Citizens’ Responses to Listening Tour Survey Topic of Council’s Work Session

(Joplin, MO) During a City Council Work Session on November 9, City Manager Nick Edwards will present his assessment of the responses received from citizens in the Listening Tour survey. After joining the City of Joplin in March of this year, Edwards launched a survey to hear directly from citizens on their thoughts and opinions about the City in general. He described the survey as a way for citizens to give their feedback to open-ended questions.

“This was not meant to be a quantitative survey where people rate the different issues on a scale of poor to excellent,” he said. “I wanted to hear from them directly, and what they thought Joplin was doing well, what we could do better, and where they’d like Joplin to be in 5, 10 or 15 years. This Listening Tour was intended to be an opportunity for residents to share their feelings with their local government.  There is some powerful information in the responses.”

To view the executive summary report or all of the data collected, go to www.joplinmo.org/ListeningTour. The survey of five questions received 1,397 responses, totaling nearly 7,000 answers. The data offers insights on what residents enjoy or appreciate about Joplin, and states what areas that Joplin may be lagging. The city is nearly 150 years old, and Edwards recognizes that it is showing its age in some ways. After offering his assessment of the responses, he’ll work with Council members to gain their perspective of some of the major areas to address. These could be part of a discussion during an upcoming Council workshop, tentatively set for November 30.

Edwards noted that the survey is not the end, but just the beginning. “The best way to manage or help with some of the issues is to stay engaged. Working in your neighborhoods, organizations and citizen groups builds unity and creates pride among our community. It’s positive reinforcement that builds momentum and helps to shape the future of a city.”

The work session will be streamed on the City’s website at http://www.joplinmo.org/182/Video-Multimedia

WWW.JOPLINMO.ORG

Reference:

Lynn Onstot, Public Information Officer
City of Joplin
417.624.0820 ext. 204

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