Longmont residents in survey conclude life is good in city

A majority of residents responding to a recent survey said they thought “life is good in Longmont,” according to the Boulder-based firm that conducted the survey for the city.

About nine of every 10 respondents said their overall quality of life in Longmont was “excellent or good,” the National Research Center said in its written report of results from the city’s 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey.

However, many residents voiced concerns about crime.

When asked about problems in Longmont, 96 percent of the respondents cited crime “as at least a minor problem.” A similar proportion said they were concerned about drugs, methamphetamine labs and vandalism.

Even so, more than 90 percent of the respondents said they feel safe during the day in their neighborhoods, downtown and in Longmont overall.

“Longmont residents were less likely to feel safe at night,” the National Research Center reported, “but about six in 10 still felt safe in downtown Longmont and Longmont overall at night.”

At least eight in every 10 respondents gave positive ratings to the city’s police and fire services.

The survey, conducted every two years, “serves as a consumer report card for the city by providing residents the opportunity to rate quality of life, community amenities, local government performance, service quality and community practices in Longmont,” city staff said in a memo for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, when council will hear a presentation highlighting the findings.

“The survey also gives residents the opportunity to provide feedback on what is working well and what is not, and to communicate their priorities for community planning,” staff wrote.

A response rate of 23 percent

This year’s survey was mailed to 3,200 randomly selected Longmont households in October, distributed equally among the three City Council wards. A total of 743 completed surveys were returned, for a response rate of 23 percent, which city officials said has been the average response rate on prior surveys.

Residents noted some improvements to Longmont’s economy since past years’ surveys.

Forty-nine percent of this year’s survey respondents rated job opportunities in Longmont as “excellent” or “good,” compared to 17 percent answering a similar question in 2010 and 28 percent in 2014.

“However, about six in 10 residents still felt job growth was too slow,” the National Research Center reported.

Residents had concerns about the impact of Longmont’s overall growth. About four in 10 cited traffic, transportation and parking — along with growth, overpopulation and planning — as being among the biggest challenges in the next five years.

More than three in 10 of responding households listed affordable housing and the housing market as future problems.

When asked to evaluate “community characteristics” as they related to the city as a whole, the top ranking went to the “availability of paths and walking trails,” which 83 percent of respondents rated excellent or good. Eighty percent said Longmont’s recreational opportunities are excellent or good.

Other community characteristics getting high marks and the percentages rating them good or excellent, included: air quality, 75 percent; overall appearance, 75 percent; cleanliness, 74 percent; sense of community, 73 percent; ease of walking, 72 percent; overall quality of business and service establishments, 71 percent; neighborliness of residents, 70 percent; overall image or reputation, 70 percent, opportunities to attend cultural activities, 69 percent, and educational opportunities, 66 percent.

Getting low rankings, though — with fewer than 50 percent scoring good or excellent — were such things as job opportunities, 49 percent; ease of bus travel, 48 percent; ease of car travel, 48 percent; access to affordable quality health care, 45 percent; shopping opportunities, 35 percent; access to affordable quality child care, 25 percent, and access to affordable quality housing, 17 percent.

When asked on another question to rate several “aspects of life in Longmont,” 90 percent gave excellent or good ratings to Longmont “as a place to live” and 85 percent said it is a good or excellent place to raise children.

Concern over living costs

Eighty-three percent said their own neighborhoods were good or excellent places to live, 65 percent said Longmont is a good or excellent place to retire in, and 64 percent rated it good or excellent as a place to work. However, only about four in 10 residents rated Longmont as an excellent place to shop.

More than 80 percent respondents said they would likely recommend living in Longmont to someone who asked about that possibility. More than 80 percent also said they likely remain in the city for the next five years.

But residents said they or members of their households have been worried about a number of things in the past 12 months.

Sixty-three percent worried about unexpected costs such as car repairs; 56 percent worried about paying for health and dental care and insurance; and 50 percent worried about making their housing cost payments, including rents, mortgages, utilities, taxes and maintenance.

And 50 percent said they’d been worried about finding a job or getting a better paying job.

This was Longmont’s first Customer Satisfaction Survey since 2016. From 2003 to 2010, the survey was conducted every year. Since 2010, the survey has been mailed to randomly selected Longmont households every two years.

City spokesman Rigo Leal said National Research Center was paid $29,140 for the 2018 survey.

Contact Staff Writer John Fryar at 303-684-5211 or jfryar@times-call.com or twitter.com/jfryartc