League City council members question results of parks and recreation survey

According to a community survey group, when it comes to League City parks and recreational improvements, residents most want senior fitness programs and an indoor community pool, but some officials questioned how accurate those claims are.

Two-minute impact

On June 27, Dawn Davis of ETC Institute presented to League City City Council the results of a survey sent to a random sample of residents asking about how to improve city parks and recreational opportunities.

The survey also asked about:

• Improvements to Clear Creek
• Improvements to the Walker Street pool
• The potential to build a community center and/or library on the city’s west side

• Residents are generally satisfied with the maintenance and physical condition of city and county parks.
• Maintenance, wildlife and environmental conservation, and hike and bike trail connectivity are the most important improvements to be made along the creek.
• Creating adult and senior fitness and wellness programs is important to residents.
• Creating community gardens and an indoor swimming pool is also important to residents.

According to how the survey was analyzed, adult and senior fitness and wellness programs and an indoor swimming pool are ranked as top priorities for the city.

However, Council Member Chad Tressler questioned why this was. According to the survey, only 50% of respondents ranked an indoor swimming pool as an important future project, placing it fifth from the bottom of a list of 28 potential projects.

“If nobody wants one, it doesn’t matter that we don’t have one,” he said.

Council Member John Bowen asked about the demographics of the survey respondents. He said he was surprised to see senior fitness and wellness programs rank so high when children are the primary users of parks. He wondered if most of the survey respondents were senior citizens, which may have skewed the data.

Davis said the demographics of the survey respondents are reflective of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

Stay tuned

Mayor Nick Long indicated council members want more information on how the survey was conducted and analyzed so council members and city staff can make the best use of it.