Phone Survey Asks Kent Residents About City Service Quality

Kent residents may be getting a phone call with questions about quality of life, city services and a new police station in the Tree City.

City administrators have contracted with the Akron-based firm Center for Marketing and Opinion Research to question residents about life in Kent.

Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said the idea of such a survey came up during talks about proposed to pay for the city's new police station.

"But we realized that this is a great opportunity to revisit the broader community priorities with Kent residents by asking questions that addressed a range of issues from public safety, quality of life and economic development to neighorhood preservation," Ruller said.

In August voted to put a increase on the November ballot to pay for a new, $18.36 million police station.

Kent Safety Director William Lillich said the survey doesn't focus on the new police station but does pose questions about it to residents.

"It’s a general citizen’s satisfaction survey," Lillich said. "So it asks general perception questions, like what you think of the quality of the services you receive."

Ruller said that the timing seemed to fit considering past similar surveys have indicated redeveloping downtown should be a priority for city officials.

"A number of the top community priorities identified in previous surveys, (such as) downtown revitaliation, have been accomplished, or are at least well underway," he said. "So the timing seemed right to ask residents for a status check on what's working from their perspective, what needs to be improved and what should be our top priorities heading into 2013 and beyond."

The data, once compiled, will be used in planning discussions during the next six to nine months.

"Hopefully it's a new beginning for great things in Kent, so now is the time to be charting what comes next and where do we go from here," Ruller said. "Answering that question starts with hearing from Kent residents and the survey is an initial effort to begin that community conversation."