Citizen Surveys

The City is in the process of collecting feedback from our citizens regarding City services and operations. To do this, we conduct a comprehensive "citizen survey" to gauge the opinions and feelings of 400 residents who are lucky enough to be randomly called to participate! We last conducted a citizen survey in 2004. The purpose of this survey is to measure the satisfaction of West Des Moines residents with several city services. Information received from your feedback will be used to set priorities and assist future community decision-making.

The City of West Des Moines is utilizing a professional services firm, ETC Institute, to conduct the survey. ETC also conducted the 2004 survey. This survey is being conducted over the phone with a random sample of residents. Upon conclusion, ETC will provide tabular data and a formal report with narrative summary, charts, graphs, and benchmarking data. This report will be available for you to view on our website, www.wdm-ia.com, after we receive the completed analysis sometime in October or November. Please watch for it then!

ETC has significant experience working with cities. One of the biggest advantages in using this firm is their ability to benchmark the City of West Des Moines with similar cities by using the data from their other surveys. We will also be able to accurately compare the 2006 results to those achieved in 2004 because most of the questions, the format, and the method of conducting the survey are similar. In order to be more statistically valid, ETC conducts all their surveys by phone by using a random sample of residents. They can achieve a +/- 5% level of confidence with 400 completed surveys.

When the last report was finished in November of 2004, we learned a lot of interesting things about our City. 28% of our surveyed residents came from outside the state. 7% had always lived in West Des Moines. When benchmarked against 20 comparable cities, including Kansas City, Kansas; Lee's Summit, Missouri; Naperville, Illinois; and Overland Park, Kansas, West Des Moines rated among the Top 25% of all DirectionFinder Cities in 30 of 31 categories, and had the highest rating for all cities in eleven of them. Of course, we hope that this year's results are equally as heartening, but a large part of why we conduct this survey is to determine where we need to improve.

In 2004, we learned that even though 93% of residents are satisfied or very satisfied with their quality of life in the City, there is always room for improvement. The major areas respondents believed should receive the most increase in emphasis from the City for the next two years were traffic congestion management, maintenance of City streets, buildings, and facilities, and the enforcement of codes violations. Our continuing growth means that these kinds of issues will always remain at the forefront, both because of the new infrastructure necessary and the wider expanse of territory we need to manage. This year's survey will identify whether or not we have maintained or improved delivery of these services.

If you get called to participate, and agree to do so, thanks for your feedback! It means a lot to us when residents take the time to tell us how we are doing.

Highlighting Parks and Recreation

Our Parks and Recreation department is extremely busy this time of year. You may be surprised by all the different kinds of programming this department offers and the diverse activities and responsibilities they maintain. I want to highlight a few here.

The sun and humidity made the WDM Aquatic Centers a big hit once again this summer. At the end of the season Valley View hosted its 3rd Annual Doggie Dip, when dogs get a chance to romp in the pools after the park has closed to the public for the summer. This year, 182 dogs and pet lovers attended. This is a fun and unique event that proves to be a special treat for both residents and their pets.

The Park and Horticulture crew is still very busy too. With the benefit of moisture comes increased mowing, pulling, and cutting responsibilities. The storms have created many broken branches and trees to work on.

Some of the most unique programs our WDM Parks and Recreation hosts involve tours or trips, which take a group to a different city (sometimes different state!) for events from baseball games to ski trips to river rafting. This summer they explored the Omaha Zoo, the Amana Theatre event "Barefoot in the Park," and the Brucemore Mansion, in addition to visiting the Tulip Time festivities in Pella, among many other places. One particularly interesting event they hosted was the "Red Hat" Road Trip. This trip involves a busload of women dressed in red hats and purple shirts that visit various tea rooms in Central Iowa for coffee, lunch, and dessert throughout the day. According to the Parks and Rec representatives who accompanied the "red hat" ladies, it was a "rough day: walking on and off the bus to go eat delicious food, shop for tea sets, and visit with a wonderful group of women." This is an example of one way our Parks and Recreation department goes above and beyond some of the typical offerings and duties mandated of them to really create a special experience for our residents who are ready and willing to participate.

Parks and Rec staff also spent countless hours preparing a new Youth Center at Rex Mathes that will tentatively be open from 2:30-7:00pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 2:00-6:30pm on Wednesday. There will be no weekend hours at this time. Participants at the center must have a valid school ID showing that they are in 7th, 8th, or 9th grade. Participation is open to any student, not just those in WDM schools.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what our Parks and Recreation department is involved with. They work hard and give residents the opportunity to play hard through their programs. I think they do a great job with it!