SUBJECT:
Title
Community Questionnaire Building
Body
DEPARTMENT: Communications & Community Engagement
Department
PRESENTER(S): Gabi Rae, Director of Communications & Community Engagement
David Flaherty, CEO/Founder, Magellan Strategies
Courtney Sievers, Director of Survey Research, Magellan Strategies
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 60 minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY: N/A
POLICY ISSUES:
The Council requested a Special Topics Questionnaire for the community, managed by a professional research firm. Council will now determine which topics should be covered in the questionnaire to facilitate policymaking decisions going forward.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Provide direction to the consultant team about the makeup of the Special Topics Questionnaire.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Council has requested a standalone special topic questionnaire to thoroughly explore issues of density, growth, affordable housing, funding facility and amenity construction, traffic, and other related topics.
Staff sent a Request for Quotes/Qualifications to six Colorado-based research firms with a basic scope for the project consisting of the following requirements:
• Ability to attend at least three in-person Council meetings to design appropriate questions, approve the questionnaire, and present the results.
• Various methods for presenting the questionnaire to the residents of Erie which may include the use of mailings, text messages, emails, or other tools.
• Comprehensive analysis and presentation of results no later than Aug. 5, 2025.
As requested by the Council, this survey will be available for every household in Erie to complete and will remain open for a minimum of two weeks, though best practice suggests keeping it open for longer to maximize engagement. Data analysis and presentation will follow shortly thereafter.
Expectations for Study Session
This meeting is intended to allow the Council to work directly with the expert consultant team to begin creating the questionnaire. Staff have shared with the consultants some of the topic areas the Council has shown greatest interest in exploring and the team is prepared to discuss the more appropriate ways to gather data about those topics.
Ahead of this Study Session, staff sent Council a worksheet to encourage each member to consider the data they each need in order to make informed policy or budgetary decisions. Staff asked Council to consider a list of topics areas, or suggest other topics, and list what sort of information the public could provide to guide decision-making about those topics. The consultant team will discuss this worksheet with Council during the Study Session and will use the information provided by the Council to begin creating the questions for the questionnaire.
TOWN COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Engaged and Diverse Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Presentation
2. Questionnaire Creation Worksheet