By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Haldimand County Council got a look at the results of the County’s first-ever resident satisfaction survey at a Council in Committee meeting last week. The survey tasked respondents with sharing their thoughts on several County-wide issues that impact quality of life for residents.
For the first year, the survey yielded 369 responses, which is considered “statistically valid to obtain meaningful results,” according to a County press release. Of those respondents, 52% identified as long-time residents who have lived in Haldimand for more than 25 years, and 64% of respondents were between 30-69 years of age.
According to the survey, 19% of residents rank quality of life as very good, while 64% ranked it good, 15% ranked it poor, and 2% ranked it very poor.
However, only 18% of respondents felt that quality of life has improved over the last five years, with 46% believing it has stayed the same and 36% believing it has worsened.
“Overall, our residents in Haldimand County feel that the quality of life is good or very good. That’s very positive,” said Customer Experience and Communications Manager Trish Cardwell in a presentation on the results.
The survey delved into what factors impacted the overall quality of life score. Respondents noted Haldimand’s friendly, rural, small-town vibe (16%), convenient access to services (14%), access to greenspace (8%), and recreation and leisure opportunities (6%) as positive impacts, while listing the need for improved infrastructure to support growth (6%), crime and policing concerns (6%), lack of recreational amenities (5%), and traffic issues (3%) as negative impacts bringing the overall score down.
“There were some concerns in some communities that there is infrastructure that needs some attention, such as the sewage smell in some of our communities, so perhaps the wastewater treatment plants, feeling that some of our schools are overcrowded, and also having the need for additional bridges to help with traffic flow,” said Cardwell, who noted that a stronger police presence and tougher enforcement of speeding were among the top suggestions voiced by the community through the survey’s open comment section, in addition to amenities such as splash pads, indoor pools, and expanded trails.
With 82% of survey respondents saying they felt proud to call Haldimand home, 71% called the community welcoming and inclusive, and 64% believe the County is efficient and cost effective in providing services.
The top issue facing Haldimand, as identified by 56% of respondents, was affordable housing.
“The top concern of our residents is having enough affordable housing, with concerns around waitlists for community and social housing.… We also had some residents identify with our aging population to make sure we have enough affordable housing that is single-level for people who have mobility issues.”
Community and Development Services Manager Mike Evers responded to the housing concerns, “If it’s a general affordability concern that was raised by the public, that is not something we influence or have control over – that’s set by the market…. It’s by-and-large out of our hands.”
Other top concerns include public safety/crime (17%), growth and development (17%), and the state of our roads and bridges (9%).
“They want to ensure we have responsible management of growth and development,” said Cardwell. “They do feel that development is necessary, but to ensure that we have the proper infrastructure in place and appropriate planning in place to accommodate growth and development.”
Looking at general satisfaction with County-run services, 88% of respondents are happy with Haldimand’s management of its arenas, while 47% are dissatisfied with bylaw enforcement in the community, voicing a desire for stronger enforcement on evenings and weekends.
While the majority of Haldimand’s other services, such as fire services, court services, and cemetery management ranked highly with respondents, the County’s approach to community/social housing ranked poorly, with only a 34% positive rating. Additionally, land use and community planning services received only a 37% positive response.
Ward 2 Councillor John Metcalfe said he would like to see a higher rate of respondents going forward: “The 369 number is like 1% of the total voters. I’d like to see a better uptake…. Hopefully we get more participation moving forward.”
County staff responded that while this initial survey was designed and executed in-house, future surveys may be contracted out to a third-party contractor with tools available to ensure a wider distribution.
Ward 3 Councillor Dan Lawrence noted, “We need to educate people more with regards to certain things they are dissatisfied with – schools and policing, we have no control over that. We could certainly use more policing, but due to the model governed by the Province, we can’t have more and that’s tough. Yeah, we have schools busting at the seams, but the Ministry of Education controls that.”
County staff have indicated that the survey will be distributed bi-annually going forward, noting that surveys of this nature are most effective when done on a routine basis to see how responses change over time.
To view the full survey results, click on the April 11 Council link under the ‘Council Meetings and Agendas’ tab at haldimandcounty.ca.
