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Survey shows Mountain Home is a great place to retire
Mountain Home is a great place to retire and enjoys good neighborhoods but isn't necessarily a great place to raise kids a city commissioned survey of city services shows.
Diane Kushlan, a consultant hired by the city council gave the official results of the community survey during the recent city council meeting.
In January 2008, the city of Mountain Home commissioned a city wide questionnaire to inquire on citizens' input with regard to key issues within the city.
Approximately 4,000 questionnaires were mailed in the city's utility bills, along with 300-400 distributed at City Hall, the library and the Parks and Recreation Department office.
The last survey conducted in 2004 had a 28 percent return rate. In 2008, a total of 1,185 surveys were returned at a rate of 27 percent.
The questionnaire asked for the citizens views on the following topics, satisfaction with community services, community and quality of all life factors, leisure activities, library services, police department services, priorities for the mayor and city council and goods and services needs.
A majority of returns, 97 percent were from Mountain Home residents. Over 62 percent of the residents who responded have lived in the city for over ten years. The number of employees at Mountain Home Air Force Base who responded to the survey totalled the same as in 2004 (21 percent), retired respondents totalled 28 percent (27 percent in 2004) and residents who indicated they lived in Mountain Home because of the airbase declined from 2004 from 48 percent to 46 percent.
The results indicated that Mountain Home consists of a majority of long-term residents and an increasing employment base.
As far as community services, the respondents felt very dissatisfied with the condition of the city streets, followed by an average vote toward stormwater systems, sidewalks and the building department.
In comparison to the 2004 surveys, the results of the community assessment were close if not equal. The most notable change was in the rating of Mountain Home as a place to a retire (5 percent in 2004 to 22 percent in 2008).
Also, as far as rating Mountain Home as an excellent place to raise a child, the result decreased from 28 percent in 2004 to 22 percent.
Overall, the community assessment results from the 2008 survey and the one in conducted in 2004 were highly similar except that in declaring their neighborhood as a good place to live the favorable response increased from 29 percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2008.
The responders were asked to give their views on how Mountain Home ranks as far as quality of life. The highest ratings were for sense of community, tolerance and ease of travel, while shopping, business and job opportunities were rated the lowest.
In comparison to the 2004 survey, the ratings were also close, if not equal. The key change was in the fair rating for overall appearance (36 percent in 2004, 42 percent in 2008).
On what the respondents like to do during their leisure time, it was determined that the citizens of Mountain Home prefer to go outdoors over exercising, home activities and watching television.
As far as library services, Kushland said, "This received the fewest responses, but the highest level of satisfaction."
In total only 414 residents answered that portion of the survey. A total of 67 percent felt that the library meets their needs. The most favorable response came for electronic references and computers, earning an approval rate of 88 percent and 80 percent respectively.
The next category asked the respondents to indicate the priority of activity for police department services. They were asked to rate from high, medium and low.
At least 60 percent of the responders gave a high rating to the following services:general patrol, drunk driving enforcement, underage drinking and smoking enforcement, immediate response to calls, investigation and arrest of drug dealers, and burglary and vandalism investigations.
The responders gave a medium rating to activities, that included officers in school, strict enforcement of traffic laws and the reduction of accidents by strict enforcement of laws.
The one item that the respondents gave a low rating to was the citing of parking violators (42 percent).
Respondents were also asked to determine the priorities for the mayor and the city council.
The most important priority was funding for street maintenance (19 percent), followed by economic development (12 percent) and tied at 11 percent was downtown revitalization and storm water drainage system.
The respondents also were asked to give their opinions on Treasure Valley Transit. Even though 10 percent of those who answered use the bus, 57 percent of the respondents felt the city should subsidize the bus system.
The final category was determining the level of satisfaction in the goods and services currently available in the city and the needs for additional goods and services within the city.
According to the survey, 65 percent of the respondents do their primary shopping in Mountain Home. The services that the respondents like to see more of are restaurants (27 percent), followed by more retail (23 percent), food stores and home improvement facilities (13 percent).