR MORE.........10$ 132. Children under 18 years of aqe? NONE ..................58� ONE...................12� TWO ...................20$ ^ THREE OR MORE.........10� 13 133. Do you own or rent your present OWN ...................82� ^ residence? RENT ..................180 DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....0$ IF "OWN," ASK: (N=328) 134. Which of the following cate- UNDER $200,000........17°s gories would contain the $200,000-$300,000.....380 approximate value of your $300,000-$400,000.....28% residential property -- under $400,000-$500,000......7% $200,000, $200,000-$300,000, OVER $500,000..........4� $300,000-$400,000, $400,000 DON'T KNOW .............1� -$500,000, or over $500,000? REFUSED ................5� 135. What is your age, please? 18-24 ..................60 25-34 .................160 35-44 .................220 45-54 .................21% 55-64 .................200 65 AND OVER...........150 136. Finally, thinking about your STATEMENT A............3� household finances, how would you STATEMENT B...........33� describe your financial situation, STATEMENT C...........48$ ^ would you say that -- STATEMENT D...........15% A) Your monthly expenses are ex- DON'T KNOW/REFUSED.....20 ceeding your income; B) You are meeting your monthly expenses but are putting aside little or no savings; C) You are managing comfortably while putting some money aside; D) Managing very well? 137. Gender MALE ..................49� FEMALE ................51� 138. PRECINCT PRECINCT 1............12% PRECINCT 2 .............9°s PRECINCT 3............170 PRECINCT 4............16$ PRECINCT 5............14$ PRECINCT 6A...........11$ PRECINCT 6B............9� PRECINCT 7............12$ n 14 �-- Residentiai Survey Dr. Bill Morris Comments We spoke with 400 randomly-selected households across the City of Prior Lake. The results are projectable to within +/- 5% in 95 out of 100 cases. The non-response rate was very, very (ow at 3.5% and indicated an interest in taking the survey. QUALITY OF LIFE 94% percent of your residents rated the quality of life here as excellent or good. 6% rated it only fair or poor. The 94% certainly places the City of Prior Lake within the top quartile of suburbs across the Metro area. The 6% percent dissatisfied with the quality of life is among the lowest that we have in the Metro area, in fact. 30% excellent is an outstanding rating, but in line with what we've found over the past 12 year here. The 64% good also pretty much in (ine. Residents are generally very happy. In fact, they among the happiest residents with respect to their qua{ity of life that we find across the Metro during the past decade. LIKE M05T ABOUT CITY What do people like most about living in the city? Well, 34%told us the small tawn feel, small town ambiance, if we want to call it that. 24% indicated the location; that the location was convenient to everything that mattered to them. And 10% indicated the lake. Now, if we take a look at the chart, which indicates a'99 study and the 2005 study, we can see first that location tias become somewhat more important, moving from 18 to 24%a; the small town feel has gone ._ down from 40 to 34%; and the lake also has gone down by 6 points between this survey and the last survey. In general, res+dents separate into two groups: groups to see and prize the small town aspects of the community versus thase who put a value more on what we call the suburban attributes of a community. But nevertheless, if we take a look at the results overall, we can see that most people do tend to mention the small town aspects of the community. When we looked at vvhen the residents arrived in the city, what we found is that those living here under 10 years and those living here over 20-30 years really shared the same perceptions. That is, they tended to view the small town atmosphere here as being the prime characteristic that they valued the most. It was the group in the middle that tended to take a look at �vhat �ve call more suburban attributes such as how well located it is, to jobs, groceries, and other aspects of their lives. MOST SERIOUS ISSUE Here there has been a very significant change over the past six years. In 2005, 35% percent pointed to growth, in fact the pace of growth. That now has gone down to 14%. Taxes was at 16% six years ago, that's now up to 27%. And that increase is one we've found right across the Metropolitan area with respect to concern about taxes. Other things that came up were city spending at 8%, which quadrupled from 2%. Traffic and lack of cornmercial development were also mentioned by smaller numbers: 9 and 8% respectively. But, in general, the two top responses in both the 2005 and 2011 survey are growth and taxes. How is this similar to other city across the Metropolitan area? Very, very similar. Taxes is usually the number one concern; and growth, whether it be pace or aspects of growth, the kinds of things that people would generally see attracted to the community, ranks second. Overall then, the City now seems to have the characteristics of a city that has gone into Type II development. And by Type II development, we mean the pace of growth is no longer considered as broadly alarming as it once was, and residents are far more concerned now with the types of things that are being brought into the cornmunity. COMMUNIN TIES Here �ve find some increases in trends that have been evidenced in eariier surveys. So, do people have a cioser tie to the entire City, their neighborhood or neither? Well, one thing cleariy: the number of people �,vho say neither, that have a�,veak tie to the community and to their neighborhood has certainly gone dawn. It is half of Lvhat it was in 1999, from 23% to 11%. The neighborhood is becoming more central, 53% now indicating that's their closest tie, and 36% indicating they have a tie to the entire city. That 36% in particular, is remarkable in a 3` and 4 ring community. That is, that often tends to be the case in suburbs that are much closer to the Metropolitan area tivith far more stable populations who have lived in their cities for a much longer period of time. Now what about the sense of community here? 86% rate the sense of community positive. Only 14% disagree with that. i"hat 86% is among the top ratings that �ve have in the Metropolitan area. The 86% reflects that people feel as part of the quality of life: that people are nice, that they respect one another, and certainly they feel welcome in this community. That, in itself, is one of the rnajor key facets of community identity overall in Prior Lake. VALUE OF CITY SERVICES 56% rate the value of City services excellent or good. 38% rate them only fair or poor. And its value is relative to the amount of property taxes being paid by the individual. That 56% is running higher than the norm in the Metropolitan area. In the Metro area, we currently have about 40-45% indicating a positive rating of the value of City services, and a 50%a majority indicating a negative value on city services. That isn't the case here. In fact less than 40% see a negative value. ^ But in general residents feel they are getting what they're paying for, that the city services are, in fact, very cost-effectively provided. CiTY SERVICES EVALUATION What we �,vant to see is a huge red tide (directing attention to the chart). That indicates positive evaluations of the service. As you can see, for the most part, the chart is dominated by the red. Lake �vater quality and drinking water quality are two areas where residents are more stringent in their evaluations. 46% rated lake water quality lower, while drinking tivater quality, at 39%, also had a higher negative than most of the other services. A couple other things to point out: Police service and fire service are at the top of the Metropolitan area in their ratings, as is park maintenance. If we take a look at other services, the sno�,�r and ice control also is very high. But the one that stands out in terms of being well above the norm in the Metropolitan area is city street repair and maintenance: 72% rate that service as excellent or good. The average on that across the metro area is closer to 45% �vith a majority generally indicating a disapproval of the city service. So the City's rating then, on city street repair and maintenance, is among the highest we've encountered this year across the Metropolitan area. EMPOWERMEN7 No�v turning to the operation of government: Do people feel they can have a say in the �vay things are done in the City of Prior Lake? And the answer to that is unequivocally, yes. 60% indicate that they can have a say by voting, 35% indicate no they can't have a say, and 8% are unsure. It should be noted that of that 32%, about half, when we quiz them a little bit further into why they felt that way, said they - didn't �vant a say. That they believe in small "r" representative government; and, as a result, they would elect officials, go aavay until the next election, then corne back and cast an approval or disapproval vote. �'° So you are actually looking at a fairly small percentage of residents who feel they can't have a say. it's a testimony, really, to the transparency of the government operation. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL Knowledge of the Mayor and City Council, 61% feel they know either a great deal or a fair amount. That's aimost twice as high as the norm in the metro area. People really do feel informed about the work going on a city hall. And when we asked them for an approval rating for the Mayor and City Council, 59% indicated approval with 23% indicating disapproval. 18% were uncertain. That 59 to 23%, though, is over 2:1 in terms of positive to negative, and is among the top quarter within the Metro area. A very, very good result, indeed. CITY STAFF If we turn to City staff for a moment we see almost the same patterns. 78% rate the city staff as excellent or good while 16% rate it lower. 6% are unsure. That 78% is among the highest city staff ratings that we have in the Metropolitan area; and, in fact, if we take a look at that ratio of 5:1, it stands up among the top five communities in the Metropolitan area. 5o both City government and City staff are well-viewed by residents here. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF THE CiTY This is an area that has become more controversial in the Metro area in the past couple of years. 54% regard the financial management of the City as either excellent or good. 37% rate it as either only fair or poor. The 54% is higher than the Metro average of 45%. That is, it's almost 10 points higher. But more importantly, a majority of residents here really do rate financial management satisfactorily. The norm, again, across the Metropolitan area is a dissatisfaction rating. FlNANCIAL ACITIVITIES TO PLAN FOR FUTURE Do residents feel the city is planning for the future through financial activities? 60% rate the City as about right, only 24% say not enough. That 24% is much lower than the norm across the Metro area, �vhich is 40%. So on financing then, people not only rate the management of current finances highly, they also believe that the c+ty is watching out for the future of the community. PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES Park and recreational facilities have always been very well regarded; now, they are exceptionally well regarded. 94% rate park and rec facilities, in general, as either excellent or good. That's among the highest ratings that we have in the Metro area currently. Only 4% indicate dissatisfaction. Again, the 94% is extraordinarily strong. In fact, it puts the city within the top 3 communities across the Metro. RATING THE CITY COMMUNICATIOIVS One of the things that was evident from the scoring of the City Council and the knowledge of the City Council was that people do feel informed. These ratings reflect this. 78% percent give the City either an excellent or good rating for their communications. That is up from 54%. Over 30%, then, of an increase. The negative rating on the other hand is a scant 22%. The 78%, when viewed against the norm across the Metropolitan area, which is about 55% currently, is outstanding indeed. And it just forms part of the picture, overall, that the survey tends to give about the community: And that this is a well-served community, a community that is confident about the direction in which it is going, a very informed community, which evidences trust of the City Council, the Mayor and the City staff of the actions being taken now and toward the future.