Servus Credit Union Place has made slight gains in winning over the public, suggests the city's latest community satisfaction survey.
Fifty-five per cent of residents polled said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the multi-purpose recreation centre. Last year, during the height of the Servus Place task force review into operating deficits, just 40 per cent of residents expressed satisfaction with the facility.
Banister Research & Consulting Inc. performed the survey that interviewed 800 residents between April 3 and 25 this year. The results were presented to council Monday night.
Even though the survey suggests residents are happier with the facility, Mayor Nolan Crouse said there's still a long way to go.
"I've maintained from the very beginning, that I think that Servus Place has still a possibility of getting a lot closer to break even in the years ahead," said Crouse.
According to Servus Place's first quarter results from 2009, the facility came close to its projected budget, but membership fees were 6.4 per cent lower than expected, and that's where Crouse believes the facility needs to put its focus.
"I still think that while the satisfaction continues to rise, we can continually strive to improve our membership numbers and that will ultimately result in improved financial success," Crouse said.
High satisfaction
Other results suggest 97 per cent of residents are happy with their overall quality of life in St. Albert, and more than 40 per cent of residents said the city's parks and trail system was the most significant factor that contributed to the quality of life in St. Albert.
"This tends to be one of the strongest points in the City of St. Albert, the parks and trail system," said Tracy With of Banister.
Another noted trend was the 49 per cent of residents who said they believed they received good or very good value for their tax dollars, compared to only 41 per cent in 2008.
The figure surprised Coun. Lorie Garritty.
"The one that struck me was the high number of people that there was a fair value for their tax dollars," Garritty said.
Only 13 per cent of residents polled said they received poor value for their tax dollar compared to 18 per cent last year. Garritty believes it's a signal that residents are confident with council's decisions.
"I wasn't expecting 50 per cent of people to say it's great value, but if it's fair value I think that's a pretty good indicator that people are reasonably happy with what's going on here."
The complete survey can be downloaded at www.stalbert.ca.
