Blake Manuel, who works as an intern in the town manager’s office, discussed the survey with council.
The background
The survey, conducted by the National Community Survey and involving a representative simple of 566 residents, collected information this summer over 43 days and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. The response rate was 19% from 3,000 randomly selected households. It was the town’s first survey since 2019, and this is the fifth survey taken by residents, with the first coming in 2011.
Manuel told council that the survey is conducted to monitor trends in resident opinion; measure government performance; inform budget, land use and strategic planning decisions; and provide benchmarking to other cities.
The survey report zeroes in on the livability of the town, according to the survey itself.
“A livable community is a place that is not simply habitable, but that is desirable,” the survey introduction states. “It is not only where people do live, but where they want to live.”
The survey was developed by the National Research Center at Polco. The survey captures residents’ opinions considering 10 central facets of a community: economy, mobility, community design, utilities, safety, natural environment, parks and recreation, health and wellness, education, arts and culture, and inclusivity and engagement.
The details
The survey showed with 96% of respondents rate the town as a good or excellent place to live. Ninety-five percent of residents rated the overall economic health of Flower Mound as excellent or good, and about 9 in 10 residents praised the overall quality of business and service establishments in the town. Safety and the town’s natural environment also ranked high with survey respondents, as 98% stated that they felt very or somewhat safe in their neighborhood during the day and in Flower Mound’s downtown/commercial area during the day.
“About 9 in 10 survey respondents identified the natural environment as an essential or very important area of focus for the community in the next two years, placing it among residents’ top priorities for the town,” the survey states.
Getting a lower rating on the survey was the quality of transportation system, with 62% rating it as excellent or good. Other lower ratings were overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts, with a 70% rating, and residents' connection and engagement with their community, with a 66% score.
Other notable findings include:
- 67% of respondents give their local government good or excellent marks; just 7% rate it as poor.
- 82% of the respondents give good or excellent ratings to the layout and design to commercial and residential areas.
- 85% of respondents give high marks to the town’s parks and recreation opportunities.
“I think it’s great to see that some of the areas that we need to improve [on], that the residents saw, are also something that the town council identified,” Manuel said, referring to a strategic planning retreat council attended.
An online open participation also was conducted, and 531 people responded, Manuel said. It was open to all residents, and the survey examined the same areas as the scientific survey but was not scientific. Quality of life measures were lower than the scientific survey, but the overall numbers were strong, Manuel said.
What they’re saying
Manuel said town officials are mindful about areas that can be improved, and there are plans to look at some of those areas.
“I think it’s also important to note that we didn’t receive any lower comparisons,” he said, comparing this year to previous measurements. “All of our rankings were similar, higher or much higher.”
On how the town will respond to resident concerns, Town Manager James Childers said town officials will analyze the information and are “very excited about what we can do with this data set.”
