By Andrea Cordle
Southwest Editor
Residents in Grove City are giving city leaders some attitude.
At the April 4 Grove City Council meeting, Martin Saperstein, with Saperstein Associates, Inc. presented council and the city’s administration with the results of the 2015 Grove City Community Attitudes Survey.
Saperstein Associates in a public opinion research company based in Columbus. The company has performed this survey for the city every other year since 1992. It is designed to track trends and give city leaders feedback about how residents feel about the community.
The city paid the research company $24,850 to conduct the survey.
According to Saperstein, company representatives dialed nearly 7,000 phone numbers, but interviewed 500 residents in the city of Grove City.
The survey results showed that 86 percent of those interviewed, said the city was heading in the right direction and six out of 10 believe the quality of life in the city is better today than it was five years ago.
One of the reasons residents feel more optimistic is increased employment opportunities.
According to Saperstein, more than half the residents interviewed rated job opportunities excellent or good, which is an all-time high for the city.
In 2011, the survey found only 27 percent of people rated the city well for employment opportunities.
The survey showed that most people were satisfied with services such as police, fire, community events and trash collection. It also showed that residents were happy with the city’s public officials, saying they did a good job in planning for the future and managing city funds.
As for future projects, interviewees said that they wanted to see a permanent facility for higher education, as well as more development in the city’s Town Center. Residents also showed interest in building a community recreation center and a second swimming pool.
“I love the survey results,” said councilwoman Laura Lanese. “It is great news to hear.”
Councilman Steve Bennett said, “It is heartwarming to know that so many who live in the community think this is a great place to live.”
Grove City Mayor Richard “Ike” Stage said Grove City was the first community in central Ohio to have a company conduct this type of survey to track trends. Now, many communities do the same.
