Craig Daily Press

Craig — Some responses could have been predicted.

Some were surprising.

But in either case, city officials say they would like more input after recently receiving results from its citizen survey.

The city commissioned National Research Center to distribute and analyze its National Citizen Survey in Craig late last year. City officials chose the survey because National Research distributes its surveys around the country and can compare Craig resident responses to others in communities, large and small.

Because the survey’s results are somewhat confusing, the city plans to dig a little more, City Manager Jim Ferree said.

“Surveys tell you what. They don’t tell you why,” Ferree said. “There’s no reason for us to do a survey if we’re just going to let it sit on the shelf.”

He would like to see the city organize resident panels so officials can examine why some services are rated low and why other results don’t provide any obvious conclusions.

For instance, residents’ opinions of the quality of public safety services — including police, crime prevention and traffic enforcement — all are ranked in the bottom third of participating cities, which contradicts positive opinions on general safety.

Residents feel quite safe in Craig, according to survey results, scoring well above the survey’s average for how residents felt about daytime safety for neighborhoods and downtown, and above the average for parks and areas after dark.

The survey’s low result for services also contradicts the Craig Police Department’s random survey in 2006. That survey, sent via city water utility addresses, found 80 percent of people rated the department’s quality of service good to excellent.

Police Chief Walt Vanatta said he would like to see the city bring together residents and involve them directly. The Police Department does that when it puts together its strategic plans, a set of goals for the next year.

The bad and the good

It’s not just the confusing results Ferree would like to ask the people about. Negative responses concern officials, as well.

Resident opinion on the overall quality of life in Craig ranks the city in the 14th percentile, meaning 86 percent of other participating cities surveyed provide a better quality of life, according to resident responses.

Ferree said he had not heard that kind of criticism before, but it shows why the city wants more input. If residents feel this way, city officials want to know what they can do, he said.

Residents likewise rated the community’s openness to people of diverse backgrounds, Craig’s overall appearance and its overall reputation in the bottom 10th percentile, meaning residents rated more than 90 percent of other cities better.

Residents did respond positively to other community aspects. Air quality is up there, traffic is looking good and people are happy with city parks.

They would like to see more recreational activities and more variety in programs, which didn’t shock Dave Pike, city Parks and Recreation Department director.

“It didn’t surprise me, but we’re limited with what we can do because we don’t have any facilities to work out of,” Pike said. “We do have a nice park system around the city. It’s possible, if we had another facility, obviously a recreation center would be a nice way we could expand our programs.”

Residents were lukewarm regarding general city services, such as the city’s overall direction, whether its officials listen to residents and whether residents receive good value for their taxes, which were close to the average response of other cities surveyed.

Those middle-of-the-road responses mirrored local opinions on the city staff’s knowledge, responsiveness and courtesy.

However, just as good is not good enough, Ferree said.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “We will never get perfect, but we sure should try.”

Collin Smith can be reached at 875-1794 or cesmith@craigdailypress.com