Over 1,000 people took part in a recent survey sponsored by the city of Hermiston, Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, and Hermiston Futures Task Force which asked what additional amenities community members want in Hermiston.
Now the “Livable Hermiston” group has taken the top five concepts, and is asking residents to take a follow-up survey on the City’s website to further gauge public support for those projects.
The initial Livable Hermiston survey presented residents with the ability to provide a free-response answer to the question, “Imagine the City of Hermiston has been given a one-time legacy gift of millions of dollars, but it has to be spent within the next five years on a community facility that enhances Hermiston’s livability; what would be your top priority for investing this gift?” After 1,056 surveys came back, several concepts clearly rose to the top.
“A Community Activity Center, like a YMCA or a Boys & Girls Club, and a year-round aquatic center were by far the two most popular responses in the first survey,” Clark Worth of Barney & Worth, Inc. said. “After that the concepts started to get a bit broader, but there were still several distinct themes that emerged to form the rest of the top five.”
The themes for the rest of the top five were identified by the Livable Hermiston Committee because many specific recommendations from the community had very similar intentions. One of the themes was classified as “Arts and Culture Facilities,” which included ideas ranging from creation of a museum or performing arts center, to expanding the existing library. The next theme was related to expanding parks, trails, and sports fields. The final theme that gained enough comments to be in the top five was a desire to have a revitalized downtown.
The new survey will now ask residents to specifically answer whether or not they think any of the top five responses should be a top priority for the community to focus on developing over the next ten years. In addition to asking if residents support the various concepts, the new survey simply asks if they would also be willing to pay something to make any of the visions a reality.
“What we find when we do these types of surveys is that some concepts may sound like they have a lot of community support, until you specifically ask if people are willing to pay for it,” Worth said. “This follow-up survey will help to determine what concepts truly are supported by the community to a level that a large-scale project may be viable.”
Once the follow-up survey is completed, the Livable Hermiston Committee will re-convene to review the responses before offering a final report to the City Council for their consideration in developing long-range priorities and budgets over the next 10-15 years. English and Spanish versions of the follow-up survey are available at the City of Hermiston’s website. The follow-up survey will be available through Dec. 10.
