Jason Morado of ETC Institute speaks at the June 26 council meeting about a recent survey taken by city residents. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The results of the citizen survey given during the June 26 city council meeting made one thing very clear: people who live in Mountain Brook are very happy with their city.
“Residents have a very positive perception of the city,” said Jason Morado of ETC Institute. “Ninety-nine and a half percent of respondents rate Mountain Brook as an excellent or a good place to live, so we rounded up to 100%. There were only two respondents that gave a rating of neutral. Everybody else gave a rating of excellent or good, which is the highest number that I've ever seen.
99% of those who took the survey also rated Mountain Brook as an excellent or good place to raise children, which Morado said is among the highest numbers he’s ever seen.
“Overall satisfaction ratings this year are similar to previous years, which is a positive, because your ratings have always been among the highest in the country,” he said.
Continued high ratings are particularly impressive, he added, because most cities ETC surveyed have had overall a decrease in satisfaction compared to previous years.
“We also found that satisfaction with the overall quality of city services, just like every other year we conducted the survey, is much higher in Mountain Brook than in other cities, rating above the U.S. average in all 43 areas,” Morado said. “That's one of the most important questions on the survey because we're asking residents to consider all the services that you're providing.”
Mountain Brook rated 46 percentage points above the U.S. average. The city rated 52 percentage points above the U.S. average in customer service and city employees.
Respondents rated elected officials and board members at an 84 percent satisfaction rating.
“I think it's obvious to everybody up here and it's so clear that we have excellent employees and department heads in front of the city,” Council President Virginia Smith said. “We've got to work on our 84% up here (on the council dais).”
Also during the June 27 meeting the council:
- Renewed its contract with Focus Birmingham for engagement and public relations services.
- Approved an additional services proposal with Gresham Smith regarding the Old Brook Trail Bridge project.
- Approved a request from the police department to purchase two cameras and accessories using opioid settlement funds.
- Approved the installation of a street light between and to the rear of 32 Country Club Boulevard and 33 Country Club Boulevard.
- Authorized that the last two parking spaces on the northern side of Montevallo Road as being for compact cars, which substituted for a more subjective “small car” designation.
- Authorized an additional police officer position which will allow for future deployment of school resource officers in Mountain Brook schools.
Mayor Stewart Welch III recognized the department’s SROs for having been named the best team in the state at the annual conference of the Alabama Association of School Resource Officers.
Mountain Brook School Resource Officers (from left) Officer Lance Ziska, Officer Richard Knecht, Officer Tommy Tanner, Officer Ro Burrow, Officer Daphne Horton and Corporal Glenn White. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The council agreed to temporary and construction easements with Canterbury United Methodist Church for a drainage project.
Brooks Sanders, David Lyles and Andrew Hicks were reappointed to the board of landscape design.
Lindsy Gardner gave the council an update on the Overton Road location of the O’Neal Library that opened on June 1. She said librarians are seeing roughly 50 percent of the traffic they had seen at the Crestline location that was damaged when a fire suppression system caused a flood.
“We’re averaging between 300-350 people a day,” she said. “Seventy to 80% of those people are taking advantage of the children’s services. That was our main objective, to make sure the summer reading program went on as planned.”
Staff has noted seeing “some new faces” among the patrons with residents in that area visiting for the first time or more frequently. Meanwhile, Crestline patrons are eager for the primary location to reopen, at least with curbside service.
The Overton location will be open through July 27. Bids for repairing the flood-damaged building were set to open June 26, and a special council meeting will likely be required to accept that bid.
The next regular meeting of the city council will be 7 p.m. on July 10.
