Shady Shores Citizen Survey 2019 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

Shady Shores Citizen Survey 2019 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

Survey and Presentation Submitted to: Shady Shores Mayor, City Council, Town Secretary and Bob Hart Department of Public Affairs College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs By Natalie Beasley, Alison Garrow, Sarah Hultquist, and Sarai Ortega

Key Issues Maintenance of Town Roads What was the overall level of satisfaction with the Town roads? How do residents want to fund road repairs? City Services How satisfied are residents with city departments such as police and fire? Community Development What changes are residents in favor of in regards to the town’s growth? Are there leisure addition residents are willing to fund, i. e. walking trails, improved boat ramp?

Survey Overview The survey distributed to residents: Consisted of 16 questions in multiple choice, multiple answer, rated, and open-ended formats. Reflected the amount of time residents lived in the community in order to compare the opinions of new and long term residents. Included major problems identified within the community infrastructure, particularly in the care and maintenance of roads, but also limited parks, green space, and poor condition of free boating structures.

Survey Distribution The survey was available on Survey Monkey from February 20 th to March 23 rd 2019 and distributed through the following methods: Town E-blast communication Signage throughout the town Social media post (Facebook and Nextdoor) HOA communications Print copies available in Town Hall Student presence at town Clean Up Day promoting surveys

Participation & Demographics A total of 365 surveys were collected, accounting for over 900 residents. Residents were asked to define their household size as 1, 2, 3, or 4+. Over half the population is in a two person household. Household Size 60 51. 4 50 40 30 19. 83 20 10 22. 07 6. 7 0 1 2 Percent of Respondents 3 4+

Additionally, respondents were asked to identify their residency status as homeowners, renters, or vacation homeowners. Residency Status 100 96. 94 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 3. 06 0 Poperty Owner Renter Percent of Respondents 0 Vacation Homeowner

Length of Residency Length of Time in Residence 33. 24 35 30 24. 58 25 20. 67 18. 16 20 15 10 5 3. 35 0 6 Months or Less 6 Months - 5 years 5 - 10 Years Percents of Respondents 10 - 20 Years 20+ Years

Conclusions to Demographics The vast majority of residents in Shady Shores that responded to the survey are property owners in which over half are living in a two person household. Over half the respondents, 54%, have lived in Shady Shores for at least 10 years, with 20% of those living there 20+ years.

Overall Satisfaction With Town Roads 45 41. 34 40 35 30 25 23. 46 20 17. 04 15. 64 15 10 5 2. 51 0 Very Dissatified Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfaction With Town Roads Satisfied Very Satisfied

Town Roads – Funding How residents want to fund road repairs was a key component to the survey, thus the following question was poised to survey takers: The Town of Shady Shores has been funding road and drainage repairs on a “pay as you go” basis, budgeting for repairs out of the general fund budget. As a result, there a number of road repair and drainage projects that have been deferred for many years. Would you support any of the following alternative funding sources to fund road repairs and drainage projects? (CHECK ANY THAT APPLY) *Note: a District, in this case, would mean those who benefit, pay a fee* Funding options included: Bonds or other form of capital improvements financing, . 25% increase in sales tax designated to road and drainage repairs, Drainage Improvement District, Public Improvement District, or residents could designate that the roads are fine in their current state.

Funding Option Results Funding Options For Road Repairs 70 60 58. 65 50 40 35. 78 30 20 20. 23 21. 41 Drainage Improvement District Public Improvement District 17. 6 10 0 Bond/Financing Sales Tax Increase Percent of Respondents Road Fine As Are

Community Communication Most convenient way to get community news Percents of Respondents 70 60. 63 60 50 41. 67 40 37. 36 36. 78 30 20 10 0 Social Media Town Newsletter Town Website Percents of Respondents Town E-blasts

Road Recommendations With resident satisfaction with town roads being relatively low, with only 18% expressing satisfaction or extreme satisfaction, it is recommended that Shady Shores does take action to improve infrastructure. This is further enforced by open-ended comments. Based on survey responses, bonds or other form of capital and/or an increase in sales tax would be the best way to raise funds for road improvement. However, if Shady Shores does choose to move forward with bond referendum or tax increase, we recommend to first conduct a community education campaign that focuses on benefits and cost.

Community Participation Of the respondents, 15% volunteer for community events. They were also asked how interested they would be in future volunteer opportunities. Level of Interest in Future Volunteer Opportunities 50 46. 26 45 40 35 30 25 21. 61 20 15 14. 68 13. 02 10 4. 43 5 0 Not Interested Not So Interested Somewhat Interested Percent of Respondents Very Interested Extremely Interested

Community Participation Due to their popularity, Shady Shores representatives should continue to use e-blasts as a mass method of contact, especially in the case of important information. As survey participants were also given the option to write-in any other preferred method of contact, a few trends formed. It seems that residents would like to see more information trickled down through Homeowner Association emails and meetings as well as adding a text message method of communication.

Household Hazardous Waste According to the survey, most respondents were in favor of switching from curbside household hazardous waste pick-up to the option of including this waste collection at the annual Clean-up Day, with few being not at all supportive. There is not enough information garnered from the survey to indicate whether those that selected “none at all” selected this option as disinterest in the service and clean-up day all-together, or strong stance for one or the other. However, open-ended comments do suggest that the waste removal service is not commonly used, and residents would prefer to not have related fees.

Community Development Decreasing the required lot size for residential development 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Not Supportive At All Not Supportive Neutral Percent of Respondents Supportive Very Supportive

Community Development Small commercial being developed in the town 30 28. 18 27. 62 25 20 18. 23 17. 4 15 8. 56 10 5 0 Not Supportive At All Not Supportive Neutral Percent of Respondents Supportive Very Supportive

Big Sandy Boat Ramp When asked if participants would support forming a cooperative with the Corp of Engineers to improve maintenance on the boat ramp, at least 21% were not supportive, 28% were neutral, and at least 50% were supportive. When given the option to add user fees to the boat ramp, at least 32% were not supportive, 25% neutral, and 43% were at least supportive or very supportive.

Community Development Recomendations It is recommended that lot sizes remain at a. 5 acre minimum for residential development, but to consider allowing areas of growth for approved, small commercial businesses. Average responses for improved boat ramp maintenance were close to neutral in both given options, with a weighted response value at 3. 36 and 3. 07, respectively. Given that a partnership with the USACE is a significant commitment, it is recommended that the Town refrain from forming a corporation until there is a stronger desire to do so among residents in order to focus staff time and Town funds to more pressing concerns such as road repairs.

City Services Respondents to the survey evaluated five different city services/departments on a scale of poor to excellent.

Police Department Satisfaction With Police Department 45 38. 16 40 35 30. 64 30 25 20 17. 27 15 10 8. 36 5. 57 5 0 Poor Fair No Opinon Percent of Respondents Good Excellent

Fire Department Satisfaction With Fire Department 40 36. 03 37. 15 35 30 25 18. 99 20 15 10 5 3. 07 4. 75 0 Poor Fair No Opinion Percent of Respondents Good Excellent

Solid Waste Satisfaction With Solid Waste 60 49. 44 50 40 28. 06 30 20 10 10 10 Fair No Opinon 2. 5 0 Poor Percent of Respondents Good Excellent

Code Enforcement Satisfaction With Code Enforcement 40 37. 64 35 30 25 20 20. 51 15. 73 16. 29 15 9. 83 10 5 0 Poor Fair No Opinion Percent of Respondents Good Excellent

Permitting Satisfaction With Permitting 60 51. 54 50 40 30 22. 41 20 10 7 9. 8 9. 24 0 Poor Fair No Opinion Percent of Respondents Good Excellent

Conclusions While the survey covered areas of infrastructure, parks and green space, and overall feel of community engagement and services, overwhelming participant response indicated the primary concern is focused on basic needs, like infrastructure. Because of the rapid growth and demographic expansion over the last decade, we recommend that Shady Shores prioritize maintenance and repair of Town roads, particularly the main thoroughfare.

Conclusions cont’ Overall, citizens provided necessary and important feedback that helped develop the presented recommendations, which highlight infrastructure as a general area of concern, yet harbor an appreciation and desire to keep the small-town, rural atmosphere.

Acknowledgements The UTA Capstone Group would like to formally thank City Secretary, Wendy Withers, who acted as a liaison between Shady Shores representatives and the UTA Masters of Public Administration Capstone students. We extend our gratitude to Mayor Cindy Aughinbaugh and the Shady Shores City Council, who allowed us to work with the community to conduct this survey. We would also like to recognize the citizens of Shady Shores who took the time to complete the survey. Lastly, we thank Bob Hart, who facilitated the project.