Chapel Hill Town Council members met at Town Hall on Monday for the first business meeting of 2016 where they discussed the Chapel Hill Community Survey which was conducted by the ETC Institute — one of the leading town and city research and data collection firms in the United States..
Since 2009, the survey has measured the general satisfaction levels among Chapel Hill residents and their perceptions of the town. The survey took place from the middle of October to the middle of November and included thirty questions, while reaching a total of 411 households.
The report was overwhelmingly positive, especially in comparison with the same satisfaction averages that exist on a national and regional scale.
The survey’s results were presented by Jason Morado, a project manager for the ETC Institute. Morado explained that the results collected are very comparable to the previous three surveys that have been conducted.
“We found that residents have a very positive perception of Chapel Hill, and a couple examples of that are 89 percent of residents are satisfied with the overall quality of life in Chapel Hill, compared to only 3 percent who were dissatisfied,” Morado said. “Also, 85 percent of residents are satisfied with the overall quality of service provided by the town, compared with only 2 percent who are dissatisfied.”
These results were backed with in-depth analyses of each question, which pitted the findings with national and regional averages. For example, out of the 54 areas that were compared, 47 of those bested United States averages by several percentage points, while 49 out of 54 bested Southeast regional averages.
While the report was well received, there were also some concerns expressed by council members. Most of the questions concerned the clarity of the questions proposed in the survey, as well as issues with the demographics that the survey targeted.
Council member Sally Greene asked if there were any surveys conducted in languages other than English. Morado explained that this method was possible, but not implemented for this survey.
Furthermore, council member Jessica Anderson inquired about the use of mail and landline dialing, which might suggest that the survey’s reach would only go as far as those with home mailing addresses and landline phone service.
Anderson’s concern was directed toward the exclusion of key demographic areas, like students and lower income adults. Morado replied that there were indeed some cell phone numbers dialed in addition to the landlines.
According to the survey, the top three concerns that Chapel Hill residents have are Chapel Hill’s flow of traffic and congestion, Chapel Hill’s ability in preparing for the future and Chapel Hill's ability to manage change.
Morado said these three concerns have been consistent with the three previous surveys, which started in 2009.
With this information, it is up to governmental leaders and officials to respond to this survey with new legislation and beneficial projects to create a better Chapel Hill.
Here's the link to all Chapel Hill Community Survey results.
Notable:
During the meeting, Gene Poveromo, development manager of Chapel Hill Planning and Sustainability, presented to the board a proposal regarding the consideration and possible action of the special use permit application for the Cedar Village Family Fare/BP Convenience Store and Service Station on 618 Weaver Dairy Rd. The most recent presentation included revisions that included the addition of two more fuel pumps to sum a total of four, outdoor seating and bicycle parking areas, as well as solid waste facilities. After a series of questions from individuals on the board, the council members voted unanimously to adopt the the revised resolution proposed before the council by Gene Poveromo.
Quotable:
“People like the services, but don’t like having to pay for them,” said Chapel Hill Town Council member Nancy Oates after Morado explained the discrepancy between the high satisfaction residents have with town services and the lower satisfaction they maintain with the value of their taxes paid.
city@dailytarheel.com
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
