The Town of St. Paul citizen survey results were released during the July 9 council meeting, and although results were only briefly discussed during the meeting, the data within the report speaks volumes and points to two distinct issues - crime and recycling.
A total of 204 residents took part in the survey offered online earlier this year, with 88 per cent of participants residing in the Town of St. Paul. Others who took part resided in the County of St. Paul, and the surrounding Lakeland region. One person said they were from neither of the three specified areas.
The most represented age group among survey takers was 35 to 44 years old (32 per cent), with almost half of participants having lived in St. Paul for over 25 years.
Perhaps one of the most surprising results came at question five, when residents were asked "How strongly do you agree that St. Paul is a safe community?" Over half (110) people selected a score of three or lower, with one being "Not Safe," which 16 people selected. A total of 41 people selected number two, while 53 people chose number three.
This scale went from one to seven, with only three people selecting very safe, and 43 saying they're content with the safeness of the town.
Additionally, 60 citizens selected four or lower on a scale of one to 10 regarding their overall satisfaction with RCMP. Their overall weighted score was 5.69 of a possible 10. Similar numbers stood out for Protective Services (Peace Officers), with a 4.89 average score out of 10.
Mayor Maureen Miller told the Journal she had met with RCMP Staff Sgt. Corey Blize on July 12, to discuss the survey results and how to address issues going forward.
"I think that the RCMP . . . has taken a more concentrated effort in specific areas or specific issues with teamwork. I think that we're sitting in the middle of a transition in a number of things," said the mayor.
"I mean, rural crime has increased provincially and federally, and that's a huge issue. We can't really change our agreement with the RCMP, but maybe the RCMP can redefine how they're going to police our community."
Miller said the RCMP did read the results of the survey, and they will come back to the town about initiatives they're working on.
Health care
Health services in St. Paul also offered some intriguing results. A total of 123 people selected four or lower on the scale of 1 to 10 on overall satisfaction of "Health Services." A total of 17.65 per cent chose number one, while just 4.41 per cent made up eight through 10.
Recreation
The abundance of facilities available in the area is satisfying most, according to the survey. The Ball Diamonds received the highest average rating (7.05) of the nine listed facilities, while the lowest average was the St. Paul Golf Course, at 6.24 out of 10.
The arenas (6.7 CAP, 6.98 Clancy Richard), and soccer fields & Reunion Station (6.96) also polled well.
Public Works
Water Services and quality provided by the Public Works sector averaged a score of 7.28, one of the highest averages throughout the entire survey.
The Town of St. Paul FCSS program scored a 7.29 average of satisfaction out of a possible 10, but with 44 surveyors selecting "Non-applicable." The library and its programs came in at a 7.04 average score, with the same number of surveyors not answering the question.
Electronic
Perhaps a nod to future changes made by the town, the survey asked residents if they would sign up for electronic utility billing, which would mean receiving monthly utility bills online.
Almost 52 per cent answered yes, while about 29 per cent of respondents flat out said no. The remaining 19 per cent said they'd consider it, but have questions before deciding.
Another question asked surveyors to select all options that apply as to what the town's most effective way of communication would be regarding issues that arise in the municipality, with an overwhelming 85.6 per cent (173 people) saying Facebook was a good way to reach them. The St. Paul Journal was ranked second highest, with 71.7 per cent (145 people) selecting the paper as a preferred way of communication.
Public Responses
Lastly, the survey asked residents to share their general thoughts about the present state of St. Paul. A total of 65 people submitted anonymous comments, while 139 skipped the question.
While comments from a few people were about how they're enjoying the new council and their transparency efforts, the bulk of comments came down to two issues: crime and recycling.
"DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE CRIME! I am legit looking at houses in a different community tomorrow because I am scared to live here," one response read.
Part of another comment reads: "We have so much foot traffic on 51 Ave by the police station, that is very
concerning. I don’t feel safe going for walks. Having foot patrol police would be fantastic to see in this area."
The most frequently topic mentioned in the comments was the lack of a recycling system in the town. Some commentators asked for a curbside recycling service, inquired about why the town doesn't recycle plastic, and others mentioned that funding should go towards recycling programs rather than other events.
"I don’t support the town’s financial support of the Centerfield event. Huge cost to the town - would like to have that money invested in recycling services that would benefit our future generations," one citizen said.
Another spoke about the town they moved from, and its initiatives regarding recycling and waste management. They suggested similar measures should be taken by town council.
"(My previous town), charges everyone for "wet waste" by a purchased sticker system. Recycling was
much more diverse and sorted in a regional recycling centre shared my many communities. Because recycling was so vast, our wet waste was only one grocery bag a week. (It led to) good environmental stewardship and increased employment at (the) recycling centre. Rural Alberta is very behind when it comes to environmental sustainability."
A plethora of other responses spoke to recycling.
Town responds
When Miller spoke with the Journal about the results of the survey, she spoke of when the current council was first elected, they looked at continuing a waste energy program that was put together by the previous council. Miller said that while the idea was exciting, they "didn't have the volume that would be needed," and that "We'd need a huge partner buy-in, and we didn't have the volume within the timeline."
But, it hasn't been forgotten. "We need to do this a different way," she continued.
"In that process, I do not believe the community was involved. It came together fairly quickly, I think, but it was a great idea. But I don't think the community was involved in how they were going to buy-in and participate."
From that early experience, Miller and the rest of council knew they needed to strike a committee that involved both council and members of the public. They did exactly that during a June council meeting.
The town formed the Citizen's Advisory Waste and Recycling Committee, with Coun. Nathan Taylor and Coun. Ron Bosivert as members. The committee will also consist of two town staff members, and three members of the public.
"I do believe our community wants to leave a better (carbon) footprint, and so do we. We just didn't feel that (the first waste energy plan) had involved community engagement. So we will step ourselves back a bit, get community feedback and move forward," Miller said.
She spoke of a recent trip to Halifax, during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference, where some of council toured waste management facilities and explored options, noting that further research will be done.
As for curb side pickup for recyclables, Miller said it's a distinct possibility.
"I would expect so. We need to be sure though that when we're collecting the curb side recycling, that we're actually getting it where it needs to be. I know that in previous years, there was a large recycling project . . . We found out after that all the (recyclables) all still went over to the transfer station," said the mayor.
"We need to be sure and be transparent with the community . . . They need to know that what they're collecting is actually getting recycled to market somewhere."
