2022 06 21 City Council

Unverified text extraction. Check the original page for numbers, names, and layout.

16 
 
On-line Survey 
The city facilitated an on-line survey from September 16 to November 19, 2021, approximately 322 
residents participated. 
The survey was first promoted via card inserts within utility bills for residents. The Athens Utilities Board 
worked with their third-party bill stuffer, Pinnacle Data Systems, to print and stuff the survey invites within 
their bill envelopes. The survey was hosted o n the city’s website at www.athenstn.gov/survey u sing a 
Microsoft Forms application to record participant responses. The intent of using the AUB billing cycle was 
to ensure that as many Athenians were notified  of the opportunity  to participate, including those who 
resided in apartment complexes. If anyone resided in Athens and paid a utility bill, they would receive an 
invite. The survey was also promoted via social media in another attempt to reach as many residents as 
possible. The only limitation being that not everyone in the community used social media.  The third 
promotion was a  collaboration with the regional newspaper , t he Daily Post -Athenian, to employ 
geofenced advertisements, and targeted emails to their subscribers. The original deadline was for October 
28th but upon discovering that the utilities billing cycle had different sectors whereupon resident received 
their invites later than others , including just days before the deadline, it was decided to extend the 
deadline an additional couple of weeks to November 19, 2021, to ensure everyone that received an invite 
had ample time to answer the six sections of questions.  
A summary of the findings from the interviews and focus groups a nd the online survey is below, 
followed by a copy of the PPT presentation shared with City Council. 
 
City of Athens - Public Engagement and Needs Assessment Strategy with Online Survey 
 
CITY COUNCIL 
SUMMIT 
VALUES 
SENIOR STAFF 
WORKSHOP 
(10 Participants, 
Unanimous) 
STAKEHOLDER FOCUS GROUP VISIONS 
(100 Participants, Highlighted Items 
Designate Top Priorities for Comparison) 
SURVEY  
(322 Participants) 
    
1. HIGH QUALITY OF 
LIFE 
  1st Priority – Attract 
More Shops, 
Restaurants, Residents, 
and Visitors to 
Downtown 
 
 
4th Priority – Expand the 
Sidewalk, Bikeways, and 
Trails System 
 
 
5
th Priority – Improve 
Marketing & 
Communications to 
• Create 
neighborhood 
connectivity 
• Sense of 
community 
• Multi-modal 
connectivity 
• Connected trails system (building on 
Eureka Trail), bike lanes, trails, sidewalks, 
walkability, including for young people 
and college students (IIIII II) 
• Continue to 
expand access to 
recreation, 
cultural, and 
social programs 
• More 
opportunities, 
activities, family 
things to do  
• Attract new 
residents and 
businesses 
because of high 
quality of life 
• Opportunities to do things within 
community, more things to do for young 
people, seniors (IIII) 
• Boys & Girls Club (II) 
• Parks II 
• Summer camps 
• Improved regional park including turf on 
fields 
233