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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Medford experiences hottest June on record ... In the heat of the night ... Our View: New high today ... Medford experiences hottest June on record ... In the heat of the night ... Our View: New high today ... ASHLAND City survey shows residents largely satisfied Areas where improvement could be made include affordable housing, economic development and parking Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 8:39 PM Updated Jan 21, 2015 at 8:50 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 8:39 PM Updated Jan 21, 2015 at 8:50 PM » RELATED CONTENT What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . • Walking, biking, driving, parking, changes coming to downtown... • Top stories of 2014 • Studded snow tire season ends Monday • Still icy — what's the deal? » Social News Ashlanders are “happy with city services and city employees...love their community, feel safe...and value city services for which they pay taxes,” according to  a survey of citizens taken every two years. H owever, citizens say, Ashland needs to make progress in the critical areas of housing options, cost of living and employment opportunities.   Residents also gave low marks for parking and snow removal.   Council members, hearing the report Tuesday from city Management Analyst Ann Seltzer, said it supports an increased focus on affordable housing, entrepreneurial type jobs (not just attracting big companies) and the eternal bugaboo of downtown parking.   Using almost 400 responses from citizens, staff called the report card generally “positive,” matching other smaller university towns in safety, mobility, built environment, economy and community engagement.    It ranked above such other towns in natural environment, recreation, wellness and education enrichment. Similar marks went to Ashland as a great place to retire or raise children.   City Administrator Dave Kanner said, “How can we better support economic development? The survey indicates that’s where we should put our energy, not trying to get major employers to move here, but helping the entrepreneurs and improving services for them.”   Kanner said the survey points out an anomaly: that 57 percent work and live in town, contrary to the conventional wisdom that “you work in Ashland but can’t afford to live here.”  In fact, he added, it’s the lower-income people who are most likely to both live and work in Ashland.  Another strange statistic, he said, was that people who have lived here less than five years have a lower opinion of the city government than longtime residents. The staff report said the survey results were similar to two years ago. It has a plus or minus 5 points margin of error and was weighted to correct for those with low or high numbers of responses. Renters and single males respond in lower numbers while seniors and homeowners responded more, so figures were adjusted to reflect the real demographics.  By the percentages:   86 percent: Pleased with city services, except snow removal. 46 percent:  Economic development as excellent or good. 77 percent:  Public information as excellent or good. 77 percent:  Sense of community. 89 percent:  They walk or bike. 98 percent:  They purchase goods in town. 33 percent:  Watch local meeting. 26 percent:  Attend local meeting. 97 percent:  Want it made easier for business to grow here. 95 percent:  Want improvement in workforce development. 64 percent:  Keep city hall downtown, if it costs less than other options. 19  percent:  More sports and recreation, and nature and  culture. 6 percent:  More dog park or senior classes. 90 percent:  Overall image and appearance, positive. Rated very low were proposals to attract new industry to vacant industrial lands. Just over half said they got city information from its website or local media.  Cost of living and employment opportunities got thumbs up from less than 25 percent of respondents. Over 90 percent approved of recreational and fitness opportunities here. Councilman Rich Rosenthal called it “fantastic information and my biggest takeaway was the 86 percent approval for city government,” with even higher for city parks and also recreational opportunities. Seltzer said that’s not just city programs, but takes in the YMCA, Ashland Racket Club and yoga salons.  “My main areas of concern,” said Councilor Pam Marsh, “is our low marks in affordable housing, economic development and lack of employment.” She also pointed out the huge jump in residents using cell phones as their only phone — 63 percent — noting this brings up implications for emergency services.  Councilman Greg Lemhouse said it’s good to hear the overall satisfaction with the city, but it tunes him into how the council can “get stuck in this paradigm, sitting here oiling the squeaky wheel” while huge issues keep being a problem. The cost of the survey was $14,800. The report  provides a “voice to Ashland citizens that neither staff nor the City  Council may otherwise hear," according to the city staff report. “If a downward trend develops, staff can evaluate why and consider responsive actions. Significant downward trends or consistent low scores can serve to raise policy questions for council to consider,” Seltzer wrote. “After review and consideration of the policy questions, the council may then determine that the low scores are not a cause for concern or that policy needs to be implemented to raise those  scores.” By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 8:39 PM Updated Jan 21, 2015 at 8:50 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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