Hundreds of Noblesville residents may recall taking a city-issued survey this past October. The results are finally in, and they are expected to be presented Tuesday evening.
The city distributed 1,200 surveys by mail in the fall and invited any other community members interested in answering its questions to do so online. The five-page 2010 Citizen Survey asked residents about their overall satisfaction with city services and some personal tendencies, and after weeks of collecting and analyzing the data, the results should be presented at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
The level of participation in the survey is said to be good. Councilman Greg O’Connor said that 337 of 1,200 surveys distributed by mail were returned, and while 28 percent may not sound impressive, he said the out-of-state company that conducted the research views this as a high percentage.
The survey asked citizens to rate Noblesville in a number of areas including employment opportunities, suitability for raising children, safety, and nearly every city service. Survey takers also were asked about their personal tendencies. For example, they were asked to recount the number of times in the last 12 months that they had visited parks and libraries, attended public meetings, used the city’s Web site or read a local newspaper, among other activities.
The survey also included questions which may have appeared unrelated to the rest, such as “If you have both a cell phone and a land line, which do you consider your primary telephone number?” However, new Council President Mark Boice said most of the questions came from a list the research company recommends using. Most of the survey followed this template, but a few questions specific to Noblesville were included, such as one asking citizens to rate their level of support for a City Civic Center “to enhance the downtown nighttime activities with theatre, conference meeting rooms and youth activity space.”
Boice said the survey results will be used by the community vision committee, which he said wants citizens’ input as it plans for Noblesville’s long-term future.
Detlef Rathmann, who chairs the committee, will give an overview presentation of the survey results near the beginning of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Detailed results will be included in the next issue of Current in Noblesville.