UPDATE: Taxpayer-funded Customer Survey Finally Complete

UPDATE Dec. 8. The McLean Community Center board has finally received a completed copy of a $30,000 customer service report that was paid for in July and conducted a year ago.

The board paid Dr. James Witte, a George Mason University professor, for the taxpayer-funded survey then waited for him to complete it. The MCC released the completed report Wednesday.

The board and Dr. Witte told taxpayers at the end of November that the report was complete. Then McLean Patch learned last week the MCC board was still waiting for the report.

A total of 39,842 phone calls were placed between Sept. 19 to Nov. 19, the MCC said in a press release Wednesday. The survey results were based on a total of 739 completed interviews and 59 partial (between 50 and 90 percent complete) interviews.

More than 14,000 households live in the special tax district of McLean and pay an extra property tax to support the Community Center.

For the first time in recent memory the usually secretive board posted the report on its website.

McLean Patch will report on the final results contained in the report in our Friday editions.

UPDATE FRIDAY DEC. 2. Turns out the statements made by the McLean Community Center and a GMU professor that a telephone customer survey report had been completed, were untrue.

MCC board member Craig Richardson, chair of the Communications Committee that ordered the report, said Thursday night GMU professor Dr. James Witte was still putting the finishing touches on the executive summary of the report.

Before Thanksgiving both the MCC staff and Dr. Witte, of George Mason University, told taxpayers  that the long-awaited report was complete. Dr. Witte has been paid nearly $27,000 for the report based on responses  from 22 percent of the less than 800 people called.

Richardson said the report was now expected next week.

UPDATE MONDAY NOV. 28: A year ago at this time the staff of a George Mason University professor was conducting a telephone customer survey for the McLean Community Center.

The professor Dr. James Witte has been paid nearly $27,000 for the small survey. When McLean Patch inquired on Nov. 16  if the report had finally been completed, the McLean Community Center responded two days later that they were still awaiting the complete report.

Then on Nov. 20  they said they had it and would be releasing it shortly. Dr. Witte also said he had completed the report.

The Communications Committee of the McLean Community Center board contracted with Witte for the publicly-funded survey of McLean taxpayers' opinions about the community center and its operations in the Fall of 2010.

The survey was conducted from October-December, 2010. Witte presented the Communications Committee, then headed by board member Risa Sanders, the raw data from the report in April.

The raw data released in April showed a majority of  a small sample of McLean residents like the McLean Community Center, but a much lower percentage of residents actually use it, according to the results of a telephone and internet survey of residents.

The survey results were based on  responses  from 22 percent of the less than 800 people called but Dr. Witte, said the results were statistically valid.

The committee then asked for an executive summary and greater analysis of the data.

In July, Risa Sanders told the Communications Committee, "Things have fallen into a mini-abyss,"  and they were still awaiting the taxpayer-funded, sole-source contract with Dr. Witte.

Dr. Witte said in an e-mail: As, I think, was communicated to you by representatives from the MCC, we were paid because the work was completed.  The project took longer than anticipated, in part, because there were transitions on the MCC Board, Committees and staff during the time we spend working on the project.  The survey we conducted for the MCC was exhaustive. 

"We made tens of thousands of phone calls, and we ended up with more than 750 surveys completed, which is an enormous survey size for the number of households in the Tax District.  Our draft report was very comprehensive, and with the MCC's feedback, the final report is near completion and will be released by the MCC shortly.  Finally, please note that due to a memorandum of understanding GMU has with Fairfax County, the administrative overhead rate MCC paid for the survey is 1/3 our typical fee for such work."

The McLean  tax district has an estimated 14,600 households, according to the U.S. Census.

McLean Patch has requested a copy of the completed report to share with the neighbors.