Citizens rate schools high, sidewalks low in survey
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
The results are in from a recent community-wide survey distributed by the City of Hillsboro.
Although city officials haven't been able to tabulate results from the entire survey, what they have completed so far presents an interesting picture.
About 35 percent of the city's population responded to the survey — a percentage that City Administrator Steve Garrett is pleased with.
"It shows people do care about their community," he said.
Usually with a survey like this, the response rate is generally 18 to 25 percent, he said. Having one-third of the population respond is encouraging.
In the general information section, one thing is clear: Hillsboro citizens aren't happy with their sidewalks.
When asked to rate the city's sidewalks, a whopping 297 said they needed improvement. Just 72 said they were good, and only four rated them as excellent.
Many residents are also concerned about the quality of their electricity service. Only 28 respondents said that the electrical service in town is "excellent." One hundred sixty-eight said it was good, and 168 also said it needed improvement.
From the number of votes in the "needs improvement," it appears that Hillsboro residents are also concerned about the quality of their streets and water.
In the streets category, 137 people said they needed improvement. Two hundred and two people rated them as good, and just 19 rated them as excellent.
And in the water category, 118 people said the city's water needs improvement. Two hundred and twenty said the water is good, and 32 said that it's excellent.
Hillsboro's schools received the highest approval ratings of all. The elementary and middle school gained the most number of "excellent" votes, with 141 each. Ranked behind those schools were the "high school" and "college."
After the local schools, trash pickup was the next category with the most "excellent" votes.
The segment of the survey that was analyzed ended with this question: What types of projects concerning public facilities would you like to see undertaken in your community?
The city swimming pool made it into the most comments, with residents indicating that the city needs either a new swimming pool or improvement on the current one.
Behind the pool, city park improvements came in second. Other comments included a bike or walking path, improved sidewalks, improved library, and Rails to Trails.
Garrett was interested to note that the top comments dealt with city recreation. Though he's not exactly sure what that means, it does show that the city is doing a good job of covering the "essentials," he said.
Most of the people who responded to the survey are in the 65 and over age bracket. Forty-three percent of that age group returned the survey.
Only seven percent of those in the 20-34 age bracket returned the survey.
The rest of the survey will be ready before the next Hillsboro Planning Commission meeting, which is set for Thursday, Dec. 5. It will be a week later than normal because of the Christmas holiday, Garrett said.
