Residents Rate City High
A very high 85 percent of Vadnais Heights residents think the
City is headed in the right direction, according to a residential
study conducted for the City of Vadnais Heights by Decision Resources,
Ltd., a marketing firm that is responsible for about 75 percent
of all community surveys in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Another impressive finding
is that a solid 96 percent of those questioned rate the quality
of life in the City as either “excellent” or “good,”
with 42 percent of the responses falling in the “excellent”
category. Similarly, 80 percent of the sample rate the general
sense of community as “excellent” or “good.”
Specific attributes residents
value most about living in Vadnais Heights include location; rural
or small-town feel; open spaces and lakes; strong neighborhoods;
quiet and peaceful atmosphere; nice people; and parks and trails.
Survey Findings Provide Information
for Planning
While the results were very gratifying, the survey is much more
than a report card on how the City is doing. Of greater significance,
the information will be the foundation of the City’s strategic
planning and budget setting cycle.
Each person participating
in the survey was asked 138 questions about a variety of City
issues and services.
In general, Vadnais Heights
citizens are very satisfied with their community, according to
Decision Resources’ Bill Morris. The survey revealed that
the key issue facing community leaders in the future is addressing
perceptions about growth rates and traffic congestion, according
to Morris. Secondarily, survey results identified a need for starter
homes, affordable housing, and senior housing, reported Morris.
“Overall, the City
enterprise is viewed very strongly,” said Morris. “City
government and staff are rated positively. Residents rate their
quality of life highly and place a value on maintaining the natural
ambience and small-town feel while growing as a suburban community.
The City has established a large reservoir of good will across
the community, which will serve it well in the years ahead as
development and growth continue.” Back to top
City Residents Fiscally Moderate
Other survey findings include:
•
Sixty percent report
members of their households, during the past two years, participated
in Heritage Days or Taste of Vadnais celebrations. This is
the highest rate of participation in any Twin Cities community,
according to Decision Resources.
•
Vadnais Heights residents
tend to be more “fiscally moderate.” While 48 percent
report City property taxes as “about average” in
comparison with nearby suburban communities, 31 percent rate
them as either “very high” or “somewhat high.”
Six percent indicate City taxes as “somewhat low”
or “very low.”
•
Growth, traffic congestion,
high taxes, and school funding are listed as serious issues
facing the community.
•
Seventy-four percent
view City services as either an “excellent” or “good”
value for the property taxes paid. Eighteen percent rate the
value as “only fair” or “poor.”
•
Between 80 and 90
percent of the residents with opinions award high ratings
to fire and police protection, recycling and trash pick-up,
park and trail maintenance, emergency medical service, City
street repair and maintenance, and snow plowing.
•
Sixty-seven percent
of households used City trails during the year previous to
the 2002 survey, with walking proving to be the use most often
cited.
•
Eighty percent report
there are no areas of the City where they feel unsafe walking
alone at night. Twenty-six percent of the households are members
of a neighborhood watch group; and 23 percent are interested
in joining such a group.
The Mayor and City Council
have a job approval rating of 53 percent and a disapproval rating
of 11 percent. This almost five-to-one approval-to-disapproval
rating of the Mayor and City Council is stronger than the suburban
norm and is excellent, according to Morris.
Decision Resources’
professional interviewers conducted the telephone survey during
June and July 2002. The survey involved about 400 randomly selected
households. In general, random samples such as this yield results
that can be projected to the entire universe of adult Vadnais
Heights residents within five percentage points in 95 out of 100
cases, reports Morris.
