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Mounds View City Council December 6, 2004 Regular Meeting Page 2 None. 1 2 10. COUNCIL BUSINESS 3 4 A. Community Survey Review. 5 6 Bill Morris, Decision Resources, advised they are a polling firm located in Minneapolis. He 7 stated they serve mostly the suburban cities and school districts, surveying residents on a number 8 of subjects. He noted they have done polling data for each city in Ramsey County with the 9 exception of North Oaks. He advised that they typically survey on a number of questions, 10 including Economic Development, Parks and Trails, etc. 11 12 Mr. Morris advised that all of their information is gathered by phone, with typical results 13 including 400 participants across the city. He stated anyone with a phone has a chance to be a 14 participant, and they always speak with an adult in the household. He stated their response rate is 15 98%, while the industry average is about 70%, largely due to the fact that they make an 16 appointment with the resident to call back at a convenient time. He stated they recommend the 17 city keeps their survey to a maximum of twenty minutes. 18 19 Council Member Stigney asked how they handle unlisted phones and cell phones. Mr. Morris 20 stated that cell phones are a problem, however only approximately 3% of the residents in Ramsey 21 County use cell phones exclusively. He indicated they are able to reach unlisted numbers 22 because they use the suffix numbers for Mounds View and random four digits for the remainder 23 of the number, so it would include unlisted numbers. He stated when they reach a resident they 24 screen to make sure that resident lives in Mounds View. 25 26 Mayor Linke stated he started pushing for this because a survey has not been done in the city 27 since 1992. He indicated he thinks they need to update the information they have. He stated he 28 would like to use a lot of generic questions on where our residents are at and what they think we 29 should be doing, with a couple of specific questions concerning the golf course, park and 30 recreation issues, and code enforcement. He stated the golf course may be one that could be 31 difficult to make sure residents know what the City Council is doing in regard to improving it. 32 He indicated that up until now the golf course has been taking loans out from the City to operate, 33 but now they have billboards up and a possible buyer. He noted that if they sold the golf course 34 it would require TIF, so there would not be a tax base increase. He indicated the question would 35 be if the residents want the city to close the golf course and sell it to a private developer 36 37 Council Member Quick indicated the question would have to make it clear that the golf course 38 bonds and internal loans would be paid off on time and that it will not cost tax payers any money. 39 40 Mr. Morris stated there are a number of ways they can approach the golf course; starting with 41 general questions and them moving to facts. He indicated it provides a good communication 42 vehicle for the City Council also. 43 44