Residents in a recent survey said Oswego is a good place to live, believing it is safe and a nice town in which to raise children, while they also said traffic and the condition of roads are issues that need to be spotlighted as the community continues to grow.
Oswego trustees as a committee of the whole Tuesday night will discuss results of the 2023 Oswego Community Survey Findings Report intended to help village leaders better understand and respond to the needs of the community, village officials said.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at Oswego Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill.
“We really appreciate the feedback from our residents,” Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said in a statement. “The survey results will help the Village Board and staff focus on which projects need more focus and funding, as well as areas where the village excels.”
Previous community surveys were done in 2016 and 2018. The administration decided not to conduct a 2020 survey due to the pandemic. The village commissioned ETC Institute to conduct the recent community survey in the fall.
“ETC Institute not only has the ability to analyze the data, they can also benchmark the village against communities in our region and across the nation,” Oswego Management Analyst Madeleine Trinco said in a report to trustees.
The administration surpassed a goal to obtain completed surveys from at least 500 residents.
“This goal was met, with a total of 527 residents completing the survey,” Trinco said.
According to the results, “90% of the residents surveyed indicated the village is either an excellent or good place to raise children and 89% indicated the village is an excellent or good place to live,” she said.
The six-page survey, and postage-paid return envelope, were mailed to a random sample of households in the village, officials said. Residents could either return the survey by mail or complete the survey online.
Ten days after the surveys were mailed, ETC Institute sent follow-up messages to households that received the survey to encourage participation.
Questions on which the village received a larger number of either “excellent” or “good” ratings from residents included the overall quality of the fire district (92%) and overall quality of local ambulance services (88%), as well as overall quality of library services (87%) and overall feeling of safety in the village (85%), according to the report.
Overall satisfaction with village services based upon the combined percentage of “very satisfied” and “satisfied” responses among residents included police services (81%) and customer service from the village (74%) and overall quality of services provided by the village (68%) and overall maintenance of village streets (65%), the report states.
According to the report, 93% of residents who had an opinion indicated they feel either “very safe” or “somewhat safe” in commercial and retail areas, 91% feel safe in village parks, recreation areas and trails and 88% feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood after dark.
Traffic flow on major village streets and the condition of roadways are the two areas respondents indicated should receive the most emphasis over the next two years, according to the report.
The survey results are available on the village’s website.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
