City rates well overall in National Citizen Survey

Most Chardon residents think their community is a nice place to live with a lot going for it, according to results from a National Citizen Survey conducted during the last five months.

The survey also indicated that road maintenance, snowplowing, trash hauling and traffic flow are among their top priorities.

The city mailed 1,500 surveys to randomly selected residents beginning in June for feedback on safety, environment, recreation, education, city services and the economy.

Nearly 500 mailed surveys were completed and 12 online responses were submitted for a total response rate of about 35 percent. There are 2,200 households in the city.

Participants ranked Chardon high on safety and the economy. The city’s overall image received an 88 percent ranking, while nearly 90 percent see it as a safe place to raise children.

A majority of respondents had confidence in the local government and direction of the city — 58 percent and 64 percent, respectively — and customer service ranked at 86 percent.

Eighty-six percent rated K-12

education as “good” or “excellent.” Fitness and recreation opportunities ranked high as well.

The survey asked participants to rate which city issues are most important. Responses prioritized maintaining roads, continuing to plow sidewalks and exploring a single trash hauler contract. They also indicated support for additional funding toward the citywide Trash Day, sidewalk plowing, Movies in the Park and Concerts in the Park services.

Lower priorities (ranked below 50 percent) were adding parking on the square, recreation programs for senior citizens, building an indoor recreation facility, improving the back half of Mel Harder Park and removing Short Court Street — part of a proposal to revitalize the square.

The survey compared the cit y to about 300 other communities across the nation, and Chardon ranked higher than average in the following areas: police, crime prevention, overall appearance, cleanliness, overall feeling of safety, street lighting, public places, public library, paths and walking

“It is good to know that City Council, staff and our residents are on the same page and that we are working in the right direction...”

trails, city-sponsored special events, mental health care and attendance at city-sponsored events.

It also revealed areas in which the community can improve, including traffic flow and recycling. Fiftyone percent view traffic flow as excellent or good, and the recycling rate of 61 percent is much lower than the national average, the document says.

The survey company noted that more effort could be made to educate residents about Chardon Fire Department’s Knox Box and smoke detector programs.

City Manager Randy Sharpe finds the results useful.

“I’m pleased to have the statistically valid information from our neighbors regarding the characteristics, governance and participation of the community,” he said. “It is good to know that City Council, staff and our residents are on the same page and that we are working in the right direction. I’d like to thank everyone that took the time to provide their input.”

The city hired National Research Center for about $14,000 to conduct the survey, developed with the assistance of the International City/County Management Association in 2001 to provide cities with a low-cost method to measure citizen opinion.

The National Citizen Survey has been used in more than 350 jurisdictions across 46 states.

It is recommended that the community conduct a follow-up sur vey every three to five years to compare data and look at trends and improvements, Mayor Nancy McArthur said.

“Although City Council is elected to represent Chardon residents, we felt it was important that their voices be heard directly through this survey,” she said. “W hile there were few surprises, the results of this survey are a useful tool that we can use to continue to improve and sustain the services and quality of life that Chardon offers.”