Crested Butte asks citizens their views on town amenities

Sending out surveys

The town of Crested Butte will be taking the temperature of the people who live and own property in town and will try to determine if those stakeholders feel they live in a good place and feel the town is doing a good job.

More than 1,200 surveys will be mailed out in August. That many surveys are expected to provide a good sampling to help inform and guide the town staff and Town Council.
“This is the first such survey by the town and is meant to be a benchmark,” explained Crested Butte town manager Susan Parker. “We want to get a feel for how we as a town are doing. We also want to get a feel for our future needs and wants. And perhaps just as important, we want to see if people would be willing to pay for those wants and needs through an increase in taxes.”
The three-page survey has more than 100 questions that ask respondents to rate everything from crime, fire protection and animal control to garbage collection, the cleanliness of Crested Butte, the economy’s impact on residents, parking and overall quality of life.
“It is very, very common nationally for a lot of towns to conduct such a survey,” said Parker. “It is a comprehensive survey that includes questions we as a staff and members of the Town Council came up with. We want to see the areas where we need to improve and find out where we are doing well.”
Parker said if the community feels the town is spending too much time and/or money in one area and not enough in another, resources could be reallocated.
A postcard should go out next week for those randomly selected to participate in the survey. Actual surveys will go out in mid-August. Parker hopes to conduct such a survey every three to five years to track changing attitudes and keep a pulse on how the town is doing. The National Research Center in Boulder will compile the data and provide the town with complete results.