03-20-23-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 20, 2023 9 Mayor Grant thought with the LMC meeting coming up and the Council goal setting in May it would line up fairly well time -wise. Councilmember Holden didn't really see the importance of Green Steps as it was just something the League of Minnesota Cities put together and most people haven't heard of it. F. Arden Hills Survey Discussion City Administrator Perrault stated that at the last Council meeting staff was directed to bring back a discussion about a possible survey of residents about a TCAAP or a city-wide survey. Staff recommends working with a professional company such as Morris Leatherman or Polco. He asked if the Council wanted staff to continue to research the idea, focus on TCAAP or city-wide, engage with a consultant or set a timeline. Councilmember Rousseau had provided a bench handout for their review. Councilmember Rousseau said a resident had spoken with her about making some data driven solutions around what the city valued and what residents were interested in. She thought it was something that could be done every couple of years and the Communications Coordinator could collect the data. They could have a small task force determine the questions. Councilmember Holden felt there should be a survey about TCAAP and another that was city- wide. She recommended using a professional service, and set the budget to conduct a survey every three to five years. Councilmember Rousseau thought it was challenging to have a survey show overall value for the community versus one person's opinion. Mayor Grant agreed with having 2 surveys, one for TCAAP and a separate one for the city. The first survey could be their baseline, then a few years later they could look back at the survey to see if they've moved in the right direction. He felt the TCAAP survey would need a lot of explanation and models, but open houses can become self -selective and not statistically representative of the whole community. Councilmember Fabel thought surveys weren't worthwhile, they cost a lot of money and you don't get reliable information. He said people his age don't pay attention to surveys. He felt the best survey was the election. He anticipated having a series of public meetings regarding TCAAP and the same people that would likely respond to a survey would be the same people that would likely attend the meetings. Councilmember Holden said there were other questions that could be asked in a survey that you don't get answers to from an election. Councilmember Monson asked when was the last time the City did a survey and what was the scope of that survey. Mayor Grant said it was 2016.