Survey about Marion available online, in person
Staff writer
A survey about Marion’s future asks about its housing, infrastructure, industrial park, and image.
But one question it doesn’t ask is whether survey takers are residents of the city.
The survey is part of Marion’s work with Wichita State University Public Policy and Management Center on a strategic plan. Misty Bruckner, director of the center, said employees there drafted questions in consultation with the city and members of the community.
Bruckner said the center had tools to track a survey taker’s location as well as prevent multiple responses from someone who might want to influence the results.
A link to the survey went out to people signed up for alerts from the city and was posted on the city’s Facebook page. Paper copies are available at City Hall and Marion City Library. People who opt to fill out surveys in person must complete the questionnaire on site.
The survey is not scientific “because people opt-in,” Bruckner said. “It’s not a random selection of people. For the most part, this is an online survey.”
The WSU center led several focus groups — some open to the public — asking people about city needs and what direction Marion’s future should take.
Discussion at those meetings steered the direction of the survey, she said.
Affordable housing, for example, is a section of the survey.
“Those are the topics we heard in the focus groups,” she said.
The survey also asks how people receive city-related news and information and asks takers to select all that apply: the city’s newsletter and website, the Record, Hillsboro Free Press, Peabody Gazette-Bulletin, and social media.
“How do people know what’s going on in their community?” Bruckner said, explaining the question’s inclusion. “People consume news in different ways, and there are generational differences.”
Janet Marler, director of the library, said 10 to 15 people had filled out the survey there as of Monday. The surveys are available at the checkout desk.
The city and center will share survey results at a Feb. 20 meeting, details of which will be announced later.