The 2015 Grove City Community Attitudes Survey Saperstein Associates, Inc. | Summer 2015

Objectives 2

3 This research: Provides a statistically reliable vehicle for residents to share their opinions with city officials; Identifies developing trends to assist with city planning; and Monitors how residents communicate to ensure that the city employs the most appropriate media.

Vision / Mission 4

5 VISION: Offer the highest quality of life achievable MISSION: Continuously strive to efficiently improve city services, programs, and facilities

Methodology 6

Telephone interviews were completed with 500 adult residents of Grove City, Urbancrest, and Jackson Township. The interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones between August 17 and August 29, 2015 – and averaged 18 minutes in length. The findings presented in this report, for the entire sample, are accurate to ±4.4 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. This study is the eleventh in a series of studies that began in

8 Actual * Survey Male47%48% Female53%52% 18 to 2410% 25 to 3417%15% 35 to 4419%18% 45 to 5419%18% 55 to 6417%18% Older than 6418%21% Grove City88%87% Urbancrest2% Jackson Township10%11% Children younger than 18 in household35%34% Own residence73%72% The survey respondents represent Grove City residents on several key dimensions. *American Community Survey Year Estimates and MORPC (2015)

Grove City as a Place to Live 9

Average 6% Excellent 44% Fair or poor 3% Nine out of ten residents have positive impressions of Grove City as a place to live, an all-time high. Grove City as a Place to Live Good 47% 25%0%50%75%100% 90% 82% 90% 81% 87% 88% 85% 86% 84% 89% %

Wrong track 11% Right direction 86% No opinion 3% 11 Again, nearly nine out of ten residents feel that Grove City is heading in the right direction. Direction of Grove City

12 Among long-term residents, * six out of ten believe that the quality of life in the Grove City area is better today than it was five years ago. *Residents who have lived in the Grove City area more than five years Quality of Life in the Grove City Area

Average 23% Excellent 18% Fair or poor 5% More than half the residents rate job opportunities in Grove City excellent or good, another all-time high. Employment Opportunities No opinion 18% 13 Good 36% %0%50%75%100% 40% 27% 33% 38% 33% 46% 47% 45% 35% 37% %

Public Services 14

Once again, residents are pleased with Grove City’s public services. 15 Public Services GoodExcellent Fire services Community events Police services Trash collection 94%* 94% 90% 88% No opinion 2013 = 91%*2013 = 88%2013 = 87%2013 = 84% *Excellent and good

Though fewer are pleased with the South-Western City Schools, positive impressions continue to grow. 16 LibraryService Department Neighborhoods free of eyesores South-Western City Schools 83% 79% 76% 63% 2013 = 81% 2013 = 54% 2011 = 48% 2013 = 77% Public Services ExcellentNo opinionGood

Grove City Officials 17

No opinion 3% Disagree 16% %0%50%75%100% 80% 73% 83% 77% 80% 71% 76% 74% 72% 67% Satisfaction also is high with city officials, especially on four key dimensions: keeping the public informed, … City Officials: Keeping Public Informed Agree strongly 41% Agree somewhat 40% %

City Officials: Responding to Needs … responding to the needs and concerns of residents (yet another all-time high), … Disagree 14% No opinion 7% Agree somewhat 53% %0%50%75%100% 76% 72% 76% 71% 74% 67% 70% 73% 64% Agree strongly 26% %

City Officials: Planning for the Future … planning for the future of the Grove City area, and... Disagree 16% No opinion 7% Agree somewhat 44% %0%50%75%100% 78% 72% 69% 68% 72% 63% 62% 70% 65% Agree strongly 33% %

… managing the city’s money. Disagree 20% No opinion 14% %0%50%75%100% 64% 42% 71% 66% 65% 59% 60% 65% 59% Agree somewhat 43% Agree strongly 23% City Officials: Managing City’s Money %

Parks and Recreation 22

Parks and Public Facilities More than eight out of ten residents have positive impressions of the city’s parks and public facilities. Fair or poor 1% No opinion 5% Excellent 43% Average 9% 23 Good 42% %0%50%75%100% 85% 81% 77% 80% 73% 71% 81% 79% 75% %

A majority of residents have positive impressions of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. On some specifics, however, many have no opinion. Parks and Recreation Department Communicates information Treats callers Office hoursProgram fees 24 GoodExcellentNo opinion 71% 65% 63% 62%

25 Grove City Division of Police

26 Police Do a Good Job Keeping My Neighborhood Safe Disagree 4% Agree strongly 72% Agree moderately 22% No opinion 2% Seven out of ten residents agree strongly that the Grove City Division of Police does a good job keeping the community safe, up from six out of ten = 63% 2013 = 28%

27 Most also agree that the Grove City police treat local residents courteously … Disagree 8% Agree strongly 65% Police Treat Local Residents Courteously Agree moderately 24% No opinion 3% 2013 = 61% 2013 = 28%

28 Police are Well-Trained, Competent Professionals Disagree 7% Agree strongly 58% Agree moderately 31% No opinion 4% … and are well-trained, competent professionals = 53% 2013 = 37%

29 Residents were asked: “What would you suggest or recommend to improve the Grove City Division of Police?” Though six out of ten offered no ideas, other residents voiced a scatter of suggestions …

Hire more officers Protect children more Be more friendly/polite More community interaction Secure more funding/pay officers more Faster response time Patrol neighborhoods more Be more visible Patrol more (area not specified) Have more/ better training Stop and prevent drug use in the community Have training of professionalism Don’t be overzealous with charging minor violations Charge those who speed and park illegally more More foot patrols More bike patrols More diversity on staff Increase involvement in neighborhood watches Treat people fairly Stop racial profiling (The size of each word or phrase reflects the number of times it was mentioned.) 30 Be more visible at night

Development Priorities 31

32 Residents were asked: Which of the following six community projects should Grove City officials make their highest priority? * Building a performing arts center Building a community recreation center Building a second community swimming pool Building a permanent facility where colleges and universities can serve area residents Redeveloping the Grove City Town Center Providing financial incentives to encourage a greater variety of art galleries, art exhibits, public art, and art- related events *Options were presented in a randomized order.

For a plurality of residents, building a permanent facility for colleges and universities and redeveloping the Grove City Town Center are top priorities.* Highest Priority 33 College Facility Town Center Community Recreation Center Second Swimming Pool Performing Arts Center 2015 *Among the six options tested Financial Incentives: the Arts

By contrast, promoting the arts is a top priority for only a handful of residents.* Highest Priority 34 College Facility Town Center Community Recreation Center Second Swimming Pool Performing Arts Center 2015 *Among the six options tested Financial Incentives: the Arts

Communications 35

A plurality of residents obtain information about events, programs, and activities sponsored by Grove City from local papers. Reliance on print, however, continues to decline... Primary Source of Information About Events and Activities in Grove City 36 Newspapers (print) The Source (print) Word of mouth Grove City website Facebook

37 … while online sources – including, for example, Facebook and the city’s e-newsletter – are increasing. Primary Source of Information About Events and Activities in Grove City

No 36% Yes 64% 38 Visited the Grove City Website Nearly two out of three residents have been to the city’s website, a steady increase since 2011.

39 Grove City Website Ease of Use Difficult to use 10% Very easy to use 37% Somewhat easy to use 53% Among residents who have been to the city’s website, nine out of ten consider it easy to use. *Based on residents who have visited the website

40 Information About the Arts in Grove City About the right amount 71% Too much <1% Too little 28% Three out of ten residents want more information about arts-related events in Grove City, including, for example, performances and exhibitions.

41 Grove City Video at Buckeye Parkway AMC Have been to theater, recall seeing video 34% Have been to theater, did not recall seeing video 39% Have not been to theater 27% One resident in three has seen the 30-second video featuring Grove City at the local AMC theater.

Social Media 42

Two out of three residents have a Facebook account. One out of four tweets. An equal number use Instagram. Use of Social Media 43 FacebookTwitter Visited the city’s Facebook page: 32% (2015) 14% (2013) Instagram Follow the city on Twitter: 5% (2015) 2% (2013) Nationally:* 71% use Facebook 23% use Twitter 26% use Instagram *SOURCE: Pew Research Center Social Networking Fact Sheet, January 2014

Recap 44

Impressions of Grove City as a place to live are mostly positive. This year, compared with 2013 (the year of the last survey), positive impressions are more common. According to nearly nine out of ten residents, Grove City is heading in the right direction. Most residents are pleased with Grove City’s police and fire services, community events, trash collection, and the city’s parks and public facilities. In each of these areas, the percentage of residents with positive perceptions has increased over the past two years. Satisfaction also is high with Grove City’s public officials, especially in their efforts to inform residents of issues and events affecting the Grove City area. 45

In 2011, one resident in four (27%) rated Grove City’s job opportunities excellent or good. In 2013, the comparable figure had grown to four out of ten (40%). Today, it is more than five out of ten (54%). When residents considered six potential community development projects, two were especially popular: building a permanent facility for colleges and universities and redeveloping the Grove City Town Center. For information about events, programs, and activities sponsored by Grove City, the importance of print con- tinues to decline in favor of digital sources. Finally, one resident in three has seen the 30-second video featuring Grove City at the local AMC theater. 46