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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-30-VISION2025-Final Report on Town-Wide Survey-rpt Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 �OJ MOpry�NC� 0 Virg, rVv S s o an APRIL 19m� SEX IN Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Submitted by: Marian A.O. Cohen, Ph.D. Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. w - Directors, Center for Social Research �,�.. •� :..Fid - Framingham State University w August 2022 "pw ' - Approved by: Vision for Lexington Committee Lexington, Massachusetts Marian A.O.Cohen,Ph.D. 1 Ruth Remington,Ph.D.,R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................5 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................. 15 Background............................................................................ 15 Center for Social Research ...................................................... 17 FINDINGS ....................................................................................... 19 Part I - Importance and Performance ............................................... 19 Economic Development...........................................................20 PublicEducation ....................................................................22 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability ...................24 Physical Character..................................................................27 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ...............................................29 Town Government...................................................................31 TownServices.........................................................................34 Additional information in Part I ...............................................36 Conclusions for Part I .............................................................39 Summary ...............................................................................46 Part II - Experiences Living in Lexington...........................................51 Questions about Quality of Life ...............................................51 Questions about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion......................54 Questions about Taxes............................................................56 Questions about Community Participation...............................57 Part III - Priorities and Competing Issues .........................................59 Part IV - Demographic Findings .......................................................63 Other findings in Part IV .........................................................66 Comparisons of Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance...70 Economic Development...........................................................71 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 2 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Public Education ....................................................................74 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability ...................77 Physical Character..................................................................83 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ...............................................87 Town Government...................................................................90 Town Services.........................................................................96 Summary ............................................................................. 102 FocusGroups ............................................................................... 102 Comparison of Findings from 2012 and 2017 and 2022 Surveys ..... 106 Most Important Issues .......................................................... 106 Importance and Performance Comparisons ............................ 110 Summary and Comparison Charts ........................................ 110 Economic Development ............................................................ 112 Public Education...................................................................... 114 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability .................... 116 Physical Character................................................................... 117 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion................................................. 121 Town Government.................................................................... 123 TownServices .......................................... .............................. 127 Satisfaction Level.......................................................... ...... 131 Concerns about Changes in Lexington................................... 131 Use of Town Amenities .......................................................... 141 Civic Participation................................................................. 142 Demographic Profiles ............................................................ 143 Conclusions .................................................................................. 145 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 3 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 AppendixA ................................................................................... 150 Town-wide Survey 2022 ........................................................ 150 AppendixB ................................................................................... 193 Questions for Focus Groups.................................................. 193 AppendixC ................................................................................... 195 Stacked Bar Chart Comparisons of Importance and Performance Ratings................................................................................. 195 Appendix D - List of Tables and Charts..........................................226 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 4 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Back round On behalf of the Vision for Lexington Committee of Lexington, Massachusetts, and with the support of members of the three elected Boards (Select, School, Planning), a Town-wide study was undertaken to identify and better understand areas of interest and concern to residents. The current study was a replication (with some modifications) of Town-wide surveys conducted in 2012 and 2017. A goal of Vision for Lexington is to repeat such studies every five (5) years in order to assess community perspectives and progress toward meeting stated preferences of community members and to inform planning and decision-making by the three elected Boards. From its inception, the Vision for Lexington Committee (formerly the 20/20 Committee) has sought input from residents for the planning process. The Committee has used workshops, working groups, precinct meetings, focus groups, and surveys to gather information that has then been used by members of the elected Boards to guide their decision-making. The study reported here is in that vein and it is expected that results will be used to inform decision-making going forward. Survey Task Force A Task Force composed of representatives of the three elected Boards (Select Board, School Committee, and Planning Board), representatives of the Vision for Lexington Committee, and some community members was formed to review the contents of the 2017 Town-wide questionnaire. Considerations were given to questions that were no longer relevant (for example, questions about communication were deemed to have been addressed by the addition of a Public Information Officer between 2017 and 2022); that needed rewording to make them more pertinent to current situations; and that needed addition to address issues that have arisen or taken greater prominence since the 2017 survey. Center for Social Research The Center for Social Research was engaged to conduct the study. The Directors of the Center have extensive experience conducting research and one of the Directors has been the Principal Investigator on several studies in Lexington (on both the municipal and school sides), including both the 2012 and 2017 Town-wide surveys previously conducted on behalf of the Town. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 5 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 The Structure of the Questionnaire The questionnaire was divided into four parts: Part I asked respondents to indicate how important specific issues are to them in preserving or improving Lexington; to evaluate the performance of the Town with respect to each of the issues; and to identify the single most important issue within broad topic areas. Part II asked respondents to reflect on their experiences living in Lexington. Subsections of Part II focused on taxes and community participation. Part III asked respondents to indicate their priorities with respect to use of resources in an era of tight budgets and increasing demands on those budgets. Part IV collected demographic data on respondents. All findings are presented in aggregated form so as to preserve anonymity and confidentiality of responses. The Structure of the Retort The report presents results in both narrative and graphic forms. For graphic presentations, consult Appendix D for a list of tables and charts. Findings of the 2022 Questionnaire (Univariate) Part I: Questions asked respondents to identify the importance of specific items about the Town, how they rate performance of the Town with respect to each of those items, and what they deem most important within each of seven (7) broad categories. ✓ The most important issue identified by respondents within the broad category of Economic Development was having a vibrant downtown. The majority of respondents (57.6°/x), however, rated performance with respect to this issue as `fair' or `poor'. ✓ The most important issues identified by respondents within the broad category of Public Education were meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students; attracting and retaining high quality teachers; and delivering public education cost effectively. For the first issue, performance ratings were equally distributed between positive and negative. For the second issue, ratings of performance were mixed, with slightly more respondents giving positive ratings than negative ratings. For the third issue, respondents gave considerably more negative than positive ratings (60.6% vs. 21.8%). ✓ The most important issues identified by respondents within the broad category of Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability were ensuring access to safe drinking water and meeting Town and state Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 6 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years. The vast majority of respondents rated performance on the first issue as `excellent' or 'very good'. Performance ratings on the second issue were mixed. ✓ The most important issues identified by respondents within the broad category of Physical Character were preserving Town's owned open space; preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods; and enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center. The vast majority of respondents rated performance on the first issue as `excellent' or `very good'. Performance ratings on the second item were more negative than positive and ratings on the third item were mixed. ✓ The most important issues identified by respondents within the broad category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were welcoming diverse groups of people and ensuring housing is available for a diverse population. Slightly more than half of respondents rated performance on the first issue as `excellent' or `very good'. More than half of respondents rated performance on the second issue as `fair' or `poor'. ✓ The most important issue identified by respondents within the broad category of Town Government was Town officials and staff acting with integrity. More than half of respondents rated performance for this issue as `excellent' or `very good'. ✓ The most important issue identified by respondents within the broad category of Town Services was ensuring public safety. Assessments of performance for this issue were extremely high, with just over 80% of respondents rating performance as `excellent' or 'very good'. • When asked if there are issues, other than those identified in the questionnaire, about which respondents thought it important to consider when preserving or improving Lexington, several were identified. (Some of the responses to this open-ended question identified issues that had already been raised. However, it was clear from the nature of the responses that respondents felt strongly about the issues and wanted to comment further on them.) Categories of responses included: cultural changes; development; environmental concerns; history of the Town; housing issues; infrastructure; leadership; schools; taxes; the Town Center; traffic; and zoning. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 7 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Part II: Questions asked respondents to reflect on their experiences living in Lexington. • Overall, satisfaction with Lexington as a place to live is high. The majority of respondents rated the level of satisfaction 1, 2, or 3 (on a 10-point scale ranging from 1=very satisfied to 10=very dissatisfied) and more than half said the quality of life hasn't changed in the last five years. However, 24% of respondents said the quality of life is worse. Reasons cited for life being worse included: changes in the community climate; introduction of DEI; environmental concerns; housing; infrastructure problems; issues associated with schools; taxes and affordability; the Town Center; Town government; and zoning. • When asked what actions should be taken by the Town to make all residents feel welcome, most respondents said "the Town is already doing enough" or "nothing more needs to be done" or expressed the belief that this is not the responsibility of the Town. Some respondents said there was already too much emphasis on DEI. There were, however, some suggestions offered for actions to be taken. • For the most part, when respondents had interactions with various Town entities, they said they were treated well. Just a few respondents were able to identify some aspect of their identity that might have affected their treatment. • With respect to taxes, while approximately 60% of respondents said their taxes were too high for the level of services received, almost 2/3 of respondents said they did not believe their taxes made it hard for them to meet their other financial obligations and maintain their standard of living. Concern was expressed about the level of taxes faced by seniors. Respondents said that those taxes should be amended to enable seniors to remain in Lexington. • There was considerable participation in the various activities and opportunities offered to residents by the Town, as well as participation in various community activities. Respondents identified a wide variety of means they use to stay connected to the community. Those mechanisms included Town resources; community groups/events; neighborhood resources; cultural or religious resources; and school/education resources. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 8 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Part III: This section asked about the relative importance of competing issues, prioritizing resources and making trade-offs. • Respondents would prefer to increase property taxes to meet budgetary needs of schools and/or municipal services than to reduce services and programs in schools or in Town. • If resources are insufficient to maintain current levels of service, respondents would prefer to reduce municipal services rather than to reduce school services and programs or to reduce services in both schools and Town. • To reduce reliance on residential property taxes, respondents would prefer to increase commercial density (and the tax base) than to keep zoning as is. • More respondents would prefer making roadways safer for pedestrians and cyclists (and include traffic calming measures) than would prioritize roadways for vehicular flow. • When given choices among developing affordable housing, creating recreation fields and preserving available open space, most respondents preferred preserving the open space in any remaining lands available for development. • Respondents would prefer to regulate residential land use to ensure diversity of housing options than to limit regulation of residential use and allow the market to determine the housing mix. • More respondents thought it more important to preserve the natural environment than to preserve rights of property owners. • When asked to rank order each of the broad categories identified in Part I, respondents assigned the highest ranking to ensuring quality public education and the lowest to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Part IV: Questions in this section focused on background information on respondents. The data were used to assess the representativeness of the sample relative to the population. • Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau about residents in Lexington, it was determined that the sample of respondents largely corresponded to the demographic profile reported by the U.S. Census. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 9 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • Other findings in this Part addressed questions pertaining to: ✓ length of residence in Lexington of respondents ✓ reasons for moving to Lexington ✓ reasons for moving out of Lexington ✓ number of people in household ✓ assessed value of residence ✓ precincts in which respondents reside ✓ voting behavior ✓ how respondents learned about the survey Findings (Comparisons of Ratings of Importance and Performance) Statistically significant relationships were found in most cases when comparing ratings of importance and ratings of performance. In a few instances there was close correspondence between importance and performance. However, in most cases, ratings of importance of issues were higher than were ratings of performance. Focus Groups In addition to the Town-wide questionnaire, data were collected through six focus groups. Participants in these groups were self-selected. Broad issues discussed in the focus groups included: Town Center, education, diversity, infrastructure, housing, and taxes. Comparison with Findings of 2012 and 2017 and 2022 Surveys Most important issues: Results of the 2022 survey were largely similar to those of the 2012 and 2017 surveys, within the broad categories of Economic Development; Public Education; Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability (formerly Environment); Physical Character; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (formerly labeled Population Diversity); Town Government; and Town Services. However, some differences were noted in a few broad categories. In the category of Public Education, the key issue in 2012 was having high quality schools. In 2017 and 2022, the key issue was meeting academic and social needs of all students. In the category of Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability (formerly labeled Environment), in 2012 the key issue was protecting open spaces from development, whereas in 2017, it was protecting privately owned open spaces from development and in 2022, it was ensuring access to safe drinking water. In the category of Physical Character, priorities shifted from a primary focus on enhancing the Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 10 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 environment of the Town Center in 2012 to preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods in 2017. In 2022, the primary focus was on preserving Town owned open space. Comparison of Importance and Performance for 2012, 2017, and 2022: Side-by-side charts compare consistencies and changes (patterns) over time in relationships between ratings of importance of issues and ratings of performance with respect to those issues. • For the issues within the broad category of Economic Development, the general patterns for attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base and for having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors are notably similar with respect to importance and performance. However, for capitalizing on the Town's history to attract tourists the patterns are dissimilar. • For issues within the broad category of Public Education, ratings of importance were similar. However, overall, performance ratings in 2022 were more negative than they were in either 2012 or 2017. • For issues within the broad category of Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability, patterns are similar for each of the issues across all three data points, however, the importance of maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods has increased. • For issues within the broad category of Physical Character, patterns are remarkably similar in 2012 and 2017 and 2022. There is, however, a difference with respect to protecting open spaces due to refinement of questions in each survey. • For issues within the broad category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, performance ratings for ensuring housing for a diverse population were lower in 2017 and 2022 than they were in 2012. Otherwise, patterns are similar. • For issues within the broad category of Town Government, patterns, overall, show little to no difference from 2012 to 2017 to 2022. However, importance of living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 is greater in 2017 and 2022 than it was in 2012 and the difference between importance and performance is greater in 2017 and 2022 than it was in 2012. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 11 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • For issues within the broad category of Town Services, patterns for maintaining roads and sidewalks appear similar in 2012 and 2022, but are reversed in 2017. Performance in 2017 was higher than was importance. By 2022, performance was lower than was importance. Patterns are otherwise consistent from 2012 and 2017 and 2022, except for the pattern pertaining to services for seniors. In 2012 the relationship between importance and performance showed that importance was greater than performance, but that measure was taken before the advent of the Lexington Community Center, which provides better services for seniors. Satisfaction level: Respondents remain largely satisfied with living in Lexington. Eighty percent said they expect to still be living in the Town in the near future. That is consistent with results from earlier surveys in which a majority of respondents said they expect to remain in Lexington. Half say the quality of life is `the same' as it was five years ago. The majority of respondents say they are satisfied with Lexington as a place to live. Concerns about changes: When asked about potential changes that might occur in Lexington that would be of concern to them, respondents largely expressed the same concerns in 2012, 2017 and 2022. Broad areas of concern included: public education, housing, environment, Town Center, traffic, taxes, financial issues, government, and diversity. Use of Town amenities and civic participation: Respondents were asked about participation, by themselves and by family members, in community activities. Participation rates remain high, although there is a slight reduction from 2012 and 2017 figures. Rates of civic participation, however, have decreased since 2012 and 2017. Demographic profile: The number of responses to the questionnaire was higher in 2022 than in 2017 or in 2012. There was a higher percentage of responses from males than in previous years. However, the percentage of responses from Asians/South Asians in 2022 is higher than in 2012 but lower than in 2017. Average age of respondents and average household income increased in 2022. The number of people who have lived in Lexington for at least 20 years has increased in each survey, with the number for 2022 being considerably higher than in 2012. The educational achievement of respondents remained high in 2022, with approximately 90% having a college, Master's, professional or Ph.D. degree. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 12 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Conclusions Overall, in 2022, there is not substantial change from 2012 or 2017 in responses to the objective questions in the questionnaire. Reponses to open-ended questions, however, revealed more negativity and frustration with life in Lexington than was expressed in 2012 or 2017. There have been some shifts in identification of priorities and values (e.g., a location for seniors and senior programming and concerns about communication of information to residents have taken a place of less importance, while concerns about the Town Center, infrastructure and housing have become more important). Respondents continue to be generally satisfied about life in Lexington and concerned about a `sense of community'. There were considerable comments about the feared, and actual, loss of a sense of community in 2022. As the Vision for Lexington Committee has rightly identified, it is important to continue to `take the pulse' of the community. While most values and concerns may not have changed dramatically since 2012 or 2017, there have been some shifts in priorities. A key difference in 2022 is the number of respondents who spoke to the loss of'community'— feared and real. Such information is valuable as the Town moves forward with planning for now and for the future. Acknowledgements: The Vision for Lexington Committee thanks the many members of the Lexington community who helped make this a successful survey. This includes those members of the community who completed the questionnaire and participated in the focus groups. The Committee also notes the support of the Community Endowment of Lexington, a grant from which funded mailing of postcards to households in Lexington alerting residents about the survey. In particular, the Committee cites notable contributions by the following. Those listed below served on the Task Force that reviewed previous versions of the questionnaire and created the current version (noted by the superscript 1); assisted in translating the English version of the questionnaire into Chinese or Korean (noted by the superscript 2): helped with distribution of hard copies of the questionnaire (noted by the superscript 3); or assisted as facilitator or note-taker for the focus groups (noted by superscript 4). Special note should be made of the contributions by Mark Manasas, who chaired the Task Force. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 13 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Kelly Choi2 Kwiyoung Choi2 Marian Cohen' Margaret Coppe4 Christine Deana Andrew Dixon 1,4 Sean Dugan' Peter Enrich ' Cathie Ghorbani3 Boksoon Joe Michelle Kelleher3 Euna Kim2Sunny Kim2 Kathleen Labrecquel Eunju Leet Hakyung Leet Kathleen Lenihanl,4 Mark Manasas',4 Samita Mandelia4 Shannon Murtagh4 Amy Newmark3 Francesca Parke Meesook Parke Sunyoung Parke Robert Peters' Joe Pato' Ruth Remington' Bokyung Shine Susie Lee Sne112 Koren Stembridge3 Weidong Wang',2,4 Alan Wrigley' Ruixi Yuan2 John Zha02 Sherry Zhu2 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 14 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 INTRODUCTION On behalf of the 20/20 Vision Committee (now called the Vision for Lexington Committee') of Lexington, Massachusetts, and with the support of members of the three elected Boards (Select, School, Planning), a Town-wide study was undertaken to understand areas of interest and concern to residents. The current study was a replication (with some modifications) of a Town-wide survey conducted in 2012 and again in 2017. A goal of the Vision for Lexington Committee is to repeat such studies every five (5) years in order to assess community perspectives and progress toward meeting stated preferences of community members, and to inform planning and decision-making by the three elected Boards. This report provides background information on 20/20 and Vision for Lexington and results of previous attempts to determine community sentiments, in addition to describing the current study and discussing findings from that study. Background The 20/20 Vision Committee of Lexington, Massachusetts was established in 1998 to develop a foundation for a community-based strategic goal-setting process that responds to the community's vision. In pursuit of this objective, the Committee is charged to: • "Engage the Lexington community to think about Lexington's long-term future. • Identify and assess opportunities and challenges that may shape Lexington's future. • Make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen and, as appropriate, the School Committee and Planning Board. • Measure, track and report progress on topics studied."2 Actions undertaken by the 20/20 Committee since its inception have addressed each of these and the current survey is in keeping with these charges. Specific questions in the questionnaire speak to opportunities and challenges as seen by residents and to visions for the future. Findings of the survey will be reported to all three elected Boards. Further, to monitor progress, current results are compared with results from the 2012 and 2017 surveys. 1 Note that the 20/20 Committee and the Vision for Lexington Committee are one and the same.While the name of the committee has changed,the charge and purpose of the committee remain.When activities were undertaken before the name change,the committee will be referred to as 20/20. For activities undertaken since the name change,the committee will be referred to as Vision for Lexington. 2 2020 Vision Committee charge,as adopted by the Board of Selectmen on April 4, 2001 and most recently revised in 2014. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 15 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 While there have been several activities3 created by the 20/20 Committee since its inauguration to study various issues before the Town, this report focuses on those activities related to surveys of residents. From its beginning, the 20/20 Committee has sought input from residents for the planning process. In June of 1999, four (4) workshops were conducted to explore issues of concern to residents. As a follow-up, in October 1999, a forum was held to get feedback on specific topics. As a result, working groups were created to engage in strategic planning with regard to six (6) topics4. The working groups identified specific themes and goals-5. These themes and goals still inform data collection today and are featured in the current Town-wide survey. (Please see Appendix A, Town- wide Survey 2022.) In 2003, the 20/20 Committee issued a report detailing progress toward reaching the goals. In addition, the Committee solicited feedback from residents through precinct meetings. In 2003, the Committee reported on progress toward identified goals. These included areas in which actions were taken and completed in addressing a goal; actions that represented significant progress toward a goal; and actions underway in support of a goal.6 In 2010-2011, in an effort to confirm or revise the originally established goals and to identify (new) issues, the Committee held a series of focus groups to engage residents in thinking about Lexington now and in the future. (These focus groups were co-sponsored by a variety of other groups in Town.7) Results of the focus group discussions identified both what residents like about Lexington and what they would like to see changed, and what they think goals for the Town should be in the next 10-15 years. As a result of this data gathering, and the reporting of findings to the relevant elected Boards in Town, changes have been made in the focus of efforts by the Boards, in relationships between residents and Town staff, and in Town functioning. 3 Among the activities of the Committee are creations of: Forging Constructive Community Discourse Task Force (2004-2005), Budget Task Force(2004-2005), Economic Development Task Force(2006-2008), Demographic Change Task Force(2008-2010),Citizens'Academy(2009),Subcommittee on Demographic Change(2012- 2013),Town-wide survey(2012-2013),Subcommittee on Asian Communities(2015-2017), Social Diversity Task Force(2016-2017),Town-wide Survey(2016-2017), Enhancing Communication in Lexington( 2018-2020). In addition,the Committee sponsored a public process in 2010 to create and implement a shared vision of the community for the year 2020. 4 Fostering a sense of community;educational excellence; managing growth: development and open space; ensuring productive connections between citizens and Town government;transportation; managing fiscal stability. s Promote and strengthen community character;foster educational excellence;sustain and enhance physical character and the larger environment; reinforce connections between residents,civic organizations and Town government;establish open and accessible processes for Town-wide decision-making, planning and conflict resolution. 6https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4567/2020 vision progress report 4-pale 7https://www.lexi ngton ma.gov/1400 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 16 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Not surprisingly, themes and issues of importance and concern have largely remained unchanged since the initial data gathering. It is important to regularly assess citizen views, however, to determine the stability and/or change in values, interests, and perspectives. The 20/20 (Vision for Lexington) Committee has clearly engaged in such processes since its foundation. The report of the 2022 Town-wide survey is in keeping with this practice and represents the latest effort to assess and respond to community interests. Since 2017, concerns about the environment and climate change have become more paramount—for the Town and for our world. As a consequence, several questions related to these issues were added to the 2022 survey. Also, since 2017, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become more prominent as society-wide concerns. Given that the population composition in Lexington has become more diverse since 2017, and that issues related to DEI have been manifested in policies and interactions within Town, questions about DEI were added to the 2022 survey. Center for Social Research The Vision for Lexington Committee engaged the Center for Social Research to conduct the survey in 2022. The original Director of the Center has extensive experience conducting studies such as this one and has served as the Principal Investigator on several previous studies for the Town— on both the municipal and the school sides. As well, the Director of the Center was the Principal Investigator in the 2012 and 2017 Town-wide surveys and was therefore well acquainted with the purpose, goal, format, and substance of the questionnaires. Work performed by the Center for Social Research (now with its two Directors) was divided into three phases for the project. In Phase I, the Center Directors, working with members of the Task Force, produced a data collection instrument. This questionnaire was pre-tested with members of the Vision for Lexington Committee, members of the three Boards, and selected Town staff members. Comments from respondents were discussed with members of the Task Force and a few items in the questionnaire were amended or added. The questionnaire was then prepared by the Center Directors for distribution to residents in both an electronic version and a hard copy version. In addition, working with members of Asian ethnic communities (a now significant percentage of the Town's population), the Center Directors participated in arranging for the translation of the questionnaire into Chinese and into Korean for residents who speak those languages.$ 8 While this effort was worthwhile in that it provided greater access to the questionnaire for all residents,the number of residents who responded using the Chinese and Korean versions of the questionnaire was small. However,some respondents used the Chinese and Korean versions as translation aids. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 17 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Phase II of the project included dissemination of the questionnaire to residents and placement of hard copies and foreign language copies of the questionnaire in Town Hall, Cary Library and the Lexington Community Center. Hard copies were periodically collected from these locations and data were entered into a software package for analysis. Electronic responses were downloaded into the software package. Phase III of the project involved analysis of the data, including describing findings and identifying results of significance to Town policy makers. Demographic findings were compared with U.S. Census data to determine representativeness of the sample of respondents. Phase III also included writing a final report and creating a file containing quantitative data from the survey for the Town. In addition to the work described above, the Directors prepared documents and, in cooperation with members of the Vision for Lexington Committee, trained facilitators and note-takers to conduct several focus groups. Participants for the focus groups had been solicited through the questionnaire and through a subsequent message to those who had participated in the survey. Six groups (consisting of a total of 51 participants) were conducted by members of the Vision for Lexington Committee and the qualitative findings from those groups were incorporated into the dataset along with the quantitative and qualitative findings from the questionnaire. For this report, the Directors also included a comparison of 2012 and 2017 results with those of the current survey. The purpose was to determine what, if any, changes had occurred and what consistencies existed during the five-year periods between surveys. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 18 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 FINDINGS Univariate Findings are presented consistent with the sections of the questionnaire: Part I reports resident responses regarding the importance of different aspects of the Town; the performance of the Town with respect to these aspects; and the most important aspect cited by residents within each of the seven broad categories. (Broad categories include: Economic Development; Public Education; Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability; Physical Character; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Town Government; Town Services.) Part II reports on resident experiences living in Lexington, including assessments of life in Town and perceptions of stability or change, `diversity, equity and inclusion`, taxes` and community participation. Part III reports on resident preferences with respect to prioritization of resources and trade-offs in an era of tight budgets and increasing demands on those budgets. Part IV reports on the demographic characteristics of respondents. Part I — Importance and Performance Within each of the broad categories below, respondents were asked to rate the importance of items within that category and then to identify how well the Town is performing with regard to that item. Finally, respondents were asked to rank the individual items with respect to the most important item to them within the broad category. Data are presented in percentages in the charts for each broad category. Results are described in the text below the charts. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 19 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Economic Development Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Having a vibrant downtown that 89.2 16.0 57.6 attracts residents and visitors 2. Capitalizing on the Town's history 67.2 46.2 17.9 to attract a large number of tourists 3. Providing supportive framework for 31.1 21.4 41.0 economic development for large businesses 4. Providing supportive framework for 87.5 6.7 72.3 economic development for small businesses S. Attracting additional business 58.0 10.5 61.8 development to expand the commercial tax base 6. Attracting socially conscious retail 56.9 10.2 64.0 and service businesses Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important and a small number of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. The majority of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 2. Capitalizing on the Town's history to attract a large number of tourists More respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Nearly half of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 3. Providinz supportive framework for economic development for large businesses Nearly one-third of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. This is the only item in this category that less than half of the respondents said was `extremely' or `very' important. Less than one-quarter of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. More of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'.9 e It should be noted that for four of the issues in this broad category(items 3,4,5,and 6),a small number of respondents(<_0.2%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 20 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 4. Providinz supportive framework for economic development for small businesses A large majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important, yet few respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. The majority of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base Slightly more than half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important, however few of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. The majority of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Attracting; socially conscious retail and service businesses Slightly more than half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important, however few respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. The majority of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor' Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) • 59.3% of respondents said having a vibrant downtown was the most important item within this category. • 13.3% said providing a supportive framework for economic development of small businesses was most important. • 12.2% said attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base was most important. • Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 21 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Public Education Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Meeting academic, social and 91.4 45.0 48.3 emotional needs of all students 2. Attracting and retaining high 95.8 55.7 41.5 quality teachers 3. Assuring educationally appropriate 88.12 44.8 50.5 student-teacher ratios 4. Providing state-of-the-art facilities 70.7 30.9 57.1 for teaching and learning S. Delivering public education cost- 78.0 21.8 60.6 effective) 6. Providing adequate funding for 89.2 52.8 45.5 education 7. Ensuring Diversity, Equity, and 72.2 44.4 49.6 Inclusion within the schools stern Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. However, respondents were nearly equally divided as to whether the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job and that the job being done is `fair' or `poor'.io 2. Attracting and retainin5z high Quality teachers Nearly all of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. More than half of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item, but just over 40% of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 3. Ensurinfz educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'Very' important. Less than half of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good' job with this item, while half of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. io It should be noted that for all seven of the issues in this broad category,a small number of respondents (between 2.7%and 11.9%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 22 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 4. Providinz state of the art facilities for teaching and learning Just under three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. About one-third of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. More than half of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Delivering public education cost effectively Slightly more than three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. Less than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent'or 'very good'job with this item. More than half of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Providing adequate funding; for education Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Half of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Slightly less than half of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Ensurinz Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the school system Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Slightly more respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor' than said the job being done is `excellent' or `very good'. Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) • Almost half (49.8%) of respondents said meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students was the most important item within this broad category. • 20.6% said attracting and retaining high quality teachers was most important. • 12.8% said delivering public education cost effectively was most important. • Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 23 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Meeting Town and state goals of 67.8 35.5 22.6 net zero emissions in the next 15- 30 years 2. Reducing the use of toxic materials 81.3 28.8 27.0 3. Reducing Greenhouse Gas 70.4 20.6 40.4 production from transportation 4. Stopping the expansion of fossil 65.+4 23.7 39.0 fuel use 5. Maintaining farmlands and access 73.'1 29.3 29.3 to locally own foods 6. Reducing waste streams, including 71.6 25.3 35.1 diverting food waste to composting 7. Providing public health and safety 59.9 27.2 29.3 services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather 8. Ensuring access to safe drinking 95.5 65.7 5.7 water 9. Providing education to citizens 58.0 27.7 32.2 about sustainability Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years Many of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'Very' important. About one-third of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item, and less than one-quarter of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'.11 2. Reducintz the use of toxic materials A large majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. About one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item, and a similar number of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 11 It should be noted that for seven of the issues(items 1-7) in this broad category,a small number of respondents (<_0.3%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 24 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 3. Reducinz Greenhouse Gas production from transportation Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Less than one quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Twice as many respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 4. Stopping expansion of fossil fuel use A majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'Very' important. Less than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Over one-third of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Maintaining farmlands and access to locally gown foods Three-fourths of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'Very' important. Slightly more than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. The same percentage of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Reducinz waste streams, including diverting food waste to composting Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. One-quarter of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. More than one-third of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 7. Providing public health and safety services in response to risinr temperatures and extreme weather More than half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. Slightly more than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item, and a similar percentage of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 8. Ensuring access to safe drinking water Nearly all of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A majority of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Very few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 9. Providinz education to citizens about sustainability More than half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. One-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item, while approximately one-third of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 25 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) • Approximately one-third (32.7°/x) of respondents said ensuring access to safe drinking water was the most important item within this broad category. • 25.9% said meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years was most important. • 15.5% said maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods was most important. • Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 26 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Physical Character Extremely Town doing Town doing or very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Preserving the Town's historic areas 82.1 69.3 6.4 and structures 2. Preserving Town owned open sace 92.2 65.8 8.8 3. Making Town's public historic areas 73.1 58.9 7.1 and structures accessible to all 4. Preserving the physical character of 64.2 28.2 38.7 residential neighborhoods S. Enhancing the physical 74.5 30.6 33.0 environment of the Town Center 6. Managing the flow of traffic through 70.5 17.5 47.6 Town 7. Ensuring adequate, convenient 65_0 34.2 26.3 parking in the business districts Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Preservinlz the Town's historic areas and structures A large majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. Most of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Very few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 2. Preservinz Town owned open space Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A majority of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Only a few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 3. Making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all A majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. More than half of these respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Very few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'.12 12 It should be noted that for item 3 in this broad category,a small number of respondents(<_0.1%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 27 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 4. Preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods A majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. Only a little more than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. More of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Enhancing; the physical environment of the Town Center Three-fourths of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Similar numbers of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job and a `fair' or `poor'job with this item. 6. Managing the flow of traffic throuizh Town Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Few respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent'or `very good'job with this item. More than twice as many of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 7. Ensurinfz adequate, convenient parking in the business districts A majority of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. More of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item than did those who identified the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) Just over one-quarter (28.1°/x) of respondents said preserving Town owned open space was the most important item within this broad category. 20.2% said preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods was most important. • 18.4% said enhancing the physical environment of the Town was most important. • 15.9% said preserving the Town's historic areas and structures was most important. • 10.3% said managing the flow of traffic through Town was most important. Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 28 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Welcoming diverse groups of people 76.4 54.9 15.4 2. Ensuring housing is available for a 61.2 20.9 57.5 diverse population 3. Offering gathering places for 66.7 32.7 26.9 diverse ages and interests 4. Providing books and other 65.5 62.7 7.7 materials for a diverse population in the library 5. Providing translated materials and 49.5 49.8 12.5 translation services 6. Creating awareness of the Town's 51.8 34.8 28.3 diversity 7. Diversifying the Town and school 55.5 27.9 38.4 staff Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Welcoming diverse groups of people Three-fourths of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A majority of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 2. EnsurinF4 housinF4 is available for a diverse population A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Less than one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or Very good'job with this item. More than half of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 13 3. Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Just under one-third of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Fewer of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. is It should be noted that for five of the seven items(items 2,3,5,6 and 7)in this broad category,a small number of respondents(<_0.2%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 29 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 4. Providinz books and other materials for a diverse population in the library A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Just over 60% of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. A small percentage of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. S. Providing translated materials and translation services This was the only item in this category that less than half of the respondents rated as either `extremely' or 'very' important. Half of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Few respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Creating awareness of the Town's diversity Half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. One-third of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 7. Diversifyinz the Town and school staff Half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. One-quarter of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. More of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) Just under one-third (30.2°/x) of respondents said welcoming diverse groups of people was the most important item within this broad category. 28.8% said ensuring housing is available for a diverse population was most important. • 16.3% said offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests was most important. Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 30 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Government Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Town officials and staff acting with 97.7 60.6 13.1 integrity 2. Balancing short-term needs with 91.6 36.4 23.7 long-term issues 3. Acting in a fiscally responsible 93.1 35.5 29.4 manner 4. Living within constraints of 68.6 27.1 36.1 Proposition 2 1/2 5. Making information on decisions 87.9 28.9 35.0 and actions easy to obtain 6. Encouraging diversity in 71.0 35.2 27.0 participation in Town affairs 7. Participating in regional groups to 65.+0 34.4 20.8 share resources, services and ideas 8. Planning for the long-term future 89.7 30.9 28.0 9. Ensuring Emergency Preparedness 86.5 47.0 14.5 and Response plans are up to date Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Town officials and staff actingz with inte rig_ty Nearly all of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A majority of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. A small number of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'.14 2. Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A third of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 14 It should be noted that for eight of the nine items(items 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 and 9) in this broad category, a small number of respondents(between 0.1%and 0.3%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 31 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 3. ActinF4 in a fiscally responsible manner Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. One third of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 4. Living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. One-quarter of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. More of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Makings information on decisions and actions easv to obtain A large majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Over one-quarter of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Slightly more than one-third of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Encoura..,zinz diversitv in participation in Town affairs A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Approximately one-third of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 7. Participating in regional Groups to share resources, services and ideas A majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. One-third of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 8. Plannintz for the long-term future Most respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Nearly one-third of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. A similar percentage of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 9. Ensuring Emergency Preparedness and Response plans are up to date Most of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Nearly half of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 32 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) • Almost one-third (30.9%) of respondents said Town officials and staff acting with integrity was the most important item within this broad category. • 16.8% said balancing short-term needs with long-term issues was most important. • 16.5% said acting in a fiscally responsible manner was most important. • 12.3% said living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 was most important. • Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 33 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Services Extremely or Town doing Town doing very excellent or fair to poor important very good job job N N N 1. Ensuring public safety 93.9 82.3 2.4 2. Maintaining roads and sidewalks 95.8 52.5 17.8 3. Offering sports fields and facilities 73.1 70.0 6.2 for diverse activities, including recreation 4. Providing comprehensive library 79.8 83.5 2.1 services S. Providing quality services and 75.+4 70.2 5.7 facilities for senior citizens 6. Providing quality services and 78.5 45.8 18.1 facilities outside of schools, for children and teens 7. Delivering Town services in a 87.1 57.7 9.9 responsive and friendly manner 8. Delivering Town services cost- 84.3 36.9 24.2 effective) 9. Allocating adequate money for 86.5 51.2 12.0 Town services 10.Providing opportunities for life-long 51.2 55.8 10.0 learning Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% 1. Ensuring public safety Almost all of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'Very' important. Most of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Very few of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 2. Maintaining roads and sidewalks Nearly all of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Half of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. A smaller percentage of respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 34 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 3. Offering sports fields and facilities for diverse activities, including recreation Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Nearly three-quarters said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Very few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 4. Providing comprehensive library services More than three-quarters of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or 'very' important. Most of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Very few of the respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 5. Providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens Three-fourths of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. A large majority of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Few respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 6. Providin5z quality services and facilities, outside of schools, for children and teens Three-fourths of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Just under one-half of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. That is more than twice as many respondents who said the Town is doing a `fair' or `poor'job. is 7. Delivering Town services in a responsive and friendly manner A large majority of respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Six times more respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item than did those who said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 8. Deliverinfz Town services cost-effectively Most respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. About one-third of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Fewer respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. is It should be noted that for two of the 10 items(items 6 and 8) in this broad category,a small number of respondents(0.1%)were unable to assess performance. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 35 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 9. AllocatinF4 adequate money for Town services Most respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Half of the respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or `very good'job with this item. Few respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. 10. Providing opportunities for life-lona learning Half of the respondents said this item was either `extremely' or `very' important. Slightly more than half of respondents said the Town is doing an `excellent' or 'very good'job with this item. Few respondents said the job being done is `fair' or `poor'. Most important item (items ranked relative to one another) Over 40% (42.5%) of respondents said ensuring public safety was the most important item within this broad category. • 16.1% said maintaining roads and sidewalks was most important. • 10.3% said delivering Town services cost effectively was most important. 9.7% said providing quality services and facilities, outside of school, for children and teens was most important. Other issues received substantially lower ratings of importance. Additional Comments in Part I There was one additional question in this section of the questionnaire. It was an open-ended question. Such questions generally elicit fewer responses than do multiple-choice questions. However, responses indicate concerns that go beyond what fixed-alternative questions ask and are important to consider as they represent issues about which respondents feel strongly. In this case, 56% (n=1345) of the total sample of respondents chose to comment further, yielding 1588 responses. When asked about issues respondents said it important to consider when preserving or improving Lexington (other than those already in the questionnaire) respondents identified the following. ✓ Culture: 103 respondents spoke to this issue: 35% of those said there was too much `wokeness', 39% were concerned about a culture or character change in Town as a result of too much `catering' to diversity issues, and the remainder were concerned about emphasis on DEI at the expense of essential Town services. ✓ Developer/development: 69 respondents raised the issue: 94% of those saying that development is `out of control' and/or that developers are not Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 36 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 adequately reined in or supervised by the Town. The remaining 6% addressed development issues in East Lexington. ✓ Environment: 141 respondents addressed this issue: 43% wanted greater focus on climate change, while another 11% wanted less focus on climate change; 22% were concerned about trees; 17% wanted to be sure open spaces are protected. The remaining comments addressed dog parks and trash pickup. ✓ Housing: 219 respondents commented on this issue: 43% were concerned about the lack of diversity in housing stock and/or lack of affordable housing; 41% objected to too many `mansions' and 16% mentioned `tear- downs'. ✓ Infrastructure: 131 respondents mentioned this issue: 67% noted that roads (including private roads) and sidewalks are in very poor repair and were concerned about road maintenance and 17% commented on the poor conditions of playing fields, the Old Res, and swimming pools. The remaining comments addressed inadequate maintenance of buildings, signage, dog parks, and bike lanes/walking trails. ✓ Leadership: 106 respondents commented on leadership: 48% said there was a lack of leadership or poor leadership especially in connection with specific departments or on boards or committees; 26% mentioned lack of transparency or inability to access information; and 26% expressed concerns about law enforcement. ✓ Schools: 120 respondents cited this issue: 37% said a new high school is needed; 26% expressed concern about a decline in educational quality; 16% mentioned problems with leadership. The remainder cited too much "wokeness"; overcrowding; services being underfunded; and stress/pressure on students leading to mental health problems. ✓ Taxes: 127 respondents raised this issue: 43% said that taxes are too high; 37% said that the Town is fiscally irresponsible; 17% wanted a reduction in taxes for seniors; 3% called for a better balance between residential and commercial tax bases. ✓ Town Center: 247 respondents commented on the Town Center: 47% said there was a lack of diversity in stores or small businesses; 36% noted a lack of vibrancy in the Center; 18% said there is no place to hang out and/or no place to shop in the Center. ✓ Traffic: 106 respondents mentioned traffic issues: 26% said there is too much noise; 23% expressed concerns about public transportation; 19% Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 37 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 mentioned parking; 32% cited road safety, including dangers posed by bikers on main roads, and lights and street lighting. ✓ Zoning: 109 respondents addressed zoning: 48% said zoning is too lax; 35% said they are concerned with zoning related to house sizes or housing regulations; and 18% focused on development of land and/or development at Hartwell Avenue. ✓ Miscellaneous: 110 respondents addressed a mix of other issues: 33% mentioned senior services being underfunded; 30% noted that children and teens needing more services or `things to do'; 19% identified a need for greater focus on health, specifically mental health, needs; 18% wanted more `gathering places' and support for the arts and more emphasis on the history of the Town. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 38 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Conclusions for Part I The chart below summarizes findings regarding overall importance of broad issues and their relative performance ratings by respondents. Extremely Town doing Town doing or very excellent or fair to poor important very good job N job N Economic Development 65.0 18.5 52.4 Public Education 83.6 43.4 50.4 Climate, Environmental Health and 71.4 31.7 29.0 Sustainability Physical Character 74.5 43.5 21.1 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 61.1 40.5 26.7 Town Government 83.5 37.3 24.2 Town Services 80.6 60.6 10.8 Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% The narrative below identifies the most important issues within each broad category and ratings of performance for those issues. Qualitative comments made by respondents are included to illustrate the performance ratings. For a few of the issues within specific broad categories there were a small number of respondents who said they did not know enough about the issue to evaluate performance. It is important to note that those numbers are significantly lower than what was reported in 2017. That is likely related to the work of the Public Information Officer, Sean Dugan, who was hired subsequent to the report of the 2017 Town-wide survey which identified respondents' concerns with inadequate communication of information from the Town to residents. Economic Development The most important issue within this broad category identified by respondents was having a vibrant downtown. However, more than half of those who rated the Town's performance on this issue rated it as `fair' to `poor'. Additionally, supporting this quantitative finding, qualitative comments throughout the survey referred to problems associated with the downtown area (The Center'). Remarks included: lack of diversity in stores or small businesses, leading to a sense that "there is no place to shop" in the Center; an abundance of banks and real estate agencies (to the detriment of available space for a variety of other businesses); lack of vibrancy in the Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 39 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Center; no place to `hang out' in the Center due to the closure of several businesses (e.g., Panera, Starbucks). It is worth noting that there were very few respondents (<_ 0.2%) who said they did not feel well enough informed to comment on the Town's performance (specifically, providing supportive framework for economic development of both large and small businesses, attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base, attracting socially conscious retail and service businesses). Most respondents said they were well enough informed to comment on the performance with regard to the issues, but given the importance of economic development (and its relationship to taxes, an issue of concern to many respondents), information about the above-mentioned issues should be regularly provided to residents. Public Education When asked to identify the most important issue within this broad category, respondents cited meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students, attracting and retaining high quality teachers, and delivering public education cost effectively. Respondents gave mixed ratings to performance with respect to meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students. Performance ratings on attracting and retaining high quality teachers were also mixed. A quarter of respondents rated performance with respect to delivering public education cost effectively as `excellent' or `very good', while ratings of`fair' or `poor'were given by two-thirds of respondents. Assessments were also split on issues of ensuring educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios, providing state of the art facilities for teaching and learning, providing adequate funding for education, and ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion within the school system. Overall, performance ratings were not positive. Some reasons for the poor performance ratings could be found in qualitative comments provided by respondents. These comments included references to infrastructure problems (the need for a new high school, overcrowding in schools generally); underfunding of services; stress/pressure being placed on students with resultant mental health problems; leadership problems; perception of too much emphasis on `wokeness'; and an overall concern about a decline in educational quality. While not specifically a school-related issue, respondents said that children and teens need more services or `more to do'. There were a number of respondents who said they did not have adequate information with which to evaluate performance on the issues within this Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 40 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 broad category. That argues that Lexington Public Schools and School Committee might engage in greater communication of information about the school system and its operation to all residents, not just to parents/guardians 16. Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability The most important issue within this broad category was ensuring access to safe drinking water. Almost one-third of respondents said this was the most important issue. Additionally, almost all respondents rated this as `extremely' or 'very' important. Approximately two-thirds of respondents assessed performance as `excellent' or `very good'. For the other issues in this broad category, performance was rated poorly. While meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years received more positive ratings than negative ratings, performance was not viewed as adequate relative to the perceived importance of the issue. Reducing the use of toxic materials also received mixed reviews. Performance with respect to the following issues received more negative than positive ratings: reducing Greenhouse Gas production from transportation; stopping expansion of fossil fuel use; reducing waste streams, including diverting food waste to composting; providing public health and safety services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather; and providing education to citizens about sustainability. Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods received mixed ratings on performance. Qualitative comments focused on concerns about preserving open space and trees; trash pickup; a desire for dog parks; and mixed reviews of whether more focus should be placed on issues of climate change. It should be noted that there were several issues for which a small number of respondents (< 0.3%) were unable to provide assessments due to lack of knowledge about the issue. The issues about which all respondents were able to offer assessments were ensuring access to safe drinking water and providing education to citizens about sustainability. Physical Character The issue receiving the highest percentage for importance was preserving Town owned open space. Performance assessment on this issue was positive. Preserving the Town's historic areas and structures was also rated positively, as was making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all. ie The need to provide information to residents, beyond parents and/or guardians,was noted in the report, "Enhancing Communication in Lexington".See https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2549/ECiL-Report-PDF?bidld= Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 41 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Other issues received more negative than positive assessments: preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods; enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center; and managing the flow of traffic through Town. Performance ratings for ensuring adequate, convenient parking in the business districts were slightly more positive than negative. Qualitative comments relevant to this broad category addressed concerns about too much noise; lack of adequate public transportation; complaints about parking and about road safety due to dangers posed by bikers on main roads; and perceptions that street lighting is inadequate. Additionally, respondents noted that there should be greater attention paid to and emphasis on the history of Lexington and they expressed dismay about the condition of the Town Center. One repeatedly seen comment referred to the loss of gathering places when several businesses in the Center closed. Unlike in other broad categories where there were often several issues on which respondents did not feel qualified to provide assessments, there was only one issue here: making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all. Only 0.1% of respondents said they could not evaluate performance. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion The most important issue here was welcoming diverse groups of people. More than three-quarters of respondents said this issue was `extremely' or `very' important. More than half of respondents assessed performance on this issue as `excellent' or `very good'. The second most highly rated issue was ensuring housing is available for a diverse population, but less than a quarter said performance was `excellent' or 'very good'. Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests was the third most highly rated issue, but only a third of respondents said performance is `excellent' or 'very good'. There were a considerable number of qualitative comments that addressed issues within this broad category. Respondents expressed related concerns Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 42 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 about housing: that there is a lack of diversity in housing stock, a lack of affordable housing, too many `tear downs', and too many "mansions". Additionally, respondents spoke about factors associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. They expressed concern about there being too much `wokeness' generally, and in particular in connection with a perceived loss of attention to essential services due to concerns about `wokeness'. There was apprehension that the character or culture of the Town would change as a result of too much `catering' to diversity issues. At the same time, respondents said there is not enough concern with ALL forms of discrimination. The issues about which respondents (<_ 0.2%) reported being unable to assess current performance were providing translated materials and translation services and diversifying Town and school staff. Town Government The three most important issues within this broad category were: Town officials and staff acting with integrity; balancing short-term needs with long- term issues; and acting in a fiscally responsible manner, with the large majority of respondents rating these as `extremely' or `very' important. For the first issue and the third issue, assessments were more positive than they were negative. However, performance ratings for balancing short-term needs with long-term issues were more negative than they positive. While ensuring Emergency Preparedness and Response plans are up to date was not ranked as one of the most important issues to respondents, it did receive positive ratings for performance. There were two issues that received more negative than positive assessments for performance. These were: living within constraints of Proposition 2 V2 and making information on decisions and actions easy to obtain. Performance ratings for planning for the long-term future were split. Encouraging diversity in participation in Town affairs and participating in regional groups to share resources, services, and ideas received somewhat more positive than negative performance ratings. Qualitative comments focused on several issues relevant to this broad category: leadership, taxes, and zoning and development. Some respondents said there was a lack of leadership or poor leadership among Town officials, and a number noted problems in connection with specific departments. Some expressed concerns about law enforcement. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 43 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Others took issue with the leadership on boards or committees. There was a general annoyance with perceived lack of transparency or inability to access information from boards or committees. Quite a number of respondents commented on taxes. The primary complaint was that taxes are too high. Some respondents suggested that there should be a reduction in taxes for seniors, in particular (especially in light of the observation by some that senior services are underfunded). Some accused the Town of being fiscally irresponsible, and others noted there should be a better balance between the residential and commercial tax bases. There were several comments made related to zoning. Respondents expressed concerns about development of land and noted that development appears to be `out of control'. There was a sense that developers are not adequately `reined in' or supervised by the Town but, rather, permitted too much latitude when building. With regard to zoning, respondents said that it is too lax (or sometimes inconsistent), especially in terms of house sizes or housing regulations. Acting in a fiscally responsible manner was the only issue for which all respondents were able to provide an assessment. For each other issue, there were at least a few respondents (<_ 0.3%) who said they were not able to provide an assessment. Town Services The most important issue here was ensuring public safety. The vast majority of respondents rated this as `extremely' or `very'important and almost half of respondents selected this as the single most important issue within this broad category. Assessments of performance were also extremely high. For the second most highly rated issue on importance, maintaining roads and sidewalks, again most or nearly all of the respondents said this was `extremely' or `very' important. Performance assessments were still more positive than negative, but only about half of respondents assessed performance as `excellent'or `very good'. For each of the remaining issues, performance assessments were more positive than they were negative, and the vast majority of respondents said they felt qualified to make assessments. Qualitative comments focused on infrastructure issues. While some respondents expressed pleasure with new sidewalks, others complained that, Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 44 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 overall, sidewalks are in poor repair and/or do not exist in areas where residents are forced to walk in the road, endangering themselves and traffic. Roads were generally deemed to be in very poor repair. Lack of maintenance and damaging snowplowing were cited as reasons for this. Some respondents cited so-called `private' or `unaccepted' roads as being in such especially bad repair that they are impassable. Respondents also complained about the poor conditions of playing fields (some noting that fields in other communities are better maintained, and safer for playing), the Old Res, and swimming pools. One additional area of concern expressed by respondents was the need to focus more on the health of residents, especially their mental health. As a recent study of mental health among residents demonstrated, there are both diagnosed conditions and un-diagnosed concerns for which residents expressed a desire for support and help-seeking assistance.17 All respondents were sufficiently informed to evaluate performance on issues except with regard to providing quality services and facilities, outside of school, for children and teens (0.1%) and delivering Town services cost effectively (0.1%). 17 https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter&iew/4374/Mental-Health-Assessment-Town-of-Lexin ton- 2021-PDF Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 4S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Summary There are many issues of importance to respondents, and those fall both on the municipal and the school side of Town issues. The issues of most importance to respondents (that is, those for which at least 85% of responses fell into the `extremely' or `very' important categories) are listed below, along with their ratings of performance for the issues. • Within the broad category of Economic Development, issues of most importance were: o Having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors (89.2°/x) o Providing supportive framework for economic development for small businesses (87.5%) Only 16.0% of respondents rated performance on the former issue as `excellent' or 'very good'. Only 21.4% rated performance on the latter issue as `excellent' or very good'. • Within the broad category of Public Education, issues of most importance were: o Attracting and retaining high quality teachers (95.8%) o Meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students (91.4°/x) o Providing adequate funding for education (89.2°/x) o Ensuring educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios (88.2°/x) Only two issues, attracting and retaining high quality teachers and providing adequate funding for education, received a positive performance rating from over 50% of respondents. Positive performance ratings for the other two issues were below 50%. • Within the broad category of Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability, the issue of most importance was ensuring access to safe drinking water (95.5%) A majority of respondents (65.7%) rated performance on this issue as `excellent' or `very good'. • Within the broad category of Physical Character, the issue of most importance was preserving Town owned open space (92.2%) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 46 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 A majority of respondents (65.8%) rated performance on this issue as `excellent' or `very good'. • Within the broad category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, there were no issues for which at least 85% of respondents deemed the issue to be `extremely' or `very' important. (When asked which of the issues in this broad category were most important, the issues with the highest rankings were welcoming diverse groups of people and ensuring housing is available for a diverse population. However, only 76.4% of respondents said welcoming diverse groups of people was `extremely' or `very' important, and only 61.2% said ensuring housing is available for a diverse population is `extremely' or 'very' important.) • Within the broad category of Town Government, issues of most importance were: o Town officials and staff acting with integrity (97.7°/x) o Acting in a fiscally responsible manner (93.1%) o Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues (91.6%) For only one of the above issues were responses regarding performance notably more positive than negative: Town officials and staff acting with integrity (60.6% of respondents rated performance as `excellent' or `very good'). o Within the broad category of Town Services, issues of most importance were: o Maintaining roads and sidewalks (95.8%) o Ensuring public safety (93.9°/x) Ratings of performance were especially positive for ensuring public safety (82.3% of respondents rated performance as `excellent' or 'Very good'). However, only 52.5% of respondents gave positive ratings for performance with respect to maintaining roads and sidewalks. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 47 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Overall, respondents provided more positive than negative assessments within the broad categories. For Economic Development Capitalizing on the Town's history to attract a large number of tourists For Public Education • Attracting and retaining high quality teachers For Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability • Meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15- 30 years • Ensuring access to safe drinking water For Physical Character • Preserving the Town's historic areas and structures • Preserving Town owned open space • Making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all For Diversity, Equity and Inclusion • Welcoming diverse groups of people • Providing books and other materials for a diverse population in the library • Providing translated materials on the Town website and through Town departments For Town Government • Town officials and staff acting with integrity • Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues • Participating in regional groups to share resources, services and ideas • Ensuring emergency Preparedness and Response plans are up to date For Town Services • Ensuring public safety • Maintaining roads and sidewalks • Offering sports fields and recreation facilities for diverse activities • Providing comprehensive library services • Providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens • Providing quality services and facilities outside of schools, for children and teens • Delivering Town services in a responsive and friendly manner • Delivering Town services cost-effectively • Allocating adequate money for Town services • Providing opportunities for life-long learning Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 48 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Respondents gave mixed reviews to: • Meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students • Assuring educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios • Providing adequate funding for education • Ensuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the school system • Reducing the use of toxic materials • Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods • Providing public health and safety services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather • Providing education to citizens about sustainability • Enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center • Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests • Creating awareness of the Town's diversity • Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues • Acting in a fiscally responsible manner • Encouraging diversity in participation in Town affairs • Making information on decisions and actions easy to obtain • Planning for the long-term future Respondents provided more negative than positive assessments of performance for the following issues within broad categories: For economic development: • the vibrancy and physical environment of Town Center • providing supportive framework for economic development for large businesses as well as for small businesses • attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base • attracting socially conscious retail and service businesses For public education: • providing state of the art facilities for teaching and learning • delivering public education cost effectively For climate, environmental health and sustainability: • reducing Greenhous Gas production from transportation • stopping expansion of fossil fuel use • reducing waste streams, including diverting food waste to composting For physical character: • preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods • managing the flow of traffic through Town Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 49 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 For diversity, equity and inclusion: • ensuring housing is available for a diverse population • diversifying Town and school staff For Town government: • living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 For Town services:There were no issues for which performance was rated more negatively than positively or for which there were mixed reviews. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. s0 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Part II - Experiences Living in Lexington This section of the questionnaire asked respondents to reflect on their experiences living in Lexington. Questions focused on quality of life assessments; potential changes of concern; diversity, equity and inclusion; taxes; community participation and connectedness. Questions about Quality of Life • Respondents were asked, taking everything into account, how satisfied they are with Lexington as a place to live. Using a scale from 1 (= extremely satisfied) to 10 (= not at all satisfied), 0 70.2% reported being satisfied (rating of 1, 2, or 3) 0 8.2% reported being unsatisfied (rating of 8, 9, or 10) o The remainder selected neutral ratings between 4 and 7 • When asked about a comparison with life in Lexington 5 years ago, 0 50.1% of respondents indicated that they felt the quality of life is `the same as it was' 0 14.0% felt the quality of life is `better than it was' 0 24.0% felt it is `worse than it was' 0 11.8% said they have not lived in Lexington for five years When those respondents who said life is `worse' now than it was five years ago were asked to identify what is making the quality of life worse, they identified: ✓ Community climate: Comments in this connection were wide-ranging. They included concerns about the general character of the Town; COVID issues; too much construction; the lack of gathering places; people imposing their values on others; political partisanship; and distress about a lack of commitment to the Town on the part of too many residents who come to Lexington for the schools and then leave as soon as a last child graduates from high school. ✓ DEI issues: Almost half of those who mentioned this issue said there was insufficient economic diversity in Town. Approximately one-third said the Town was focusing too much on DEI issues, and specifically identified `wokeness'. Other respondents noted that there was intolerance of differences. ✓ Environment: Comments from respondents on this issue addressed reduction of open (or green) space; loss of trees; and too many restrictions on handling of the environment/open space/private property. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. S1 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ✓ Housing: Respondents identified mansionization as a problem; said `too big houses' were being constructed on `too small lots'; and said housing is too expensive. Other comments addressed the lack of diversity in housing stock and concern that there were too many apartment complexes being built. ✓ Infrastructure: The majority of comments in this area focused on there being too much traffic and the poor condition of roads. Respondents also mentioned concerns about noise and parking. ✓ Schools: Comments in this connection made note of declining quality of education; overcrowding; and problems with the high school building and grounds. Respondents also noted that the system caters to gifted students and to students with more limited abilities at the expense of students in the middle and made negative comments about leadership. ✓ Taxes and affordability: A sizeable number of respondents cited taxes as a problem generally and noted that high taxes made `affordability' of living in Lexington difficult and the `cost of living' in Lexington too high. ✓ Town Center: Respondents expressed concern that there are no local shops to patronize because there are too many banks and real estate agencies and not enough variety of other types of establishments. Several called the Center `a mess' and said that the Center is not vibrant. ✓ Town government: Over half of those who mentioned Town government as a problem focused on Town leadership, with several comments targeting specific Town departments, including Police and DPW. Respondents also complained about snow removal and about receiving fewer services now than they did five years ago. ✓ Zoning: There were concerns expressed primarily about residential zoning but also about business zoning. A substantial number of respondents commented on what they perceived to be a `lack of planning'. ✓ Miscellaneous: Almost half of those who commented on this question expressed general negativity and frustration. Many said the Town is failing to take advantage of its history and should focus more on that. Some expressed that seniors deserve better treatment than they are getting and several said bikers were a problem and safety hazard. Respondents were asked to identify potential changes that might occur in Lexington that concern them. Again, the responses were wide-ranging, but a pattern of issues clearly emerged. The changes mentioned included: Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. S2 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ✓ Diversity: Respondents were divided on their feelings about diversity and DEI. While many said there was too little attention to DEI and ensuring a sensitivity to these issues, others said too much attention was devoted to DEI or `wokeness'. Respondents said the community was becoming `polarized' and in danger of becoming even more so. ✓ Environment: Respondents were concerned both about climate change in general and specific environmental issues. Specific issues included: too much traffic; inadequate public transportation; too much noise; not enough bike and walking trails; inadequate infrastructure (e.g., power supplies and power reliability, conditions of roads and sidewalks); failure to properly preserve the history of neighborhoods; and not enough attention to open space and tree canopies. ✓ Government: Respondents were most concerned about rising taxes and `irresponsible' spending. Others found Town government to be inadequately responsive to needs and/or complaints. Some expressed concern about zoning issues; lack of planning; and too much commercial development. ✓ Health: Respondents made mention of COVID restrictions - some saying `enough is enough' at this point and others wanting the continuation of mask wearing. Some respondents expressed concern about the growing mental health crisis and how the Town might address that. Still others worried about drug use in general and/or complained about a proliferation of cannabis and cannabis-related stores in Town. ✓ Housing: Many of the issues mentioned elsewhere in the questionnaire appeared in response to this question as well. Specifically, respondents were concerned about mansionization and the lack of diversity in housing stock, as well as affordability of housing. Others cited zoning concerns and restrictions on private dwelling improvements and fears about overdevelopment and overcrowding. ✓ Schools: Again, many of the issues cited in response to other questions were cited here as well. The quality of education was seen as in decline, in part due to overcrowding and lack of planning for a new high school, as well as too much stress being placed on students. Some respondents said too little is being spent on necessary elements of education and school infrastructure, while other respondents said there is too much spending on schools. ✓ Town Center: Themes were consistent with comments made elsewhere in the questionnaire. The Center was characterized as `in decline', with fewer and fewer businesses to attract residents; lacking gathering places; having too many banks and real estate agencies; and the potential for overbuilding. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. S3 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Questions about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion A section new to this year's study focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. Respondents were asked about actions the Town should take to make all residents feel welcome, how respondents have been treated by various Town entities, and whether respondents identify specific characteristics about them that might have influenced their treatment. With respect to what the Town should do to make all feel welcome, responses ranged from "the Town is already doing enough" or "nothing more needs to be done" to a belief that this is not the responsibility of the Town to comments that there was already too much emphasis on DEI, while others who responded to this open-ended question identified some specific actions that could be taken. Some respondents: • spoke directly to DEI issues (e.g., increasing diversity among Town and school staff, providing DEI training to all, increasing the amount of translated materials available) • pointed to welcoming actions (e.g., using a Welcome Wagon for newcomers, providing a `welcome package', providing information to all residents and encouraging all to participate in Town activities) • suggested encouraging affinity groups to become more involved in welcoming activities • said there should be more diverse housing options • said the Town should provide places for youth to `hang out' • wanted to increase awareness of the history of different groups in Town (e.g., provide Town-wide events focused on different cultures and sub-cultures) • proposed adopting a policy of zero tolerance and acceptance of all views or perspectives Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. S4 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Respondents were asked about their treatment by specific Town entities. Extremely Acceptably Poorly or Not or very (%) very relevant well poorly N Town municipal offices 61.1 19.0 2.5 12.4 Department of Public Works 58.2 19.5 4.0 18.3 Police Department 56.6 16.4 4.9 22.1 Fire Department/EMTs 55.2 8.1 0.5 36.2 Human Services 28.4 9.7 0.9 61.6 Recreation Department 55.4 15.8 1.7 27.1 Lexington Public Schools 54.116.4 5.5 24.0 Ca Libra 84.2 7.0 0.9 7.9 Cells in blue represent overall responses between 50% and 100% Cells in yellow represent overall responses between 0 and 49.9% More than half of all respondents replied that all of the Town entities mentioned treated them extremely or very well. Ratings for poor or very poor treatment were low, ranging from 0.9% to 5.5% for all departments. The rating for Human Services appears low because more than half of the respondents said that the department was not relevant to them. However, the majority who received services (74.7%) reported being treated extremely or very well. When they were asked if they would identify specific characteristics might have influenced how they were treated, they said they believed the following were factors: ✓ Their national origin (21.9%) ✓ Their sex/gender identity (19.4%) ✓ Their age group (18.8%) ✓ Their racial/ethnic background (18.8%) ✓ Their English language proficiency (16.7%) ✓ Their social/economic class (15.6%) ✓ Their disability (6.5%) ✓ Their sexual orientation (3.2%) ✓ Their religious affiliation (3.1%) Results for this question need careful interpretation both because responses were subjective, and because they do not differentiate between whether the respondent was treated poorly, or treated well, due to his or her identify. The question did not ask if treatment was positive or negative. It should also be noted that between 12.5% and 21.9% of respondents for each identity said they were unsure or did not know if the identity influenced their treatment. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 55 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Questions about Taxes Questions in this section focused on perceptions of taxes and knowledge of tax relief programs available. • Relative to the level of services they received from the Town, o 60.1% of respondents said their taxes are too high o 39.1% said their taxes are appropriate 0 0.9% said their taxes are too low • Respondents were asked to indicate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: My property taxes make it difficult for me to meet my other financial obligations and maintain my standard of living. 0 13.3% strongly agreed o 23.1% agreed o 49.2% disagreed 0 14.4% strongly disagreed The majority of respondents did not find it difficult to meet financial obligations and maintain their standard of living because of taxes. • Respondents were asked if they are aware of the tax deferral/reduction programs available in Town. Levels of awareness varied somewhat, but, overall, knowledge of the existence of these programs was relatively low. The program with which respondents were most aware was the Senior Tax Deferral Program. • Respondents were also asked if they used any of the tax deferral/reduction programs. Use was low, ranging from a low of 0.1% for the Senior Tax Deferral Program to a high of 0.8% for the Community Preservation Act Surcharge Exemption. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 56 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Questions about Community Participation • There was considerable participation in the various activities and opportunities offered to residents by the Town. The most commonly cited activity was use of community walking trails or bike trails. It might be hard to interpret this finding because of the effect of COVID restrictions on behaviors. This was followed by checking out materials from the Library, and utilizing ball fields, playgrounds, tennis courts, golf course, etc. Lowest rates of participation or use of services were seen in connection with assistance from Human Services, participation in Senior programs, or rides on Lexpress. • Respondents also participated in various community activities. Those activities cited include: ✓ Town committees or Boards 16.7% ✓ Cultural, civic or community organizations 41.9% ✓ Lexington Public Schools volunteer 63.9% ✓ Religious institution volunteer 34.3% ✓ Other 32.3% Other activities cited include: Town Meeting, youth sports, scouting, Lexington Historical Society, Library, conservation, politics/elections. • Respondents indicated that they stay connected to the community in a variety of ways. Mechanisms for staying connected fell into six broad categories: ✓ Town resources: ■ 70.7% use the Town website ■ 41.3% use Town of Lexington email lists ■ 36.1% use Recreation Department programming ■ 19.3% use Town of Lexington social media ✓ Community groups/events: ■ 36.3% use community-wide events ■ 34.2% use local Facebook groups ■ 26.2% use the Lexington listsery ■ 6.7% use the Lexington Newcomers Club ✓ Neighborhood resources: ■ 25.2% use neighborhood groups ■ 19.0% use neighborhood listservs ■ 13.3% use neighborhood pools Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 57 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ✓ Cultural/religious resources: ■ 24.9% use their faith community ■ 4.2% use cultural affinity groups ✓ School/educational resources: ■ 41.4% use Cary Library programming ■ 31.2% use PTOs ■ 8.3% use book clubs ✓ Other: ■ 4.7 use WeChat ■ 4.1% use WhatsApp ■ 0.7% use local media Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 58 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Part III - Priorities and Competing Issues This section of the questionnaire asked respondents to identify which competing issues were most important to them. Items were presented in terms of trade-offs or prioritization of issues in light of tight budgets and increasing demands on the budgets. In terms of school services and programs, • 61.6% of respondents said they would prefer to increase property taxes to meet budgetary needs vs. 0 38.4% of respondents who would prefer to reduce publicly-funded school services and programs. The support for school services and programs expressed here is consistent with the expressed importance of public education issues in Part I. In terms of municipal services (public safetu, public works, recreation, etc.), • 55.1% of respondents said they would prefer to increase property taxes to meet budgetary needs vs. • 44.9% of respondents who would prefer to reduce publicly-funded municipal services. This, too, is consistent with the importance placed on Town-provided services as expressed in responses to questions in Part I. It appears, however, that willingness to pay for municipal services, in the form of tax increases, is lower than it is for willingness to pay for school-related services. In response to a specific question that compared reductions in school vs. municipal services, • 14.2% of respondents would support a reduction in school services and programs vs. • 44.2% of respondents who would support a reduction in municipal services. This is consistent with the previous two findings. • 41.7% of respondents, however, would support a reduction in both school and municipal services if resources are insufficient to maintain the Town's current level of services. The vast majority of respondents would support reductions in municipal services or both municipal and school services. Few respondents would support a reduction in school services alone. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 59 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 When asked about the role of the commercial tax base in reducing_ reliance on residential property taxes, • 76.9% of respondents said they preferred increasing commercial density (and the commercial tax base) vs. • 20.1% of respondents who said they preferred to keep zoning the same and not allow additional commercial density. With regard to making roadways safer for pedestrians and cyclists, • 75.9% of respondents said they preferred making roadways safer for pedestrians and cyclists, including traffic calming measures, vs. • 24.1% of respondents who said they would prioritize roadways for vehicular flow. When considering what should be done with the remaining land that is still available for development, • 27.1% of respondents preferred creating affordable housing vs. • 11.9% who preferred creating recreation fields vs. • 61.1% who preferred preserving available open space. This is consistent with the importance of protecting open spaces and their environment as expressed by respondents in Part I. With respect to how to handle existing and new homes and housing development, • 62.5% of respondents preferred regulating residential land use to ensure diversity of housing options vs. • 37.5% of respondents who preferred limiting regulation of residential land use and allowing the market to determine the housing mix. This is consistent with concerns expressed in Part I about housing diversity and with qualitative comments offered by respondents to several open-ended questions in the questionnaire. Specifically, respondents mentioned: • concerns about housing stock diversity, especially with regard to the effect of certain types of housing (e.g., apartments and condos) on schools • offering more affordable housing options • more options for housing for seniors • more housing for diverse income groups • more multi-family housing • the need to maintain neighborhood character and integrity • concerns about `tear-downs' • negative responses to mansionization Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 60 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • concerns about dense housing developments • too much control by developers • concerns about high prices of housing Finally, respondents were asked about priorities with respect to rights of property owners and preserving the natural environment. • 33.7% of respondents said it is more important to preserve the rights of property owners vs. • 66.3% said it is more important to preserve the natural environment. A second question in Part III asked respondents to rank each of the seven (7) broad categories identified in Part I with regard to the importance of each of the categories to respondents. Percent of respondents' rankings of the most important category Ensuring economic development 15.7% Ensuring quality public education 36.5% Addressing climate, environmental health and sustainability issues 14.8% Sustaining the physical character of the Town 9.5% Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion 4.5% Providing responsible Town government 8.4% Delivering Town services 10.7% Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 61 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 The highest ranked category was ensuring quality public education (e.g., teacher/student ratios, meeting social and academic needs, providing adequate funding for education, etc.). This is consistent with findings in Part I of the questionnaire and with regard to priorities as identified in the first section of Part III. The lowest ranked category was promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (e.g., in housing, educational opportunities, hiring, etc.). This would appear to be inconsistent with previously reported findings in which respondents said that, for example, ensuring diverse housing is important. However, it must be noted that respondents were not saying this category is unimportant. Rather, compared with other categories of issues, this occupied a lower priority. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 62 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Part IV - Demographic Findings Questions in this section of the questionnaire focused on background information on the respondents. These data were collected, in part, to establish the representativeness of the sample with regard to the population of residents in Lexington. All data are presented in aggregated form, preserving anonymity and thereby removing the possibility of identifying responses from individual respondents. Comparison of demographic data from the sample of respondents who completed the questionnaire with data from the U.S. Census Bureau's confirms that the sample of respondents is representative of the Lexington population. • The majority of respondents were Lexington residents. There were a few responses from Town/school staff members or owners/employees of a Lexington business, but in most of those cases, the respondents were also Lexington residents. • Sex: 46.1% of respondents were male; 53.2% were female. Remaining respondents identified themselves as gender neutral, transgendered, or preferred not to respond. This variable was one important measure of the representativeness of the sample. As compared with statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau for the population of Lexington in 2020 (the most recent data available), the proportion of male and female respondents mirrors the proportion of males and females in the population (48.9% males and 51.1% females). • Age: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age of Lexington residents is between 45 and 54. The median age of questionnaire respondents is between 50 and 59 (using categories provided in the questionnaire). Median age of respondents is slightly higher than that of the population at large. Examination of histograms of the distribution of ages among survey respondents and that of the age distribution of residents in Lexington according to the U.S. Census show that the two distributions are comparable. Thus, the age distribution of respondents is representative of the age distribution of residents eligible to complete the survey in Lexington. lg American Community Survey 2020 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 63 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • Education: Education Achieved Questionnaire Lexington Population Respondents N Masters, Professional or 72.1 59.2 PhD degree College Graduate 18.7 25.7 Some College 2.5 8.2 High School Graduate 0.7 5.5 Respondents to the questionnaire tend to be more highly educated than is the population in Lexington. However, the pattern of education is consistent. This is not surprising in that better educated people are more likely to complete questionnaires.19 • Race/Ethnicity: Race/Ethnicity Questionnaire Lexington Respondents Population White 72.3 62.0 Asian or South Asian 19.1 30.6 Hispanic/Latino a x 2.1 1.9 Black African American 0.8 1.3 Other or multi-racial ethnic 4.3 5.0 Respondents identifying as White and Asian or South Asian were the two largest ethnic groups represented in the survey. When percentages of questionnaire respondents were compared to percentages in the U.S. Census, there were more White respondents and fewer Asian/South Asian respondents to the questionnaire than there are in the general population. Responses from Hispanic/Latino/a/x and Black/African American residents and those who identify themselves as `other' or multi-racial/ethnic were consistent with their numbers in the general population. 19 See Smith,G. 2008. "Does gender influence online survey participation?A record linkage analysis of university faculty online survey response behavior". ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 501717,-ADD: Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 64 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • Language spoken at home: Language spoken Questionnaire Lexington Respondents % Population English 91.6 64.1 Asian South Asian 3.6 20.6 European language 2.0 13.0 Other 2.8 2.0 Multiple languages 27.3 Comparable information on Lexington residents who speak multiple languages was not available through the Census. Most of the respondents have English as their primary language spoken at home. Approximately one quarter of the respondents speak multiple languages at home. The rest of the respondents speak Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, a form of Indian language, Korean, or Japanese. There was a discrepancy between the languages spoken at home identified in the U.S. Census and those identified by respondents. A larger percentage of those self- identifying as English-only speakers and a smaller percentage of those self- identifying as speaking other languages at home completed the survey, as compared to Census data. What is important to note is that respondents whose primary language may not be English were still able to participate in the survey because they spoke English in addition to their primary language. • Income: The distribution of responses within income categories is similar to the distribution of income categories within the population. According to the U.S. Census, the mean household income in 2020 was $243,312.00. 46.6% of residents have incomes over $200,000.00. The mean household income among respondents to the questionnaire was within the category of $150,000.00 and $299,999.00. 60.1% of respondents have incomes over $200,000.00. The respondents appear to have somewhat higher incomes than do residents in the general population. There were some discrepancies between the demographic characteristics of respondents to the questionnaire and the demographic characteristics of the Lexington population. The respondents were better educated, had higher incomes, and were more likely to speak English as a primary language in the home. There were more White respondents and fewer Asian/South Asian respondents than in the general population. Overall, the sample of respondents to the survey with respect to age and sex is representative of the population of residents eligible to participate in the survey. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 6S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Other findings in Part IV • Most current Lexington residents have lived in Torun for a long time. 45.9% of respondents have lived here for more than 20 years. 38.8% have lived here between 6 and 20 years. • When asked to identify factors that drew respondents to live in Lexington: 0 7.6% said they grew up here 0 11.0% moved here because of family 0 6.7% moved here because of friends 0 11.6% moved here because of the history of the Town o 47.4% moved here for the location o 61.5% moved here for the schools o Other reasons cited by respondents included: ✓ cultural/religious comfort ✓ diversity of the population ✓ environmental features, including conservation land ✓ housing availability (and affordability) ✓ job opportunities or work ✓ political environment ✓ Town Center (as it was when they moved to Lexington) • 51.3% of respondents said it is `highly likely' they will still be living in Lexington in eight (8) years. 29.4% said it is `somewhat likely', while 19.2% said it is `somewhat unlikely' or 'very unlikely'. Reasons given why respondents might move from Lexington included: o Changes in the community (e.g., loss of sense of community; overdevelopment; loss of open space; too much emphasis on DEI/'wokeness'/not enough emphasis on DEI; further decline of Town Center; too many restrictions on property ownership) o Children not here (e.g., when children finish public schooling; when children live elsewhere; when there are no family commitments) o Death (e.g., loss of spouse/partner; own death) o Environmental considerations (e.g., new location; desire for warmer climate; safe community; crime issues) o Financial (e.g., retirement; affordability; taxes too high) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 66 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 o Health (e.g., health issues or disabilities requiring a move out of own home; old age; incapacitation) o Need to downsize (e.g., safer living environment (single floor home); elder housing (assisted living, senior living, nursing home); inability to maintain current home) o Schools (e.g., failure to construct new high school; too much competition among students; further decline in educational quality) o Work requirements/constraints • 55.3% of respondents live in households with three or more people. 37.2% live in households with two people. 7.5% of respondents live alone. • 46.0% of respondents live in households with children aged 18 or younger (16.3% with one child; 22.9% with two children; 6.8% with three children) 57.9% have children under the age of 5 who will likely attend Lexington Public Schools. 42.0% of those with children under the age of 5 say their children will likely go to other schools. • Approximate value of residences ranged from less than $500,000 to more than $4,000,000. The mean value of residences in which respondents live was between $851,000 and $950,000; the median value of residences was between $951,000 and $1,500,000. • Representation of respondents by precincts was relatively evenly spread through the community. The lowest rate of representation was in precinct 3, at 6.3%, and the highest was in precincts 2 and 4, at 12.7% each. Most precincts had representation in the 10.4% to 12.4% range. • While 93.6% of respondents said they are registered voters, only 64.1% said they voted in the March 2021 election.20 Given the discrepancy between 2OAccording to the Town Clerk's record of voter turnout in the March 2021 election(see, https://www.lexingtonma.govZDocumentCenterZView/1799/March-1-2021---Annual-Town-Election-PDF)only 12%of eligible voters voted.The discrepancy between actual voters and those who indicated they voted in the questionnaire is notable, but not surprising.Those who would complete a survey are also more likely to have participated in civic affairs by voting. In this sense,the sample is not representative of the larger population. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 67 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 number of registered voters and number of respondents who said they voted in March 2021, it is important to identify reasons for not voting. Reasons given by non-voters were: Reasons for not voting in March 2021 election % of responses Not a citizen 4.6 Too busy 4.5 Missed deadlines (e.g., registration, absentee balloting, etc. 3.7 Issues did not matter to the respondent/issues weren't important 3.5 enough to the respondent Belief that individual's vote would not have an influence 2.0 Belief the local elections really don't make an impact 0.8 Did not like choices offered 0.8 Accessibility issues (e.g., transportation, bad weather, illness 0.7 Inconvenient polling place hours 0.5 Does not trustgovernment/governmental entities 0.3 • There had been a concerted effort made to encourage residents to participate in the 2022 Town-wide survey. Many avenues of outreach were used and repeated `reminders'were sent through those avenues. Given the current low rate of responses to questionnaires generally21, this outreach was important, and it yielded positive results. (The response rate to the 2022 survey was 9.6%. By comparison, response rate to the 2012 survey was 3.8% and to the 2017 survey was 5.1%.) In order to assess the most fruitful means of educating residents about the survey and encouraging their response, a question relating to how respondents learned about the survey was included. Respondents said they learned about the survey through the following avenues. (Note that respondents were able to identify more than one avenue.) zi While"response representativeness is more important than response rate in survey research" (Cook, C., F. Heath, R.Thompson. 2000. "A meta-analysis of response rates in web-or Internet-based surveys". Educational and Psychological Measurement 60:821-836), it is important to increase response rate to help ensure representativeness. Response rates of between 5%and 30%are currently considered acceptable for electronic questionnaires. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 68 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Source of knowledge about the 2022 Town-wide Survey % of responses A postcard sent to homes through the Vision for Lexington 32.7 committee Town eNewsletter (e.g., Link to Lexington, Town News and 25.0 Alerts Insert included in the 2022 Census form sent by the Town 12.1 Town website 11.6 Word of mouth (e.g., friends, neighbors) 10.1 Community listsery 8.5 Town social media 5.5 Community social media (e.g., Lexington Mavens 5.1 Local newspaper/media 5.1 PTO Newsletter school emails school newsletters 3.8 Community organization mailing (e.g., IAL, KOLex, CARL, 3.7 CaLex Code Red non-emergency telephone calls from the Town 3.7 Neighborhood association 0.3 Library/Community Center 0.2 WeChat/Apps 0.1 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 69 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Comparisons of Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance The chart below (as previously presented in Conclusions for Part I) reports on the ratings of importance and performance with respect to the broad categories. Extremely Town doing Town doing or very excellent or fair to poor important very good job N job N Economic Development 65.0 18.5 52.4 Public Education 83.6 43.4 50.4 Climate, Environmental Health and 71.4 31.7 29.0 Sustainability Physical Character 74.5 43.5 21.1 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 61.1 40.5 26.7 Town Government 83.5 37.3 24.2 Town Services 80.6 60.6 10.8 The charts below present the comparison of importance and performance with respect to specific issues within each broad category. The blue lines represent the expressed importance of the item. This was measured using the following: 1=Extremely 2=Very 3=Somewhat 4=Not very 5=Not at all The red lines represent the evaluation of performance with respect to the item. This was measured using the following: 1=Excellent 2=Very good 3=Good 4=Fair 5=Poor (`Don't know' responses were treated as `missing' data and removed from statistical calculations.) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 70 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Economic Development Each of the findings was statistically significant. The strongest correlation between perceived importance and rating of performance was for providing supportive framework for economic development for small businesses (G22= -.27823), meaning that the more important the item was rated, the worse the performance with respect to it; the weakest correlation was for capitalizing on the Town's history to attract a large number of tourists (G= .080), meaning that the rating of importance came close to matching the rating of performance. Having a vibrant downtown 60 54, so 40 34;3 32. 30 26.5 25.6 CLCL 20 12.7 9.1 10 3:3 '"+wa 1.1 0.6 0 1 2 3 4 5 -limportance -Per forrmmancc G= -.222; p24= .000 22 Gamma (G)is a measure of the strength of association for variables measured at the ordinal level.The value of G ranges from 0=no relationship between the variables to+/-1.00= perfect correlation between the variables.The value explains how much of the variance in the dependent variable(in this case, rating of performance)is explained by the particular independent variable(in this case, rating of importance). 21 A negative value means that there is an inverse relationship between the two variables. In this case,the higher the rating of importance,the lower the rating of performance.A positive value means that there is a direct relationship which would mean that the higher the rating of importance,the higher the rating of performance. 24 p<_ .05 signifies a statistically significant relationship in this study. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 71 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 aputalllizing oin the Town's History to attract toulrlists 50 38.9 40 36 28.3 30 36.5 E 14 ca' 20 26 9.7 3.9 1.0 6 5, L6 1 2 3 4 5 Axis Title _lImportance -Per formiarnce G= .080; p=.003 Providing suplp rtuve frarnew orlk for econoirnli'e development of Ilalrge blusiness 45 40.2 40 35 /21.6 .4 27.3 3�J a� 25, 20 �.4__ 20.5 13. 15 16,6 10 5 4.9 8.2 0 1 2 3 4 5 _11hiportance, Performarnce G= -.123; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 72 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Providing supportive framework for economic development of smallll'' bUsnnesses 50 45 oz.s 39.1 40 3 z 30 20.9 20 10 s s 1.2 1a.�61.s 0.4 7 2 3 4 5 _11niportarce Performance G= -.278, p=.000 Attlractung additional business development to expalnd the cornmerdall tax base 40 35.2 36.3 35 3� 30 25.5. 25 22.7' 20 27.7 as d 15 8,4 9.2 10 5 2.1 2.9 R 1 2 31 4 5 _11riportance. Performance G= -.238; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 73 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Attracting socia�Ry conscious retail' and service u5i,ness 46 _35.6 35 33.5 211 3Q 26:6 26,5 25 20 25,6 ae 1.5, 10.5 10 7.T .2 5 `.5 0 1 2 3 4 5 _11riportance Pprforrrmanrr G= -.241; p=.000 Public Education Not all of these findings were statistically significant. The relationships between importance and performance with respect to meeting academic, social, and emotional needs of all students; ensuring educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios; delivering public education cost effectively; and providing adequate funding for education were not statistically significant. The strongest correlation among the statistically significant findings was for ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion within the school system (G= -.255; p=.000). However, the correlation indicated an inverse relationship, meaning that the more important the item, the lower the rating of performance. Meeting academic, social, and elrnotionall needs of all students 76 64.1 60 5o 38.6 40 35.8' 30 9.7' 2d 27.2 15.8 7' 10 1.2 a,4 0.1 1 2 3 4 5 -Importance Perforrrmanr Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 74 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 G= .055; p=.135 Attracting and retauin%ng Ngh duality teachers 3a 68.5 70 ccs 50 44.2. 40 32.9 a.r CL 30 20 13.1 5 27.3 3. 9. 10 0.5 0 0.2__ 1 2 3 4 5 -limportance PerEnrn nre G= .157; p=.000 Ensurmng educatuonalHy alpplrophate student- teacher radio 60 50 52.4__:.: 35.$ 38.2 40 30 2a �6.7 10.3 14.8 10)3 14 00 0 1,4 0,.2 a �--- - 1 2 3 4 5 nnporturce Performance G= -.025; p=.474 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 75 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Providing state of the art faculliitiies for teaching and Ilearning 45 39,7 40 35.4 35.4 35 3a743 75 25 20 a 2a. _ 15 7.8 1.6 3.7 5 [� 0.8 t 1 2 3 4 5 -Importance Performa,nce G= -.150; p=.000 Delivering pulbhc education cast effectively 50 42,6 43.8 45 46 35.4 35 30 7.5,3 24;'5 E 2.5 IV 7C7 17.9 a. 15, 10 6.3 0.1 _3.4 50.7 0 1 2 3 4 5 _11riportance Peiforrrmarnce G= .037; p=.288 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 76 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Pra vI&ng adequate funding for. edUcation 60 49.9 50 39,.3 40 35 C: c E 30 as 20 45 9.2 9.9 10 1.3 0.3 0 1 2 3 4 5 _11niportance -Performance G= _.015' p=.655 Ensuring Diversity, EqWty, and Indusion within the sclhod system 50 44.3 40 36 32.5 c 30 CL 20 14.7 27.51 15.9 16.7 1.0 6.6 0 5.3 0 1 2 3 4 5 _Ilmportarcp -Performance G= -.255; p=.000 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability Two of the findings in this section were not statistically significant, specifically, meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years and providing public health and safety services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather. The strongest statistically significant correlation was for ensuring access to safe drinking water (G= .326). In this case, there was a positive correlation between ratings of importance and ratings of performance. For all the other statistically significant findings, the correlation between importance and Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 77 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 performance was inverse. That is, the more important the item was seen to be, the poorer the performance with respect to it. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 78 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Meeting Tewin and .state g ails of net zero elrnlisslions in the (next 15-30 years 45 341s 's. 40 35 29.1 30 2.5 27 19;3 8.4 a 20 15 8.6 ::: 7.7 10 5;3 5 0 4.3 1 2 3 4 5 _11riportance Perfoimarce G= _.036; p=.324 Reducing the use of toxic Imaterials 50 4.5; _ 45.3_ 44.1 4036 35 30 25 22.6 1.6 ei 20 13.6 1s 10 6.,3 5.4 3,3 5 1.8 0 1 2 3 4 S _11ripoftance Performance. G= -.131; p=.002 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 79 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Reducing Greenhouse Baas production from transportation 45 3&8 40 36.2 34.3 35 28.0 30 2.5 19-7 20 16.2 a 15 11.9 1.0 4.5 6 5 .9 CJ 1 2 3 4 5 -Importance Perforrnancp G= -.270; p=.000 Stopping ex ansuoin of fossil fuel use 40 37.,4 37.2 35 31028 27.2_. 25 20.2. 20 1 15 11..9 10 T7 :� 1 2 3 4 5 _IliTIporta ncc -Performance G= -.207, p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 80 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Mailntailn ing falrlrnlfands and access to locaEly grown foods 45 40 41.3 40 75 33.1 30 a` 5 19.5 21.4 U a 26 3.7 15 8' 10 5:6. 5.5 1.9 1 2 3 4 5 _Ilmportance Performance G= -.086; p=.008 Reducing waste streamers, including divelrtiing food caste to coirnposflng 45 39. 37.9 40 33.,7 30 2s.4 2.5 19.4 21..3. 20 15 9.7 10 5.9 5.2 s 1.'8 0 1 2 3 4 5 _Ilriportance Performiernce G= -.115, p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 81 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Provuding Ipubk Ihealth and safety services m response to riisNng temperatures and e trerne weather '50 43.3 40 31.7 28.2 zs.9 3[7 22.2 20 8 19 �.3 8'9 7.2 10 5.3 0 1 2 3 4 5 -Ilmportance -Performance G=__ .001; p=.979_ Ensuulrung access to safe driln ling rater 90 76.2 87 70 60 5a 5 s CL 4029.9 28.7 30 -9,3__ 20 4.9 10 3.4 06 0. 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 tr-rmporta nce Perforrrarnce G= .326, p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 82 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Providing education to citizens about sustainability 45 40.1 40 35 32.5 30 25.5 27.2 22.8 25 21. a� 20 15 9.3 9.4 10 5.9 5 5.5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Performance G=-.152; p=.000 Physical Character Each of these findings was statistically significant. The strongest correlation between perceived importance and rating of performance was for managing the flow of traffic through Town (G= -.347). This indicates a strong inverse relationship, that is, the more important the item, the lower the rating of the performance with respect to it. There were a number of inverse relationships: preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods; enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center; managing the flow of traffic through Town; and ensuring adequate, convenient parking in the business districts. These findings argue that the more important the item was to respondents, the lower the performance rating for the item. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 83 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Preserving the Town's l7�storuc alreas and structures 60 47.9 50 40.4 40 41.7 E 30 21.E 24,4 CL 20 4.9 1.5 10 15.7 8 4 r a 1 7 3 4 5 -limportance Perforrrmarce G= .105; p=.001 Preserving Town owned open space 70 60.7 60 50 46.5 aU 40 1 QaJ 30 25.4 19.3 31.4 6.7 20 6.7 8 2.1 10 03 0 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Performance G= .093; p=.005 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 84 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Makng Town's (public Ih�storlic areas and stlructuures acc ssiHe to all ll 45 42.6_ 40 m 33.5 35 31.6 41 6 30 25 ' 2.0 16. 15, 51.8 101 5 1.3 a " ____as 1 2 3 4 5 Importance -Performance G= .115, p=.000 P'Ireselr I4ng the (Physical character of resudentuall. neighborhoods 40 33.5 33.2 35 30:7 30 25 20.7 E 202.8 24.7 l3 as � 15 10 5.4_. 9.1 5 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 _lImportance -Perfotma nce G=-.281; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 85 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Erulhandng the physicall environment of the Town Center 40 36.6 37.9. 36.4 35 30 243 2.5 2L1:5 21.8 20 a� 15 11.2 10 6. 4.1 5 fid,.9 6 1 2 3 4 5 -limportance Performance G=-.221; p=.000 Managing the flow f traffic through Town 40 37.3__ 34'9... 33 3 35 32 3[Y 24.5 25 20 4.3 15 10 2.724.2 5, 9 g 0 1 2 3 4 5 _lImportarcePerformance G=-.347, p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 86 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Errsulr ing, adequate, convenient Ip irking lin the business districts 45 40.3_ 39.5 40 35 30 24.2 26.6 27.1 25 19.5 a 20 CL 15 10 7.7 6.3 6.8 5 1.7 1 2 3 44 5 IaTnportaurnce Pe forrrmaancp G=-.270; p=.000 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion All but one (providing translated materials on the Town website and through Town departments) of the findings was statistically significant. One of the findings (providing books and other materials for a diverse population in the library) showed a direct relationship between importance and performance. This indicates that there is a consistency between importance of the items and the ratings of performance. Other relationships evidenced inverse relationships, where the ratings for importance were higher than the ratings for performance. The two items for which there is the greatest discrepancy between importance and performance are diversifying Town and school staff (G= -.430) and ensuring housing is available for a diverse population (G= -.428). ellc lrniing diverse groups of peoplle 45 40.8 40 37,4_ 35, 2 30 35.6 25 a 29 1T,5 5.6 CL 15 11.9 10 4,2 3.S 5 3.5 1 2 3 4 5 IrTmport an ce Perform a nce Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 87 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 G= -.096; p=.001 ElnsuHing housling, is avaHab'e for a diverse population 35 32.3 29 28.8 28.8 30 >13.521.5< 4 2. c 2.0 1.5 9.4 10 T5 1 2 3 4 5 _lImportance -Performance G=-.428; p=.000 Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests 45 38.6 40.4 40 33 28.2 30 :::: 22.8 w 25 22.1 19.7 U 20 15 10.6 10 5,6 7.2 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 I mportarce Performance G=-.181; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 88 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Providing IbooV s and other r aterualhs for a diverse polpuNatioln lin the Ikbirary 4.5 39,3 40 35 2'9.6 29.7 33 35.9 a` 25 va a 20 23,4 CL 22.6 15 7'.6 10 4:3 5 3 1.4 9 1 2 3 4 5 Irrmporternce -Performance G=.108; p=.001 Providing tlransuated Imaterualhs on the Town websute and through Town departments 40 376 35 31.8 v 37 a t" 25 300 343.5 19.1 20 15 1 ,'1 12.4 10 7.5 5 1 C� 2.5 1 2 3 4 5 IMPortance -Performance G=.001; p=.985 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 89 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Creating awareness of the Town's duiveirsity 40 36.9 35 32,6 30 27 23.7 µ 25 a 19.3 2 W CL 1.5 11 7.9 1.0 13.2 5 77 0 1 2 3 4 5 _4Tipcartmance Performance G=-.156; p=.000 Diversufying Town and sclho&l staff 40 33.6 35 31 30 24.5 25.6 24.9 25 20, 18.8 W IIS CL 15 19,6 0 4 1.0 8.5 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 _11niportance Pei fot macre G=-.430; p=.000 Town Government All but two of the findings (acting in a fiscally responsible manner and planning for the long-term future) were statistically significant. The strongest correlation between perceived importance and rating of performance was for living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 (G= -.371), meaning that there was considerable discrepancy between the rating of importance of this item and the rating of performance for it. For two items (Town officials and staff acting with integrity and ensuring Emergency Preparedness and Response plans are up to date) importance and performance were positively correlated (G= .258). Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 90 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 91 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town offieialk and ,staff acting with integrity 90 81.8 80 7 60 50 XJ'.7 a 49 36 26.2 2M 20 5 9 3.4 10 1.9 0.2 3.8 U d:2 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Performance G=.258; p=.000 gallaln ling short-term (needs with n ing-term liSSIUes 61 51.6 so 39.9 39,7 40 3C� CL 28.4 17' 20 8'.1 7.2 6.8 10 6.7' 6 0.6 1 2 3 4 5 -Ilrnportance Perfr unance G=.166; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 92 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ,cuing lin a fiscally respons�ble manner 70 62.7 60 50 43 35 I0. . 30 18.6 20 26.6 10.9 10 5.6___ 0.8 0 �... � a. 1 2 3 4 5 _Importance Per forrrma nce G=-.066; p=.053 Living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 45 40 42,.5 36.7 3 3C7 26.1 25 21.3 21.6 CL 20 2a 14.5 15 10 6.6 6.2 19 5 .�,,,� 0 1 2 3 4 5 -Importance Performance G=-.371; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 93 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Makng information on de isPiolns and actions easy to o taun 60 48.8 59 39 40 36 E 30 22.3 X5.1 IV CL 20 10..4 9.9 6.7 10 0.8 0 0.9 1 2 3 4 5 lrnportance Perforrrnornce G=-.122; p=.000 Encoalragling diversity in Ipartidpatlion lin Town affairs 40 34:7 363 37.6 3.s 30724.725 18.5 18.9 20 15, 10 10 34 8.1 5 5.1 3 1 2 3 4 5 _11riportance Performance G=-.184, p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 94 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Palrtuclipatuing in Iregional glroups to share resources, services, and ideas 59 44.7 39.2. 40 30 25,.9 26.5 27 20 6.4 7.9 16 5,5 4.4 �u 2.5 1 2 3 4 5 _Ilniportarnc Pcr orrnarmc,a G=.111; p=.009 Nannliing, for hong-terlrn futulre 60 49.7 so 40 41 4P C 3023,7 CL 19.2. 20 7.2 9,2 10 0.6 U 0.6 1 2 3 4 5 trrnportanc: -Performance G=.059; p=.104 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 95 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 En uirung Emergency Preparedness and Response IPains are uIP to date GO 51:5 50 3 8'.5 40 35 �—CU '11 30 34.4 3.0 12.6 11.3 11.1. 10 3.1 1..5 0.7 1 2 3 4 5 —Ilrrnportarce Performa nce G=.258; p=.000 Town Services Several of these findings were not statistically significant: maintaining roads and sidewalks; offering sports fields and recreation facilities for diverse activities; providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens; and providing opportunities for life-long learning. Two of the items, providing quality services and facilities, outside of school, for children and teens and delivering Town services cost-effectively, had inverse relationships between importance and performance. (The more the item was deemed important, the lower the rating of performance.) The strongest positive correlations were found for providing comprehensive library services (G= .369) and ensuring public safety (G= .357). Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 96 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Ensuiriirig pubhc safety 70 66 60 50 a0:9 41.4 40 7.5 30 15.3 2.0 2.1 0..3 1.0 54 0 5 02 0 1 2 3 4 -Importance -Performance. G=.357; p=.000 Maintaining roads and sidewalks 70 59.6 60 50 40 36.2 29.8 30 35.3 17.2 20 12.7 10 3.8 5.1 0.4 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Performance G=-.045; p=.137 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 97 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Offering spouts fields and recreation fadhties for dii eirse a tW tires 50 44. 40 31,E 41.7 23,E 30 20 25.2 4;g 2.1.E 1.4 10 _3 g .3 3 1 2 3 4 s _11riportance Perfotma ice G=.037; p=.218 Providing compirehensive Ikbrary services 45 41-1 42.5 40 35 38.3 413 31 25 20 6.2 15 3.3 10 14. .7 5 M 0.4 1. 2 3 4 5 Vrrmportarce -Performance G= .369; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 98 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Providing quallity selrvices and facd:itlies for senlior citizelns 50 45.5 40 X9.9 45.2 30 24.2. 20 25_ 4.1 19.7 1 Y __'3 9 1.6 1,1. 1 2 3 4 5 _11riportarce Performannce G= .063; p= .065 Providing quality services and facilities, outside of schools, for children and teens 45 42.6 40 36 36 35 30 25 32.3 U 18 20 13.5 13 15 10 5.1 5 2.8 0 0.7 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Performance G= -.075; p=.016 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 99 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Dehveriing Town services in a irespoinsive and friein&y mannelr 60 48 50 39.1 40 32.3 0 41.4 W 20 16.3 1.8 10 2.2 0 6 OA 1 2 3 4 5 _Ilrrmportarnce Perfo riance G=.166; p=.000 Delhverliing Town services cost-effeetivelG 45 42.1 42.2 38.9 40 35 2.8.5 30 25 a 20 6.4 CL 3.9 IS 8.4 7.8 1.0 5 1.2 0.6 0 1 2 3 4 5 rrmportanc. -Performance G= -.144; p=.000 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 100 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Ill:o atwng adequate imoney for Town services 6 50.s 50 46 36 36.8 1000 a7 37.7 26 13 5 12.4 9.1. 10 2.8" 5 0.6 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 —limportance Performance G= .154; p=.000 Providing opp r't'uni:tlie for Il life_ ong �ealr'n�ng 45 38..2 40 32,,7 33.8 35 3�7 34.2 2.5 a 18.5 eL 26 15. 1.3 17.6" 10 8,4 3,7 6 —1.6 1 2 3 4 5 _lImportance Performan e G= .035; p=.253 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 101 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Summary In a number of instances, where findings were statistically significant, there was close correspondence between importance and performance: • providing supportive framework for economic development of large business • preserving the Town's historic areas and structures • providing books and other materials for a diverse population in the library • ensuring public safety • providing comprehensive library services In most cases, however, ratings of importance of issues were higher than were ratings of performance with respect to the issues. Focus Groups In addition to administering the questionnaire for Town-wide response, the Task Force opted to conduct a number of focus groups in order to delve further into selected topics identified as most central to concerns of respondents to the questionnaire. (Please see Appendix B for a list of topics for discussion with participants.) Participants for the focus groups had been solicited through the questionnaire and through a subsequent outreach to participants post-questionnaire. Six groups (consisting of a total of 51 participants) were conducted and the qualitative results of those groups were incorporated into the dataset along with the quantitative and qualitative findings from the questionnaire. Topics of Discussion Each group was provided with a set of questions (and probes). The order of the questions was varied from one group to another to ensure that each question would be addressed first by at least one focus group. (There was the expectation that most groups would be able to address all questions, but also recognition that some groups might be more focused on specific questions and thus not have time to address all questions.) The questions concentrated on the following: Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 102 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 • Town Center • Public Education • Diversity • Infrastructure • Housing • Taxes Specific questions were derived from results of the questionnaire, specifically qualitative comments provided by respondents. Most of the comments made/points raised in the focus groups echoed those made by respondents on the questionnaire. On the Town Center, participants said a nice Town Center was a reason for moving here, but things have deteriorated. There are too many banks/realtors. Many said there is no reason to go to the Center; they shop elsewhere. Participants noted that other Town centers feel more vibrant, have more diversity of shops, and are more pleasant to visit. To remedy problems with the Center, participants identified the need for rent control so that businesses can move into, and stay in, Town; re- branding and marketing the Center to make it more appealing; incubating businesses; and engaging in more thinking and planning about what would attract people to the Center. Other suggestions included: holding more events in the Center, connecting the bike path from schools to the Center; making traffic flow, and pedestrian safety, and parking better; adding bookstores, clothing stores, places for people to hang out, more outdoor seating. Several participants said that the Town is not listening to them and doing things to improve the Center. On Public Education, participants were generally negative in their assessments. Comments focused on visibly broken infrastructure; lack of adequate attention to mental health needs of children and identification of learning disabilities or limitations; disciplinary disparities by race/ethnicity; too much focus on socio- emotional needs and not enough on academics. Many of the negative comments were centered around the high school and students' experiences there, including that it is too big; is overcrowded; needs replacement; does not adequately pay attention to children in the middle academic ranges (the children `get lost'); is too pressured, causing stress for students; has too much focus on extracurricular activities. Some participants were worried about the impact on the schools of Town demographics and the resultant high taxes that must be paid by those without children in the schools, and expressed concern that the Town budget allocates too much money for education -without evidence of it being a worthwhile investment. Participants also made some suggestions for improving the educational experience. These included: experimenting with new and different forms of education (e.g., Education without Walls; more technology-based courses; use of micro-schools; introducing world languages in elementary school; more intergenerational programming; more work-based learning; and using local companies/organizations for mentoring). There was also a desire for holding high school graduation in Lexington. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 103 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 On Diversity, there was concern expressed that there is so much focus on Pride and racial/ethnic diversity that `white' students in schools `feel left out'. It was noted by participants in focus groups that care should be taken that we not separate cultures rather than celebrating cultures. More cross-pollination between groups is needed. There were mixed feelings with regard to diversity — some said it was important to acknowledge and address diversity, while some said it is `offensive' or `biased' to spend so much energy on DEI and the idea of quotas because it suggests minorities cannot make it on their own. Some participants focused on economic and/or housing and/or age diversity and said these were problems in Lexington. There was some agreement that children are ahead of their parents/grandparents on diversity issues so less time/effort should be spent on DEI issues in schools. Suggestions for addressing issues of diversity included: focusing on similarities (rather than differences); developing more affordable housing; being more creative with regard to economic diversity; making greater use of the Community Center to encourage mixing of groups; not having hiring quotas; holding more festivals to bring people together. On Infrastructure, participants said they wanted more neighborhood parks for local gathering and greater accessibility to parks from bike paths. Several said there are not enough sidewalks for safe walking, especially where children walk to schools or playgrounds, or adequately visible crosswalks for safe street crossing. Participants advocated for more trees; more e-charging stations; more control of invasive species; reduced speed limits (in some areas); and greater control over developers, who were seen as sometimes being dismissive of neighborhood concerns or zoning or planning requirements. Suggestions for improvement included: adding dog parks; using more traffic calming measures; sharing more information on environmental issues with residents; creating a list of`green' companies; putting electrical wires underground; and encouraging greater use of electric vehicles (EV), solar power, and public transportation. On Housing, participants had many negative comments. These are comments that have been heard in previous Town-wide surveys. Participants reported that building has gotten `out of control'. New houses are too big for their lots; high prices restrict diverse offerings; more `starter' homes are needed; mansionization has a negative effect on everyone's taxes; tear downs destroy the culture of the Town; and zoning to allow for multi-family housing violates the desire for single family housing. Participants wanted the Town and Planning Board to work with developers to get them to be more sensitive and responsive to needs and desires of residents. Suggestions were in line with observed problems: to control tear downs; develop policies that promote housing diversity in general and affordable housing; to allow accessory dwelling units to keep seniors in Town; control obstacles that make it easier to tear down a house than to improve it; consider housing density and the potentially dangerous effect too many houses clustered too closely together could pose for emergency (e.g., fire truck) access; and consult with School Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 104 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Committee before building multi-unit and affordable housing (that could encourage families with young children to move to Lexington) and increasing the burden on the schools. On Taxes, there was some discussion about the role of the Community Preservation Act. Some participants said it was a good thing because it helps fund needed improvements to Town, while others saw it as a `slush fund' without adequate explanation as to how the money in the fund is spent. Although participants generally acknowledged that new buildings (e.g., Police Station, High School) are needed, they cautioned against having to build `the best of the best'. Consistent with comments seen in the questionnaire, some participants believe their taxes are too high. Some expressed willingness to forgo some services (e.g., trash collection, recycling) in order to reduce taxes, but others said they would be willing to pay higher taxes for things such as mental health and addiction efforts; adult/senior day care; and/or a group home/day center for those who are developmentally disabled. Some questioned whether high taxes are a function of the Town paying high salaries, and others expressed concern that a lack of planning for upcoming needs prevents proper attention to tax control. Taxes were also seen as a barrier to the entry of newcomers to Town. Participants had some suggestions for dealing with tax issues: focus more on tourism (and the revenue it can bring); use a graduated real estate tax for seniors (to encourage them to remain in Town); diversify the tax base to include more commercial development; and increase housing density to create a large residential tax base. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 10S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Comparison of Findings from 2012 and 2017 and 2022 Surveys As stated at the beginning of this report, from its inception, the 20/20 (now Vision for Lexington) Committee has sought input from residents for the planning process. Soliciting comments and observations from citizens has been a critical part of the planning process, and it continues to be so. The current survey (2022) is the latest effort on behalf of 20/20 (Vision for Lexington) and the three elected Boards to hear from citizens. It is a replication (with some modifications) of Town-wide surveys conducted in 2012 and 2017. A goal of Vision for Lexington is to repeat such studies every five (5) years in order to assess community perspectives and progress toward addressing stated preferences of community members. Data from the current study, coupled with the data from the 2012 and 2017 studies, provide the first three data points for comparison. Most Important Issues Examination of results of the 2012 and 2017 surveys in comparison to results of the 2022 survey reveals that, while some things have changed, many remain as they were in 2012 and 2017. When respondents were asked what the most important issues were in 2012 and 2017, for example, there were notable consistencies with data from 2022. Where the most important issue appeared in at least two years, percentages are provided for comparison. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 106 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Most Important Issues 2012 2017 2022 Economic Having a vibrant Having a vibrant Having a vibrant Development downtown downtown downtown 77.0% 65.3% 59.3% Public Education Having high Meeting academic Meeting academic quality and social needs of and social needs of schools all students all students 37.4% 49.8% Climate, Protecting open Protecting privately Ensuring access to Environmental spaces from owned open spaces safe drinking water Health and development from development Sustainability Physical Enhancing the Preserving the Preserving Town- Character physical physical character owned open space environment of of residential the Town Center neighborhoods Diversity, Equity Welcoming diverse Welcoming diverse Welcoming diverse and Inclusion groups of people groups of people groups of people 40.6% 41.2% 30.2% Town Government Officials acting Town officials and Town officials and with integrity staff acting with staff acting with (29.6%) integrity integrity 26.2% 30.9% Town Services Ensuring public Ensuring public Ensuring public safety safety safety 50.6% 44.4% 42.5% In the category of Economic Development, 77% of respondents in 2012 said that having a vibrant downtown was most important. In 2017, 65.3% of respondents identified the same issue. In 2022, that was, again, the issue respondents (59.3%) ranked as most important. In the category of Public Education (labeled Educational Excellence in 2012), 59.6% of respondents in 2012 said that having high-quality schools was most important, followed by 20% who favored high-quality teachers and 10.6% who favored cost- effective public education. In 2017, 37.4% of respondents chose meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students as their most important issue. (It must be noted that this issue was not a choice in 2012. It was one of the items added to the 2017 survey.) Respondents' second choice was ensuring high-quality public schools, at 27.9%, and their third choice was attracting and retaining high quality teachers, at 12.5%. While percentages have changed somewhat, the rank ordering of priorities essentially remained the same. In 2022, the most important issue was meeting academic, social and emotional needs of all students (49.8%), followed by Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 107 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 attracting and retaining high quality teachers (20.6°/x). The choice of ensuring high- quality schools, which had been ranked highly in 2012 and 2017, was not included in the 2022 survey. In the category of Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability (labeled Environment in 2012 and 2017), 41.9% of respondents in 2012 favored protecting open spaces from development, followed by 17.2% who favored preserving the environment in open spaces. In 2017, 30.4% of respondents chose protecting privately owned open spaces from development, followed by 25.2% of respondents who chose preserving the environment in Town-owned open spaces. In 2022, 32.7% of respondents cited the most important issue as ensuring access to safe drinking water, followed by 25.9% of respondents who chose meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years. Neither of these two issues had been included in the previous two surveys. In the category of Physical Character 25.9% of respondents in 2012 favored enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center, followed by 24% who favored preserving the Town's historic areas and structures. In 2017, 27.9% of respondents chose preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods as the most important issue. (In 2012, 21.2% of respondents identified this issue as important.) Respondents' second choice in 2017 (24.8%) was preserving the Town's historic areas and structures and the third choice (19.9%) was enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center. In this case, there had been a shift in priorities. In 2022, 28.1% of respondents chose preserving Town owned open space as most important, followed by 20.2% who chose preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods. In the category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (labeled Diversity in 2012 and Population Diversity in 2017), 40.6% of respondents in 2012 said that welcoming diverse groups of people was most important. In 2017, 41.2% chose this same issue. One change that did occur between 2012 and 2017 is with regard to the second issue chosen as most important. In 2012, offering a gathering place for diverse ages and interests was chosen by 29.2% of respondents. In 2017, the choice was ensuring housing is available for a diverse population (25.0°/x). The change may well be due, at least in part, to the lack of a community-wide gathering place in 2012, but the existence of a Community Center in 2017. In 2022, 30.2% of respondents chose welcoming diverse groups of people as most important, followed by 28.8% of respondents who chose ensuring housing is available for a diverse population. Being welcoming and ensuring housing remain key concerns. In the category of Torun Government, 29.6% of respondents in 2012 said that officials acting with integrity was most important, followed by 20.1% who favored officials acting in a fiscally responsible manner and 20% who favored balancing short-term needs with long-term issues. In 2017, 26.2% of respondents said that Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 108 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town officials and staff acting with integrity was most important, followed by 23.3% who favored balancing short-term needs with long-term issues. Acting in a fiscally responsible manner was in the third slot, with 17.5% of respondents selecting this as most important. In 2022, Town officials and staff acting with integrity remained the most important issue (30.9% of respondents chose this issue), followed by 16.8% who chose balancing short-term needs with long-term issues and 16.5% who chose acting in a fiscally responsible manner. The three most important issues remain the same in the all three surveys. In the category of Town Services, 50.6% of respondents in 2012 chose ensuring public safety as the most important issue. This issue was, by far, the most important identified. In 2017, this issue was again the top choice, with 44.4% of respondents saying this was most important. The second most favored issue in 2012 was delivering Town services cost-effectively (12.8°/x) and the third most favored was maintaining roads and sidewalks (12.1%). In 2017, the order of these two choices was reversed, with maintaining roads and sidewalks identified by 14.6% of respondents and delivering Town services cost-effectively by 12.9°/x. In 2022, ensuring public safety was again identified as the most important issue (42.5%). This was followed by maintaining roads and sidewalks (16.1°/x). The third issue cited as most important was delivering Town services cost-effectively (10.3°/x). In all three surveys, the most important issues in this broad category were the same. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 109 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Importance and Performance Comparisons The following charts report on the relationship between how respondents rated the importance of specific issues and how they rated the Town's performance with the issues. Side-by-side charts for 2012 and 2017 and 2022 allow for a comparison of consistencies and changes over time. Interpretation of these charts should focus on the comparison of patterns of responses, noting the percentages for each data point. (Due to the fact that some issues were not included in all three surveys, charts for issues without parallel are not included in the charts below.) All data points are presented as percentages. Summary and Comparison Charts In some of the comparison charts, patterns illustrating the relationship between importance and performance are consistent across all three surveys. In some cases, there are differences among the three surveys. Economic Development: The general patterns for attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base and for having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors are notably similar. However, for capitalizing on the Town's history to attract tourists in 2022, the patterns differ from 2012 and 2017 with regard to both importance and performance. Public Education: Importance ratings remain similar across all three survey years. However, overall performance ratings in 2022 were more negative than they were in either 2012 or 2017. Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability: Patterns are similar for each of these issues across all three data points, however, the importance of maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods increased in 2022. Physical Character: Patterns are, again, remarkably similar in 2012 and 2017 and 2022. There is, however, a difference with respect to protecting open spaces due to refinement of questions in each survey. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Performance ratings for ensuring housing for a diverse population were lower in 2017 and 2022 than they were in 2012. Otherwise, patterns are similar. Town Government: Patterns, overall, show little to no difference from 2012 to 2017 to 2022. However, importance of living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 is greater in 2017 and 2022 than it was in 2012 and the difference between importance and performance is greater in 2017 and 2022 than it was in 2012. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 110 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Services: Patterns for maintaining roads and sidewalks appear similar in 2012 and 2022, but are reversed in 2017. Performance in 2017 was higher than was importance. By 2022, performance was lower than was importance. Patterns are otherwise consistent from 2012 and 2017 and 2022, except for the pattern pertaining to services for seniors. In 2012 the relationship between importance and performance showed that importance was greater than performance, but that measure was taken before the advent of the Lexington Community Center, which provides better services for seniors. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 111 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Economic Development" Attracting additional Attracting additional Attracting additional business development business development business development to expand the 50 40 36.8 34.9 commercial tax base 40.4 35 31.8 40 36.1 30 40 35.2 36.3 32.8 30. 2.1 31 25 5.5 30 21.8 9. 20 30 22.7 20.7 27.7 20 10.6 15 8.9 20 8.9 10 9.8 8.2 10 14.7 �„ 3.6 10 8.4 2.9 1.5 uuwuuu 5 1.5 2.1 NN NN ww u 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Importance Importance Performance Performance Performance Having a vibrant Having a vibrant Having a vibrant downtown downtown downtown 70 60 56 60 60 54.8 6k2,8. 50 50 50 28.54.3 32 40 3 .2 1 6 29.7 30 3„„. 30 30 26.5 25.6 203.120 13.2 2010 C2� 12.79.1 p 3' 0.2 10 2.68 10 3.3 „„„.1.1 0.6 1 2 3 4 5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Importance Importance -40-Performance Performance Performance 25For Importance: 1=Extremely;2=Very;3=Somewhat;4=Not very;5=Not at all For Performance: 1=Excellent;2=Very good;3=Good;4=Fair;5=Poor Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 112 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Capitalizing on Town's Capitalizing on Town's Capitalizing on the history history Town's history to 50 attract tourists 41.8 50 44 5D 40 34.9 40 34.4 38.9 36 28.7 27. Illu 32.1 40 30 30 28.3 22.3 26.1 J0 20 28.7 17.9 26.2 19 36.5 20 20 2 14 10 7 10 5.7 •2 10 3.9 7.3 3.9 9.1 9.7 5.2 0 1 3 0 0 ��������� 1.6 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Importance Importance Importance Performance Performance Performance Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 113 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Public Education Attracting and retaining Attracting and retaining Attracting and retaining high quality high quality teachers high quality teachers teachers 74.1 g® 74.6 80 68.5 80 70 70 60 60 60 so 46.8 50 44.2 46.8 44.2 38.7 40 32.9 9 40 34.2 40 32. 21.430 26.1 30 20 11.1 20 21... 20 )27. 3. 18.3 6.9 9.8 '.1 3.1 10 1.9 10 13.1 0.5 12.9 0.3 9 S 0 0 4 2.9 �'O 0.2 0 0.4 0 0.2 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 S -6-Importance -4D-Importance -0-Importance -*-Performance -40--Performance -*-Performance Delivering public Delivering public Delivering public education cost- education cost- education cost effectively effectively effectively 60 so 42.6 43.8 60 52.7 49.2 so 50 39.7 40 35.4 37.S 40 34.6 40 30 25.3 37-S 397 34 6 35A 25.V3 34.6 30 7.9 30 23.2 20.7 19.4 20 24.5 24 20 11 20 10.8 10 1 11.6 10.8 10.4 77)..5 1. 10 13.5 10 6.,3 3.4 10 1.7 2.1 0.6 0 0.2 6.1 0.1 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 S -4110-Importance -0-Importance --*-Importance --O-Performance -0-Performance -40-Performance Marian A.C.Cohen, Ph.D. 114 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Providing adequate Providing adequate Providing adequate funding for education funding for education funding for education 70 62.1 ao 55s so 49.9 60 5n 5n 5O 38.2 39.3 4040 35.8 40 32.6 ^' � ' 30 wN -� � 30 36.4 30 �20 9. 20 20 .6 0 10 16.4 1� 10 6�= 1 1.3 . 0.9 « a V »-O 8 � =0 z 2 s 4 s z 2 s 4 s z 2 a 4 s --*—Importance ==b—importance --*—Importance —do-Performance —40--Performance —mo-performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 11S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ��^.� ^ ^ Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainabili Maintaining use of Maintaining use of Maintaining farmlands aghcu|tura|/farm|ands agri:u|tura|/farm|ands and access tolocally 47.5 grown foods so so 43.3 50 *o wo 40 4 z.s soo 40 33.1 30 z '1 �8 26.6 27.2 A3.72.2 20 �o 87 20 8423.7 zn szz�z 10 5.5 4�} 10 Q O Q 5.6 1.9 ~ z 2 a 4 s z z s 4 s z 2 s 4 s -40--Importance —4--Importance --O—Importance —40—Performance —6—Performance —40--performance Providing citizen Providing citizen Providing education to education about education about citizens about sustainability sustainability sustainability so so 40.2 41.1 50 40 mw r A 40 0.2 4o 4o .1 30 300. 30 zA, 5.5 7. 19� z9 2020 .3 20 JS 4 94 10 zz�1n � 4 1n - 7.5 s �y n O Q z z s 4 s 1 z 3 4 5 z 2 s 4 s --S—Importance Importance —4D--importance —41--Performance —40--Performance —0—Performance Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 118 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Physical Character Preserving the Town's Preserving the Town's Preserving the Town's historic areas and historic areas and historic areas and structures structures structures 60 60 50 44.3 50.1 so 46.3 49.8 60 47.9 40 40 so 40.4 40 01.1 42.1 24.6 41. 26.8 -4'4'1.7 2 .4 12.1 3.8 3.2 11.4 15.7 3.1 10.6 S1 4-k11.2 30 42. 24.6 30 41. 26.8 30 1.7 24.4 20 20 10 21.5 12.1 10 18.8 3.2 20 21.4 15.7 4.9 1.5 3.1 0.7 10.6 SLS 10 0 0.2 0 kO.2 0 110.4 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -4-Importance -4b-Importance --0-Importance -0-Performance -41-Performance -41-Performance Making Town's historic Making Town's public Making Town's public areas accessible to all historic areas and historic areas and structures accessible to structures accessible to 50 45.9 all all so 45.2 50 40 42.6 29.5 31.3 40 32.3 40 33.9 30 1.9 27.4 31.6 41.9 3 32 33'9 30 44.5 30 41.6 20 24.1 20 22.2 20 22 5.8 10 15.3 6.3 6.6 10 1A 10 13,k..7 6.4 �3 1.1 2.3 1.3 4.1 4.1 0 0.4 0 4.6 1.3 0 0.8 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 S -41--Importance -4&-Importance -40-Importance -0-Performance -41-Performance --0-Performance Marian A.C.Cohen, Ph.D. 117 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �M�� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ���^. ^ ^ Preserving the physical Preserving the physical Preserving the physical character ofresidential character ofresidential character ofresidential neighborhoods neighborhoods neighborhoods so 38.2 37.2 40 344 3s3 40 33�S us. z 40 azo 30.7 30.2 30 30 30 22.3 20 24. 20 1.. 20 24.7 18 11.9 9.1 10 6.2 10 6.1 10 5.4 � 5 � 3�7� � � =��� m� �~ � o o �� 0 � z z 3 4 5 z 2 3 4 5 z z s 4 s ­49—Importance ­49—Importance --41--Importance —0—Performance —0—Performance —*—Performance Enhancing the physical Enhancing the physical Enhancing the physical environment of the environment ofthe environment of the Town center Town Center Town Center so so 40 ss 37.9 36.4 40.6 39.8 40.2 41.2 - 40]9.z 40 32 5O 2* / ~ 21.8 ]O --� 3O ~^^ 20 21.8 20 20 az� 2o.s .2 9.1 1n 10 10 �6 1 0.92.3 3�5 4a= 0.S 4. O 0.2 U 0 O � z 2 a 4 s z 2 s 4 s 1 z 3 4 s ­49—Importance ­49—Importance °=0-1mportance —4b—Performance —0—perfnrmance —m—performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 118 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �M�� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ���^. ^ ^ Managing the flow mf Managing the flow mf Managing the flow mf traffic through Town traffic through Town traffic through Town so so «� 40 32 y7�u 34e 38�6 40 se ss33.3 40 373 40 37.6 36 31.8 3O 32.4 32.4 30 30 z5 .4 20 zo 20 14 13.3 is -- 14.3 10 14.8 10 104.2 v " � ^� u�7 2�� 3� —a � s � 0 0 O z 2 s 4 s z 2 a 4 s 1 2 s 4 s --O—Importance ­49—Importance ­40='|mpouance —40-~Pcdormancc —*—Performance —41--Performance Ensuring adequate, Ensuring adequate, Ensuring adequate, convenient parking in convenient parking in convenient parking in business districts business districts the business districts so 4�1 y so 44.1 4 z.z so 40.8 wo *O 40 39.5 30 31.3 3O 30 27.1 zo ^' .7 �o z4u n�3 20 z*A76. 19.5 z» m� �-~ 10 94 10 6.8 � S.2 SS�� 7o O 3 z.4O '401.7 z 2 a 4 s 1 2 a 4 s 1 z s 4 s ­41='|mportancc --*—Importance |mportance —0—Performance —40—pedo,mancc —41�~peno,monce Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 119 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �M�� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ���^. ^ ^ Protecting open spaces Protecting privately Preserving Town from development owned open spaces owned open space from development so 46 so 70 60.7 39.8 68 40 32.4 48 0,%%343 33 46.546,5 5O � x ��30 3o 40 20 13 aO /3.4 50 .3 zn- zo zo 10 1s�s zo 3.5 1�1 6.7O � O o z z s 4 s 1 z s 4 s z 2 s 4 s --*—Importance ­49—Importance -4R—Importance —41--Performance —*—Performance —w—performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 120 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ��^.� ^ ^ Diversity, Eguffy and Inclusion Welcoming diverse Welcoming diverse Welcoming diverse groups ofpeople groups ofpeople groups ofpeople so so 46.4 so 4z4 � 40.2 40.8 4O366 40k 40 29.7 s7 4 28.2 30 36 1- 3030 20 2& � ~ txz7zo 18 7.4 10 D 3.8 4.2 o 2.6 o 4u o ss z z 3 4 s z z 3 4 s z 2 3 4 s ­49—Importance —6—Importance --*—Importance —dw—Performance —0—Performance —0—Performance Ensuring housing for a Ensuring housing fora Ensuring housing io diverse population diverse population available for adiverse population 35 A21.9 az.s 31.1 3s m� � sz. z � 3a� 3 ]O3V3o6 �5 2 9 28m�8~-2 .�8v D 2525 30 23.4 22.9 25 2020 20 is zs 22 9.4 15 10 1D / S 7.9 5 8.7 �% az 5 O o n z z s 4 s z a s 4 s z z s 4 s —6—Importance --*—Importance —6—Importance —0—Performance —41--Performance —40—Performance Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 121 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Offering gathering Offering gathering Offering gathering places for diverse ages places for diverse ages places for diverse ages and interests and interests and interests a7 40 .2 34.8 28.1 50 5O 41.3 su 38.640.4 30 '� 40 wo 28,1 292 20 2 30 - - 30 28 � 19 .9 zn 20 �2 � za� 10 8.7 3� 18 �O 7.2 13.7 5.3 O � z.9 O 3.9 n z 2 s 4 s z 2 s 4 s z 2 a 4 s —4b--importance —4b--importance --*—Importance —m—performance ~41--prdo,man' —0—Performance Providing books and Providing books and Providing books and materials for adiverse materials for adiverse other materials for a population inthe population inthe diverse population in library library the library wn 37.6 so 32.8' � 4u�7 so 40 ~� 39' .3 32,1 3o2 '28.1 40 —' z' ` 29.7 3O 38 20 �8 35.* 18.8 10.7 20 23.4 24. 20 � 23.4 22.6 7.6 10 u.0 zn zn 4.3 o �� e o -52 o 6.3 1.4 z 2 s 4 s z 2 s 4 s z z s w s ­49—Importance —6—Importance -49—Importance —4—Performance —41--Performance —6—Performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 122 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Government Acting with integrity Town officials and staff Town officials and staff acting with integrity acting with integrity 80 75.9 70 100 100 78.9 81.8 60 80 80 50 37.2 60 60 40 32.1 37-2 32-1 39.2 39.7 30 40 40 26-2 2 1 24.8 23.2 9 26.2 1.5 20.9 20 11.1 20 9.4 20 9.4 18. 1S.9 10 15.2 .2 4.4 18. 1.9 3.3 1S.9 1.9 3.8 0.2 0. 0 0 .3 0 0.2 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -0-Importance -0-Importance --O-Importance -41-Performance -40-Performance -0-Performance Balancing short-term Balancing short-term Balancing short-term needs with long-term needs with long-term needs with long-term issues issues issues 60 52.6 60 55.2 so 43.1 50 60 51.6 40 38.9 40 39.2 37.3 50 39.9 39.7 43,1 38,9 2 37.3 ?'9.9 39.7 30.6 40 30 30 26.5 20.7 30 28.4 17.2 20 5.�9 20 8 9.1 20 17 6.8 10 3.7 10 7.5 0.5 .8 0.4 10 7.2 0 0.5 0.7 0.2 6.4 0.4 8.1 0 41-6 'j'j'j'j'j'j'G 0.6 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -0-Importance -40--Importance --*-Importance -Go-Performance -0-Performance -ob-Performance Marian A.C.Cohen, Ph.D. 123 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Acting inafiscally Acting inafiscally Acting inafiscally responsible manner responsible manner responsible manner 70 aay 70 63.9 70 GO 60 60 6z7 50 50 5O 40 36.9 40 40 36.9 ao ]o 314 30 16.2 O uo � zo y 20 zo10. 8.5 0.8 5.6 au zO zO 10 ., 9 0.8 �~9J 8.9 4 1 . U .4 z z s 4 s 1 2 s 4 s z z s 4 s ­49—Importance -4110-Importance --*—Importance —0—Performance —4*-Performance -*—Performance Living within Living within Living within constraints of constraints of constraints of Proposition 1/2 Proposition 1/2 Proposition 1/2 40 uo 40 sa.s 36.1 30.4 5o 4z.s 25.6 29.8 30 2A10.7 30 2.5 40 36.7 -- 20 zo 30 7 20 14.5 20.6 zO 10»�5 S.7 u. 4.2 10 6�2�� 3.9" o o n 1 z a 4 s 1 z s 4 s z 2 a 4 s -0—Importance -41--Importance --*—Importance —0—Performance —0—Performance —41—performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 124 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Making information Making information on Making information on easy toobtain decisions and actions decisions and actions easy toobtain easy toobtain oo � 47 4 � � so 43.2 5o 4y 60 48.8 5O 39 36 4O 4o 38.9 38.4 4O 3o so 23.5=21 ]n25.1 20 zn ^^~ 10.7 y8.7 .s an 10 �� 1U ^� �O "�� w� 6 �o�s 0.8 o O O 00.9 z 2 3 4 5 z 2 a 4 s z 2 s 4 s -4m—Importance °-w='Importance ­4110=^|mportance —*—Performance —41*-performance —0—Performance Encouraging citizen Encouraging citizen Encouraging diversity in participation in Town participation in Town participation in Town affairs affairs affairs an so - � s 7.s4se 38.9 SO 49 z wo 347 4028.1 40 34n7.7 30 28.1 30 �� / 3n8 30 2018 18.9 20 �9 20 z8 10 8.1 10 10 �0�6 5.4 "7� 5.1 'n n U.8 O z 2 a 4 s z z s 4 s 1 2 a 4 s -4P—Importance --O—Importance --*—Importance —0—Performance —*—Performance —*—Performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 12S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Participating in regional Participating in regional Participating in regional groups groups to share groups to share resources,services and resources,services,and 50 41.3 43.4 ideas ideas 40 50 45.9 42.5 50 44.7 40 39.2 6.2 42" 30 26.5 30 40 27 20.4 A 19 30 20 24.3 22.5 20 253 22.8 '�9 25.9 26.5 8.4 20 16.4 10 10 5.�9 .2 4. 5.2 4.2 10 4.4 2.8 5.2 6.4 1.8 9 0 0 0 A7.95..5 IN.......... .5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -4b-Importance --*-Importance -49-Importance -*-Performance -0-Performance -*-Performance Planning for the long- Planning for the long- Planning for long-term term term future future future 60 60 55.9 60 49.4 49.7 50 41.9 50 50 40 41 37.1 36.1 1 26 ) 40 41 V 30 23.7 40 40 37.1 36.1 40 26 30 30 24.1 21.8 19.2 20 20 13.2 20 /V 8.6 9.2 8.8 8 7.4 10 5� _.O' 0.8 10 6 10 0 )..8 8 0.6 10.9 0.8 .2 4.8 0.5 0.5 7.2 0.6 0 ..........1111111q@1 0 ....................................0 0 o ......4010.6 1 2 3 4 S 1 2 3 4 S 1 2 3 4 S --*-Importance Importance -4b--importance -0-Performance -*-Performance -41--Performa nce Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 126 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lllmu ^^°l�0�� 0lI �D���� ��^.� ^ ^ Town Services Ensuring public safety Ensuring public safety Ensuring public safety uo 74.4 ao 72.7 70 66.4 70 70 60 GO �� 60 4 50 41.4 4o5o 5u 38.7 4 40 40 38.7 30 30 30 Z 7.S 22 24.3 20 20 20 u 310.7 11190 10 1O1n 5.4 o 0. 0.2 n 2.7 0.1 0.2 o 1 z a 4 5 x 2 s 4 s 1 z s 4 s --O—Importance --*—Importance —0—Importance —*—Performance —0—Performance —0—Performance Maintaining roads and Maintaining roads and Maintaining roads and sidewalks sidewalks sidewalks �s an .7 70 7n sg 57.2 .s 50 oO 60 40.2 *» SO39 5o 29.436.2 40,2 40 40 30 30 | 30 20 13 so �35 2o �� — 2O — 11 12.7zo 14.1 4.10.2 zn zs�z zo �7�z z so 3�4 3�8 O . —+�==w� 1 n 0.3 O U 1 2 s 4 s z 2 s 4 s 1 a 3 4 5 --O—Importance --O—Importance °-m—Importance —41--performance —m—performance —41--Performance MarianA.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 127 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Offering sports facilities Offering sports fields Offering sports fields and fields for and facilities for diverse and recreation facilities diverse activities activities for diverse activities so 44.1 so 46.5 so 44.8 40 ^'' 40 0000 31. 40 3 * 7 46��O »� 3O � �O «� * 1 23.8 ./ zo 2o 2s.7 zo zs.z 20/.7z1. zO zO �8J 10 2.� 3.8 13 o s o 1.52.8-�0.e o z 2 3 4 s 1 a 3 4 s 1 2 3 4 s °410=^|mpvrtance °=e=°|mportonor —0—Importance —41—Performance —40—pcMb/mancc —0—Performance Providing Providing Providing comprehensive library comprehensive library comprehensive library services services services so 43.5 50 42 44.2 so 44�z 41.1 42.s u7y 40 40 4o ay.z 3o3 an 36 30 so� zm - 4 1S � s2o zo �o z 3.1 zza�z 4. z 10 zo 10 4. 1.70.9 o o oa o .4 �.o -o.4 o.9 1 2 5 4 s 1 2 a 4 s z z s 4 s -41—Importance °=m—|mmortancc °=mP­|mpouancc —41--Performance —41--Performance —41--prrfo/manre Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 128 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Providing quality Providing quality Providing quality services and facilities services and facilities services and facilities for senior citizens for senior citizens for senior citizens so 40.2 so 46 so 40 32.6 O 4S- 4O4 4.1 � 7 24.2 24.2 »50 30 ze- zo�7 30 zs 4.1 ao�z �g7 �-��zs � ~ �e2o 20 20 . �3 10 10 zo N.o ��2.z o z�s 1 z 3 4 5 1 z 3 4 s o . 1 1 z a 4 s --*—Importance —6—Importance °=b—Importance —41--Performance —0—Performance —0--Performance Delivering Town Delivering Town Delivering Town services inaresponsive services inaresponsive services inaresponsive and friendly manner and friendly manner and friendly manner 60 6o an 4o�y s» 48 GU37.4 50 39m 5n 391 wo wo 40 9.7 ; so6. so 3. so 41.4 20 20 20 �u�' �o�a � � ' zz�u10 zz�a zo s�s zo 16.3 2.2 o0. U�0�z o U�� o 0.4 1 2 s 4 s x 2 s 4 s z 2 s 4 s --O—Importance —0—Importance -4B—Importance —0—Performance —0—Performance —0—performance Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 129 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Delivering Town Delivering Town Delivering Town services cost-effectively services cost-effectively services cost-effectively so 46.1 42.4 so 42.7 46.7 50 42.1 40 36.8 40 0' 35.5 40 42.2 38.9 32.9 2 29.1 28.5 36,8 9.1 32 0' 35,5 .9 30 30 30 8.5 17.8 20 20 13.3 20 16.4 139 13.9 10 10.4 8.2 10 9.5 7.9 10 7.8 0.8 10.4 0.9 8 1.2 8.2 0.3 8.4 0.6 0 till"O.2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -4R-Importance -4D--importance -4D--Importance -0-Performance -*-Performance -*-Performance Allocating adequate Allocating adequate Allocating adequate money for Town money for Town money for Town services services services 60 48.3 60 53.1 60 50.5 so 39.4 42.1 so 37.1 50 36.8 40 40 33.5 40 36 94 42-1 30 34.6 % 30 40.6 3 3.5 30 37. 36 20 11.1 12.1 20 9.3 20 9.2 10 2.181 10 13.6 8.6 10 12.4 2.8 k3 1k3.5 8.5 0. .6 0 0.5 0 .6 0 0.6 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 -0-Importance --*-Importance --*-Importance -40--Performance -0-Performance -*-Performance Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 130 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Satisfaction Level When asked whether they expected to still be living in Lexington in 5 years (2012 study), almost 58% of respondents said they would be `very likely' to remain. When asked whether they expected to still be living in Lexington in 8 years (2017 study), 59.8% said it would be `very likely'. In 2022, 51.3% of respondents said they would be `highly likely' to still be living in Lexington in 8 years. When respondents were asked, in 2017, to compare the quality of life in Lexington now with that of 5 years ago, 18.2% said it is `better'; 53% said it is `the same'; 28.8% said it is `worse'. In 2022, 14.0% of respondents said the quality of life today, compared with life five years ago, was `better'; 50.1% said it was `the same'; and 24.0% said it was `worse'. (11.8% of respondents said they don't know or they haven't been in Lexington long enough to make the comparison.) This question was not asked in the 2012 questionnaire. The majority of respondents in 2012 and 2017 and 2022 said they are satisfied with Lexington as a place to live. On a 10-point scale measuring satisfaction ranging from `not at all satisfied' to `extremely satisfied', the majority of respondents in 2012 (66.5°/x), in 2017 (66.6%), and in 2022 (70.2°/x) said they were very satisfied with Lexington as a place to live. Concerns about Changes in Lexington Respondents were asked in 2012, 2017 and 2022 about potential changes that might occur in Lexington that would be of concern to them. Many areas of concern expressed by respondents in 2012 re-appear on lists of concerns expressed in 2017 and in 2022. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 131 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Public Education: Public Education: Public Education: ✓ overcrowding ✓ overcrowding ✓ overcrowding ✓ student stress ✓ student-teacher ratios ✓ student stress ✓ system geared to ✓ student stress ✓ mental health 'geniuses'/self- ✓ too much competition issues motivated students/ ✓ funding ✓ need for a new `successes' ✓ increased costs due to high school ✓ focus on test scores increase in student ✓ decline in quality rather than on population of education meeting needs of all ✓ meeting needs of all ✓ leadership students students, especially ✓ too much ✓ decline in quality of those who are `average' `wokeness' schools/educational excellence ✓ too much diversity and too many special needs children in schools lead to decline in quality ✓ loss of quality teachers ✓ tensions with superintendent ✓ budgetary shortfalls ✓ increasing costs due to increase in student population ✓ people moving in for the schools and then leaving when children graduate Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 132 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Housing: Housing: Housing: ✓ loss of affordable ✓ tear downs ✓ lack of diversity housing ✓ mansionization in housing stock ✓ housing changes 4 ✓ overdevelopment/ ✓ affordability of changing character crowding housing of neighborhoods ✓ multi-dwelling units ✓ too many large ✓ too many tear-downs ✓ builders being only houses ✓ "McMansions" concerned about (mansionization) ✓ large houses on too making money, ✓ too many tear- small plots behaving without proper downs ✓ housing too or adequate control, ✓ zoning expensive resulting in negative inconsistencies ✓ developments built impacts on ✓ zoning favoring on previously open neighborhoods and the developers and spaces/farm land community at large development ✓ need for housing ✓ loss of small, moderately diversity priced houses in favor of ✓ too much building4 large, expensive ones reduction in space ✓ loss of socio-economic diversity ✓ too large houses on too small lots ✓ focus on single family detached homes, not apartments (Lexington is not the place for so- called `affordable housing' efforts. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 133 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Environment: Environment: Environment: ✓ disregard for ✓ preservation of open ✓ focus on issues of environmental spaces climate change protection laws ✓ trees (some said more is ✓ destruction of ✓ pollution due to needed, others said environment due to overdevelopment and less is needed) loss of trees traffic ✓ preservation of open ✓ too much concern ✓ energy grid space for/emphasis on the ✓ Hanscom expansion ✓ trash pickup environment ✓ degraded ✓ trees ✓ environmental environment by degradation unbridled residential ✓ environmental noise development ✓ power grid ✓ ineffective noise restrictions (especially near Hanscom) Town Center: Town Center: Town Center: ✓ not enough shopping ✓ banks and RE offices ✓ banks and RE diversity ✓ loss of vitality offices ✓ should appeal to ✓ loss of variety in ✓ lack of vibrancy visitors/tourists as types of ✓ lack of diversity in well as to residents stores/services/local stores/small ✓ vacancy rate businesses businesses ✓ make it appealing ✓ attraction for tourists ✓ no place to shop ✓ too many banks and and locals ✓ not a place to hang RE offices ✓ appearance of Center out/no gathering ✓ too much traffic ✓ brick sidewalks places ✓ boring and ✓ too many traffic uninviting lights and blocked off ✓ building height lanes ✓ too few gathering places ✓ Center looking shabby Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 134 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Traffic: Traffic: Traffic: ✓ increased ✓ too much traffic ✓ bikes pose safety throughout Town ✓ traffic lights might hazards ✓ congestion in help, but might also ✓ parking downtown area create congestion ✓ noise ✓ congestion around and frustration ✓ road safety Wilson's Farm area among drivers ✓ public ✓ no traffic circles; use ✓ need more transportation traffic lights accommodation to ✓ lights/street lights ✓ traffic flow on Mass increasing traffic- Ave, especially in lights, signs, marked East Lexington lanes ✓ traffic will keep ✓ loss/erosion of visitors away public transit ✓ overcrowding will options increase traffic ✓ fear of creating ✓ traffic coming from traffic congestion Hayden Ave/on with traffic lights, Spring St. without improving ✓ traffic lights will safety impede traffic flow ✓ Heavier traffic not adequately being addressed particularly during rush hours ✓ horrible condition of roads makes driving through Town very unpleasant Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 135 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Taxes: Taxes: Taxes: ✓ increases no longer ✓ taxes too high ✓ taxes too high make Lexington a ✓ taxes growing out of ✓ fiscal good/reasonable control irresponsibility value ✓ concern about ✓ need a better ✓ fear increases will affordability of living balance between push people out of here residential and Town (i.e., those ✓ stay within Prop. 2 1/2 commercial tax whose children have ✓ too many overrides — bases graduated from live within your ✓ should be a schools, empty- means, including reduction in nesters) education! taxes for seniors ✓ property taxes too ✓ better tax rates for high seniors ✓ too high, especially ✓ Lexington no longer a as compared with good value for the other Towns dollar ✓ fear that taxes will ✓ too many overrides, not be enough to debt exclusions that cover raise taxes expenses/services ✓ such high taxes should give us better schools ✓ spending tax dollars on doubtful projects ✓ water/sewer taxes too high ✓ inadequate growth in commercial tax revenues Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 136 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Financial issues: Financial issues: Financial issues: ✓ inability to meet ✓ overrides ✓ conflict between financial obligations ✓ commercial tax base residential and for Town employees insufficient commercial tax handicapping Town ✓ affordability of living bases operations in Town ✓ affordability of ✓ wasteful spending ✓ conflict between living in Town school and municipal ✓ concern about budgets/expenses multiple ✓ public might not expensive approve proposed building projects overrides/debt exclusions ✓ too many projects requiring capital expenditures ✓ fear that funding for first responders will be cut in order to stay within budget ✓ consider limiting pensions and health care for Town employees - now too generous Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 137 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Government: Government: Government: ✓ keeping government ✓ lack of connection ✓ leadership issues honest between government in Town ✓ need watchdog for leaders/employees government spending by and citizens ✓ leadership issues government ✓ lack of adequate in boards/ ✓ sometimes leadership committees actions/responses ✓ lack of ✓ concerns about are too slow/take too responsiveness law enforcement long ✓ lack of transparency ✓ not enough ✓ lack of fiscal transparency/ responsibility access to ✓ abuse of regulatory information power ✓ inadequate ✓ inadequate control over accountability developers ✓ too much cronyism ✓ inadequate when hiring attention to contractors to build infrastructure buildings and (especially maintain roads/sidewalks) infrastructure and roads ✓ poor management of capital ✓ inadequate attention to infrastructure (especially roads/sidewalks) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 138 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Diversity: Diversity: Diversity: ✓ lack of diversity of ✓ lack of/too little ✓ lack of diversity business in Center integration of of business in ✓ threat to economic newcomers/ ethnic Center diversity due to groups within wider ✓ too little housing prices community economic ✓ population diversity ✓ absorption of other diversity in ✓ reduction in housing `races' population diversity (types and ✓ Asian community is ✓ concern about sizes of houses) not well integrated potential loss of ✓ building affordable ✓ increase diversity of age diversity housing in the name employees so as to due to of diversity, but reflect diversity in affordability failing to consider Town ✓ too little/too impact on ✓ not enough SES much emphasis neighborhoods diversity on DEI ✓ reduced ✓ high earners/highly ✓ need for greater demographic educated white collar diversity in diversity in schools workers don't support School/Town ✓ ethnic diversity of mom and pop staff the Town is businesses in Town; ✓ concern about increasing, creating they shop through affinity groups a cultural Amazon and potential divisiveness ✓ reduction in civil result in ✓ focus on diversity discourse (implication separation of sometimes comes that this is due to individuals/ with too high a price increased ethnic groups — 'I have to look out diversity in Town) ✓ need for greater for my family first' ✓ civil discourse has diversity in ✓ lack of diversity deteriorated and will school among groups other likely continue to do so curricula than Asians, ✓ young people and ✓ declining sense specifically African seniors will become of community Americans and scarcer in Town due to ✓ more attention Latinos lack of affordability needs to be ✓ `diversity' seems ✓ not enough channels paid to the long skewed toward for connection and and diverse certain groups and understanding— too history of not others much division between Lexington different cultures Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 139 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ✓ attention should be ✓ all staff, from LCC to paid to more than teachers, police, just ethnic diversity firefighters, DPW, — e.g., age, income, secretaries, academic abilities receptionists should be more diverse ✓ fear of increase in hate crimes ✓ for newest residents, there is reduced spirit of volunteerism and continued emphasis on more and bigger cars, homes, conspicuous materialism. Town is losing its core characteristics Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 140 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Use of Town Amenities The surveys asked about the use of Town amenities by the respondent as well as by members of the respondent's family. Participation is reported in the table below. Numbers represent percentages of responses. Activity 2012 2017 2022 Recreation Department Respondent 14.3 13.5 34.9 activity Family Member 46.9 33.3 51.1 Utilized ball Respondent 44.1 30.7 53.2 fields/playgrounds Family Member 62.3 49.8 59.9 Community walking/bike Respondent 79.3 64.2 87.6 trails Family Member 69.2 57.3 71.9 Community education class Respondent 16.8 16.9 23.9 Family Member 19.1 17.0 20.9 Attended program at library Respondent 36.7 31.7 40.8 Family Member 35.7 30.9 34.6 Checked out materials from Respondent 67.5 56.4 67.8 library Family Member 65.5 55.4 60.4 Used (Senior Center in Respondent N/A 40.6 45.0 2012) Lexington Community Center (2017, 2022) Family Member N/A 32.5 37.5 Participated in Senior Respondent 5.0 12.7 33.9 programs Family Member 14.5 8.7 23.6 Rode on Lexpress Respondent 6.2 6.0 8.5 Family Member 20.0 17.4 17.1 Received assistance from Respondent 20.0 12.7 33.9 Police/fire Departments Family Member 14.5 8.7 23.6 Received assistance from Respondent 2.7 1.7 5.6 Human Services Family Member 2.8 2.0 5.7 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 141 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Generally, rates of use of Town amenities went down between 2012 and 2017, but those rates appear to have rebounded in 2022. The numbers for use of the Lexington Community Center (LCC) were not available for 2012 as the LCC did not exist at that time. It is worth noting that participation in programs for seniors increased between 2012 and 2017, and even more dramatically in 2022. It is possible that offering those programs through the new LCC encouraged more people to participate. It should also be noted that the COVID pandemic, hitting hardest during the second half of 2020 and all of 2021, changed participation patterns. For most of that period, people were either not allowed to or were strongly discouraged from engaging in activities that brought them in close contact with others. By the time the 2022 survey was conducted, most (or all) restrictions had been lifted and people were (largely) able to return to their previous lifestyles. The sharp increase in participation may be due to increased interest, or it may at least partly reflect people's desire to get out of the house and `do something'. In other words, it is hard to interpret the large increases in participation between 2017 and 2022. Civic Participation Respondents were asked about their participation in various civic roles. The chart below identifies `current participation' at the time of each survey, `past participation', and non-participation. Numbers represent percentages of responses. Community Currently participate Used to participate Never participated Activity* (%) (%) (%) 2012 2017 2022 2012 2017 2022 2012 2017 2022 Town Meeting 6.8 9.9 NA 5.1 5.3 NA 88.1 84.9 NA Member Board or 8.8 8.8 8.6 6.5 8.6 7.7 84.7 82.6 83.3 Committee member Community 30.2 32.6 19.6 23.9 27.1 22.3 45.9 40.3 58.1 volunteer Ethnic community N/A 11.0 NA N/A 3.6 NA N/A 85.4 NA organization member Public school 38.5 37.2 18.0 32.5 37.5 45.9 29.0 25.2 36.1 volunteer Religious 21.6 24.8 17.2 12.7 11.1 17.0 65.7 64.1 65.7 institution volunteer Questions about participation in ethnic communities were not asked in 2012 or 2022. A question about Town Meeting participation was not asked in 2022. The percentages in this chart are, much as in the chart recording use of amenities, hard to interpret due to the effects of the COVID pandemic. Percentages of those Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 142 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 `currently participating' are down in most categories, but that could reflect the slow return of volunteers to situations involving close physical contact. Demographic Profiles For 2012 and 2017 and 2022, samples of respondents were deemed to be representative of the population of Lexington. Demographic data from the questionnaires on sex, age, ethnicity, education level, and income were compared with data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The chart below summarizes the demographic profile as reported by respondents. 2012 2017 2022 Number of responses 1203 1695 2404 Sex of respondents Males 36.8% Males 31.3% Males 46.1% Females 63.2% Females 68.7% Females 53.2% A few respondents A few respondents self-identified as identified as non- gender neutral, binary or other transgendered or other Average age of 55 55 59 respondents Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 143 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 2012 2017 2022 Ethnic Asian 15.0% Asian 21.5% Asian/S.Asian18.7% composition Black 0.3% Black 0.6% Black 0.8% Hispanic or Hispanic or Hispanic or Latino/a/x 1.8% Latino/a/x 1.4% Latino/a/x 2.1% White 78.6% White 70.3% White 72.3% Other 4.2% Other 6.3% Other 4.3% Educational College degree College degree College degree status 26.1% 22.9% 18.7% Master's degree Master's degree Master's degree 42% 44.0% 39.5% Professional degree Professional degree Professional degree 10.8% 1.6% 8.8% Ph.D. Ph.D. Ph.D. 17.6% 17.7% 23.8% Length of time Over 20 years Over 20 years Over 20 years living in Lexington 28.7% 33.2% 45.9% # children living at One 22.3% One 20.2% One 16.3% home under the Two 33.6% Two 36.1% Two 22.9% age of 18 Three + 13.7% Three + 11.8% Three + 6.8% Registered voters 92.1% 91.1% 93.6% Average Between $151,000 Between $151,000 Over $200,000 household income and $200,000 and $200,000 Mode=between Mode=between Mode=between $201,000 and $201,000 and $200,000 and $300,000 $300,000 $299,999 Average property Between $751,000 Between $951,000 NA valuation and $850,000 and $1,500,000 Mode=between Mode=between $951,000 and $951,000 and $1,500,000 $1,500,000 The sample size in 2017 was larger than the sample size in 2012 and larger again in 2022. This may be due, among other things, to greater campaigns for participation in 2017 and 2022. Reminders were sent to residents on a number of occasions and through a number of organizations, listservs, the Town website, and by individuals in 2017. These actions were repeated in 2022 and were supplemented with postcards sent to all households and with an insert included in the Census form sent from the Town which alerted residents about the survey, and through Town eNewsletters. One- third of respondents said they were made aware of the survey by the postcard; 12.1% Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 144 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 were made aware through the Census insert; and 25.0% were made aware through Town eNewsletters (e.g., Link to Lexington, Town News and Alerts). In 2022, a greater percentage of males responded to the survey. A smaller percentage of Asians/South Asians responded, while the percentages of White and Hispanic/Latino/a/x and Black respondents increased. The average age of respondents increased. The average household income of respondents remained steady. The number of people who have lived in Lexington for at least 20 years increased, as did the overall percentage of respondents with higher education degrees. Conclusions Overall, there is not much change from the results of the 2012 and 2017 surveys of residents. Just as a "sense of community" was important to respondents in 2012 and 2017, so it is to respondents (including those residents who participated in focus groups) in 2022. However, unlike in previous surveys, there was more dismay voiced in 2022 about the loss of`community' and `community character'. This was expressed in direct comments from respondents to the questionnaire and in focus groups. The unease was manifest in responses associated with economic development, especially the Town Center; schools; housing issues; DEI foci; and aspects of the physical character of the Town. The tenor of responses generally was one of concern about both current and future circumstances. Opinions of what is most important to preserve the character and `sense of community' in Lexington varied, but many respondents said the Town is in danger of losing `community'. While some specific concerns (such as the desire for a better and more suitable place for senior programming and activities in 2012 and the desire for greater communication with residents by the Town in 2017) have changed as a consequence of responses from the Town leaders to results of previous surveys, most issues remain the same in terms of both their importance and assessments of performance, and a few have become more important and more central in respondents' minds (such as the Town Center and infrastructure and housing in 2022). In the 2022 survey, additional issues became important as society and culture have changed since 2017. Specifically, those are issues associated with the environment and sustainability and with DEI. With regard to environmental issues, respondents were concerned about effects of climate change and the ability of the Town to respond to those effects. With regard to DEI, respondents had mixed responses. While welcoming diverse groups of people remains important, reactions to efforts with regard to DEI varied, with some respondents saying more needs to be done but others saying current efforts are sufficient and still others saying too much effort is being spent on this issue. Some of the noted changes from the 2017 to the 2022 survey may be a function of changing demographics and dynamics in the Town. According to the U.S. Census, the Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 145 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 composition of the Town has changed to some extent, primarily in terms of a greater percentage of residents who identify as Asian/South Asian, although responses from these groups declined from 2017. Based on reports by respondents and according to the U.S. Census, the Town also has a somewhat more highly educated population, and higher average household incomes in 2022. Length of residence in Lexington also increased since 2017. According to respondents, number of children under the age of 18 living at home has consistently declined since 2012. Use of Town-provided activities and opportunities remains reasonably high and has increased since 2012 and 2017 despite COVID restrictions (or because of the end of restrictions at the time of the survey). Based on responses to open-ended questions in the questionnaire and comments received from participants in focus groups, respondents in 2017 said they would like to have even more opportunities to engage and to make connections and become more involved with the Town. However, results of the 2022 survey revealed that volunteerism and membership in community organizations and committees declined since 2017. (This could be at least partly a function of the effects of the COVID pandemic and people's slower return to in-person interactions.) As a further illustration of how residents are less engaged in 2022 than they were in 2017, while 23% of eligible voters voted in the March 2016 local election, only 12% of eligible voters voted in the March 2021 local election. It is important to note that the March 2016 election included Presidential primary voting and that may have been a factor in increased turnout that year. Among reasons given by non-voters in 2022 were a belief that issues were not important, that an individual vote would not make a difference, that local elections don't make an impact, and a distrust of governmental entities. There is clearly a disconnect between some residents and their community. Nation-wide rates of community participation are declining26. It is notable that Lexington residents had a commitment to their community in the past, but that the commitment appears to be waning and is now more consistent with general patterns nation-wide. Given the past penchant, and current concerns about potential loss of 'community' expressed by many respondents, it would be prudent for Town leaders to encourage greater civic participation in order to engage more residents and to bring participation back up to past levels. Indeed, encouragement of greater participation would address one of the issues found to be important to many respondents. A majority of respondents (71.0%) said it is important for the Town to encourage citizen participation in Town affairs but only a third of respondents rated the Town's performance positively. One-fourth gave the Town `fair' or `poor' ratings. Participation does not solely have to be in connection with serving on Boards or Committees. As noted by respondents to the questionnaire and by participants in focus groups, there is a need for more and better opportunities for social connections. This could include 26 See,for example, Putnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone:The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York:Simon and Shuster. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 146 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 more community-building activities such as events that bring together residents across generations, across ethnic communities, from different areas of Town and with different points of view. Two-thirds of respondents (66.7°/x) said that offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests is `extremely' or `very' important. Three-quarters of respondents said providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens and for children and teens (outside of school) is `extremely' or `very' important. Opportunities to interact with those from whom there is a sense of disconnect could improve understanding of"the other" and lead to an increased sense of togetherness. As noted in a focus group, we should be celebrating cultures rather than separating them. Greater engagement of residents through a variety of means might, in turn, encourage more residents to volunteer for positions in governance, i.e., on Boards and Committees. It should also be noted that, while in previous years, there were many issues about which respondents said they lacked enough information to comment, especially with regard to performance, in 2022 the numbers claiming lack of adequate information declined dramatically. Communication issues appeared in several places in previous questionnaires (in specific questions asked of respondents and in open-ended responses) and arose as topics in focus group discussions. In 2022, however, communication issues were rarely raised. This is most likely due to the efforts of the Public Information Officer (PIO), hired in response to comments on the 2017 survey. Clearly, there was a thirst for more information, and the PIO was able to largely quench that thirst. Engagement and involvement, which are, at least to some degree, dependent upon information27, are good for the social health and well-being of individuals28 and benefit the community as a whole as well. Social interactions that result from participation with others in one's community lead to civic discussions and generation of ideas and actions that can advantage all. Greater utilization of the passion and creativity expressed by respondents to the survey could lead to more and better implementation of the 'values' expressed by residents. As many respondents and participants in focus groups noted, there is greater incivility and polarization in society in general, as well as in Lexington. Increased opportunities for engagement and commitment could help address these negative trends (at least on a local level). There is a need for reflective and critical, but respectful, dialogues that establish a set of social virtues and values that Lexington, as a community, can endorse in order to engage now and with the future. This can best be achieved with broad spectrum participation. There is a call for 27 See http://www.iournalism.orgZ2016/11/03/2-participation-in-civic-life-and-community-rating-show-weaker- ties-to-local-news-habits/for information about the relationship between having information and civic volunteerism. 28 See,for example, Borgonovi, F. 2008. "Doing Well by Doing Good:The Relationship Between Formal Volunteering and Self-Reported Health and Happiness".Social Science and Medicine 66(11):2321-2334. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 147 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 this communitarian29 approach that appears repeatedly through responses to the questionnaire and in the focus groups. Even though there were complaints registered by respondents, and suggestions made for improvements, on the whole, respondents expressed a desire to continue living in Lexington, but hoped that some key issues could be addressed and resolved. In particular, attention should be paid to varying businesses in and increasing the appeal of the Town Center; diversifying housing options; addressing aspects of infrastructure and schools; making taxes more equitable; and examining how tax dollars are used. Overall, levels of satisfaction remain high and most respondents indicated that they envision living in the Town for the foreseeable future. This commitment to Lexington is all the more reason to encourage greater participation and attention to issues identified as most important. To encourage greater participation and commitment and satisfaction, there are important questions that the Town would be well advised to address: what are Lexington `values'? How are those values expressed? What are shared values vs. values that might make for differences among residents? How can a greater sense of 'community' be built? While there are many definitions of 'community', the one thing they have in common is that there must be a sense of belonging and interdependence. The answers to the questions lie in an investigation into key social institutions and the role each may play in creating a greater shared community culture in Lexington. Sociologists study five (5) institutions believed to be essential for creating, and understanding, society. Those are politics or government or institutions, education, economics or work, family, and religion30. The roles of these institutions, as relevant to this discussion, are socialization, development and communication of a sense of purpose, preservation of social order, and transmission of culture. Comments made in the questionnaire and in focus groups about how each of these institutions (without participants identifying them as such) is responsible for both the good and the problematic conditions in Lexington suggest that a coordinated effort to address concerns or problems is in order. As Bell and Newby note in their book, Community Studies, "a community study must be concerned with the study of the interrelationships of social institutions in a locality".31 It is not enough to address issues in one societal realm without appreciating how that realm relates to other social institutions. It is recommended that Town leaders, both those who are employed by the Town and those who serve on the three elected Boards, use the information provided by respondents to help guide and shape their decision-making and planning for the 21 See,for example, Etzioni,A. 1993. The Spirit of Community. New York:Crown. "°https://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Social-Institutions.php; Ayodele,A.O. "Social Institutions". https://www.academia.edu/7991458/SOCIAL_INSTITUTIONS 31 Bell, C.and H. Newby. 1971. Community Studies:An Introduction to the Sociology of a Local Community. London: Routledge, p. 19. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 148 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 future. It is clear that residents want to be involved in their community, that many are involved, and that they have strong views of what Lexington should look like now, and in the future. Sustaining that which works, and fixing that which needs improvement, will contribute to continued satisfaction and commitment among residents and enhance the valued "sense of community". Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 149 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Appendix A Town-wide Survey 2022 PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY The Select Board,the School Committee,and the Planning Board are committed to developing a vision of Lexington's future that can guide decision making.The Vision for Lexington Committee has been asked to conduct a survey of residents similar to the surveys conducted by the Committee in 2012 and 2017. Findings from these surveys proved extremely useful to decision-makers in identifying areas of interest to residents and assuring that Town government reflects our shared vision. We ask that you complete the following questionnaire to inform Town leaders of community perspectives and aspects of our Town that are of greatest interest and concern.This questionnaire should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Please be assured that your responses will be confidential. Findings will be presented in terms of aggregated data, not individual responses, in our final report. Thank you for your time and thoughtful responses,and for supporting Lexington. Click here to download a Chinese translation of the survey as a reference to help you complete the online survey. „� ing , , , f � ,i;,i; y;,C17., ,,,,,,c,h'ine se Click here to download a Korean translation of the survey as a reference to help you complete the online survey.,.Lr... ,i,!n,g,�„�a,m�,!ma,:...p r�`.U.Ly��,?;t2;�,,�,,,,,,��a�;c,i�m� aE C)i °i zi`�I z Fh`__ -6F-k]-k1, �zF°1 101 a”`TI z QE oD'6P l L Ell oI'-aH T Ed IQ. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 150 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PART ONE This portion of the questionnaire asks for your input on a number of different aspects of the Town that have been identified as being of interest to residents: Economic Development; Public Education;Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability; Physical Character; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion;Town Government;and Town Services. Under each topic,there are three(3)questions: • The first question asks you to indicate how important you feel the different issues related to the topic are to preserving or improving Lexington. • The second question asks you to rate the performance of the Town on those issues. • The third question asks you to identify what you believe to be the single most important issue related to that topic from among the issues listed. For each item in the left-hand column of the tables, please indicate your response by checking the circle under the choice most appropriate for you. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 151 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Having a vibrant........ downtown that attracts .a., �..a� 0 0a., residents and "� ����� visitors Capitalizing on the Town's history to 0 ? 0 0 0 attract tourists Providing supportive framework for economic 0 i�� development 0 for large businesses Providing supportive framework for economic (,,,,,J 0 ,-.`J 0 J development for small businesses Attracting additional business development to /m ,,,/ 1 J 0 0 expand the commercial tax base Attracting socially conscious retail 0 0 0 0 0 and service businesses Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S2 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know Having a vibrant downtown that attracts 0 0 0 0 0 0 residents and visitors Capitalizing on the Town's history to t,,J ',,J 0 C) r J r J attract tourists Providing supportive framework for economic i J .J J J development for for large businesses Providing supportive framework for economic (,,,,J 0 ,,,. 0 ,,,. ,,,. development for small businesses Attracting additional business development r J i J 0 J 0 0 to expand the commercial tax base Attracting socially conscious retail and f,. 0 �,,�� 0 0J service businesses Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S3 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. Having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors J Capitalizing on the Town's history to attract tourists 0 Providing supportive framework for economic development for large businesses 0 Providing supportive framework for economic development for small businesses 0 Attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base J Attracting socially conscious retail and service businesses Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S4 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey PUBLIC EDUCATION Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Meeting social,and needs of all students Attracting and quality teachers Ensuring educationally appropriate ratios Providing state of the art facilities for learning Delivering public education Providing adequate education Ensuring Equity,and Inclusion within the school system Marian A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 1SS Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PUBLIC EDUCATION -Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know ......... Meeting academic, social, and emotional 0 J 0 needs of all students Attracting and retaining high quality f,J r J 0 f J f J r J teachers Ensuring educationally appropriate 0 0 �..m 0 00 student- "� teacher ratios Providing state of the art facilities r,J 0 0 r J r J f J for teaching and learning Delivering public education 0 ,,,,; J 0 f,,,, f,,, cost w., �.,,, effectively Providing adequate , 1..vv� �.� funding for e� ,,� � �e e education Ensuring Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion J > J J J within the school system Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 156 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PUBLIC EDUCATION Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. Meeting academic,social, and emotional needs of all students J Attracting and retaining high quality teachers 0 Ensuring educationally appropriate student-teacher ratios 0 Providing state of the art facilities for teaching and learning 0 Delivering public education cost effectively J Providing adequate funding for education ....... Ensuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the school system Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S7 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Ve ry Somewhat Not very Not at all Meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years Reducing the use Reducing Greenhouse Gas transportation Stopping expansion of fossil Maintaining farmlands and grown foods Reducing waste streams,including waste to composting Providing public health and safety services in temperatures and extreme weather Ensuring access to safe drinking water Providing education to sustainability Marian A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S8 Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY-Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? 1 Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know Meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the 0 0 0 '.m. m. 0 next 15-30 years Reducing the use of toxic J J J J J J materials ""' Reducing Greenhouse Gas production i,J ( J ( J 0 0 � J from e„ transportation Stopping expansion of / 0 ��J J J fossil fuel use "' �� Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods Reducing waste streams, including diverting food J ( J ( J 0 0 0 waste to composting Providing public health and safety services in response to rising �,N�_., 0 0 �a�, �a�, �.� 7A temperatures and extreme weather Ensuring access to safe drinking water Providing education to citizens about =e.,. . sustainability Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 1S9 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. J Meeting Town and state goals of net zero emissions in the next 15-30 years 0 Reducing the use of toxic materials 0 Reducing Greenhouse Gas production from transportation 0 Stopping expansion of fossil fuel use 0 Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods 0 Reducing waste streams,including diverting food waste to composting 0 Providing public health and safety services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather J Ensuring access to safe drinking water Providing education to citizens about sustainability Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 160 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ......... ng Preservi the Town's historic areas and 0 0 0 .,J J structures Preserving Town owned open space 0 0 0 Making Town's public historic areas and l l J J structures �� �� � accessible to all Preserving the physical character of residential 0 0 0 neighborhoods Enhancing the physical environment of r-J r,---J J J the Town �,,, �. Center Managing the flow of traffic „JJ J through Town Ensuring adequate, convenient parking in the a) Vie. 0 0 0 business districts Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 161 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know Preserving the Town's historic areas and 0 0 0 .l ,,,. .l structures Preserving Town owned open space 0 0 Making Town's public historic areas and structures i } � J � J � J i t � J accessible to �� all Preserving the physical character of residential 0 neighborhoods Enhancing the physical environment of the Town rJ r 0 rJ Center Managing the flow of traffic --a -a�, -�. --a --a --a through Town ., ,� Ensuring adequate, convenient parking in the 0 0 0 0 0 0 business districts Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 162 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PHYSICAL CHARACTER Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. 0 Preserving the Town's historic areas and structures 0 Preserving Town owned open space 0 Making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all 0 Preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods 0 Enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center Managing the flow of traffic through Town 0 Ensuring adequate,convenient parking in the business districts Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 163 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION -Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Welcoming diverse groups of people 0 0 0 0 Ensuring housing is available for a diverse 0 0 0 0 0 population Offering gathering places for diverse ages 0 0 0 0 0 and interests Providing books and other materials for a diverse 0 0 0 0 0 population in the library Providing translated materials on the Town website and through 0 0 0 0 0 Town departments Creating awareness of the Town's 0 0 diversity Diversifying Town and school staff (D 0 0 0 0 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 164 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION -Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know Welcoming diverse groups of ,„l /,,,,/ 0 0 0 0 people Ensuring housing is available for J r °J r J r J f J a diverse population Offering gathering places for 0J J 0r..,J r diverse ages i �� ��� �� and interests Providing books and other materials for J i J i' ! J J a diverse o„ population in the library Providing translated materials on the Town website and 0 0 0 0 0 r J through Town departments Creating awareness of the Town's 0 .J .,J .l i..,1 r i diversity Diversifying Town and f,,J J 0 0 f J school staff e., 0 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 16S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. J Welcoming diverse groups of people 0 Ensuring housing is available for a diverse population 0 Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests 0 Providing books and other materials for a diverse population in the library 0 Providing translated materials on the Town website and through Town departments '^o,..A Creating awareness of the Town's diversity 0 Diversifying Town and school staff Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 166 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Town officials and staff acting with integrity s0 0 0 0 Balancing short- term needs with long-term issues "- Acting in a fiscally responsible manner f,.,,J 0 0 0 0 Living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 (which limits annual growth of -- 0 0 0 0 the property tax levy) Making information on decisions and actions easy to f,.,,J 0 0 0 0 obtain Encouraging diversity in participation in /� I f J / J � J � J Town affairs �., Participating in regional groups to share resources, services,and "- ideas Planning for the long-term future J J J Ensuring Emergency Preparedness& Response plans "- are up to date Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 167 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN GOVERNMENT-Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know ......... Town officials and staff acting l J ( with integrity Balancing short- term needs with / J J long-term issues i w, Acting in a fiscally responsible 0 / .J 0 0 0 f manner Living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 (which limits � � �'� l 5 annual growth of i ' fie., wv0 the property tax levy) Making information on decisions and � � �'� l 5 actions easy to fie., wv0 obtain Encouraging diversity in participation in 0 0 0 +.,, 0 0 Town affairs Participating in regional groups to share resources, 0 J services,and ideas Planning forthe long-term future 0 0 0 0 0 Ensuring Emergency Preparedness& "� "� l fie., 5 Response plans '' are up to date Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 168 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN GOVERNMENT Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. J Town officials and staff acting with integrity 0 Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues 0 Acting in a fiscally responsible manner 0 Living within constraints of Proposition 2 1/2(which limits annual growth of the property tax levy) 0 Making information on decisions and actions easy to obtain 0 Encouraging diversity in participation in Town affairs 0 Participating in regional groups to share resources,services,and ideas J Planning for the long-term future Ensuring Emergency Preparedness&Response plans are up to date Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 169 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey TOWN SERVICES Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington? Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Ensuring public safety(police,fire department,and Maintaining roads and sidewalks (including street cleaning,snow debris,timely Offering sports fields and recreation activities Providing comprehensive Providing quality services and citizens Providing quality services and facilities,outside of and teens Delivering Town services in a friendly manner Delivering Town services cost- Allocating adequate money for Town services Providing opportunities for life-long learning 0 0 Marian A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 170 Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN SERVICES-Current Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items? Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor Don't know Ensuring public safety(police, fire department, and emergency 0 0 0 °=e.,1 d medical services) Maintaining roads and sidewalks (including street cleaning,snow l""J /"J 0 l"J l"J l J removal,pick-up """ of debris,timely repairs) Offering sports fields and recreation facilities for 0 e 1 .., 1 h ,i 1 d diverse activities Providing comprehensive library services 0 0 0 °=e.,1 d Providing quality services and facilities for f„ 1 /�"`"_ / �°`" / �'M f ", senior citizens <, Providing quality services and facilities,outside of schools,for l J / j children and teens Delivering Town services in a responsive and i 0 " friendly manner Delivering Town services cost- effectively 0 0 /' .J /.J 0 0 Allocating adequate money for Town /..i% .. .,J 0 /,J /,J services Providing opportunities for 5 life-long learning i Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 171 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN SERVICES Please click on ONE of the items in the list below to indicate which is MOST important to you. J Ensuring public safety(police,fire department, and emergency medical services) 0 Maintaining roads and sidewalks(including street cleaning,snow removal, pick-up of debris,timely repairs) Offering sports fields and recreation facilities for diverse activities 0 Providing comprehensive library services 0 Providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens 0 Providing quality services and facilities,outside of schools,for children and teens J Delivering Town services in a responsive and friendly manner Delivering Town services cost-effectively 'vo...A Allocating adequate money for Town services Providing opportunities for life-long learning Are there issues,other than those we have identified,that you feel are important to consider when preserving or improving Lexington? If so, please indicate those below. Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 172 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PART TWO Questions in this section ask you to reflect on your experiences living in Lexington. Taking everything into account,on a scale from 1 to 10(where 1=extremely satisfied and 10=not at all satisfied), how satisfied are you currently with Lexington as a place to live? 1= 10=not extremely 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 at all satisfied satisfied , How satisfied are you with J J l J J J J J Lexington w., ,, w., w. as a place to live? Please click on the option below that indicates how the quality of life in Lexington for you today compares with the quality of life for you in Lexington five(5)years ago. 0 Better than it was five years ago 0 The same as it was five years ago Worse than it was five years ago 0 1 don't know/l haven't been here that long What is making the quality of life in Lexington worse than it was five(5)years ago? What potential changes that might occur in Lexington most concern you? Questions in this next section relate to issues of diversity,equity and inclusion. What actions should the Town take to make all residents feel welcome? Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 173 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 How have you been treated by the following Town entities? Extremely Very well Acceptably Poorly Very Poorly Not relevant well to me Town municipal offices 0 0 i i �.J .J DPW(Department of Public Works) C) 0 0 0 0 0 Police Department 0 0 i ,, 0 0 0 Fire Department/EMTs r„ 0 J J J Human Services i ,J 0 ,,,,,/ 0 0 0 Recreation Department ......... 0 J 1.,J rJ Lexington Public Schools C) 0 0 0 0 0 Cary Library 0 0 0 i � °y 0 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 174 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey Doyou feel any ofthe following might have influenced your treatment? Yes No Don't know/Unsure Your racial/ethnic Your social/economic Your English language Please identify any other factor that you believe might have influenced your treatment by Town entities. Marian A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 17S Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Questions in this next section relate to taxes. Please click on a response below that indicates how you feel about your Town taxes relative to the level of services you receive from the Town. My taxes are high My taxes are appropriate J My taxes are low Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statement: My property taxes make it difficult for me to meet my other financial obligations and maintain my standard of living. F,,,,,,,,, ........... Strongly agree ......... Agree 1'1�,,,,,,,,,,�f J Disagree 11"�............J, Strongly disagree Are you aware of the tax deferral/reduction programs available in Town?(For further information on these programs please go to: hurt ^.r: w�nr�nP.Na x'l�n to .1 n.�.. �pv a.�s�.�:a�r a s �N._wNd�rN -other-tax relief Please check all the programs of which you are aware. _ Senior Tax Deferral Program Financial Hardship and Temporary Tax Deferral ...... Property Tax Exemption ........ Community Preservation Act Surcharge Exemption 11"�............J I was not aware of any of these programs Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 176 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Have rryou f used any of the following tax deferral/reduction programs?(Please check all that apply.) fSenior Tax Deferral Program �f Financial Hardship and Temporary Tax Deferral r J' [� Property Tax Exemption �.......... Community Preservation Act Surcharge Exemption Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 177 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Questions in this next section focus on community participation. For each of the following, please indicate whether you and/or a member of your family,has participated in the activity at any time during the last five years. You Family member Participated in a Recreation Department program Utilized ball fields, playgrounds, tennis courts,golf course,etc. f f J l Used community walking trails or bike trails Took a Community Education class [[ [ Attended a program at the Library J Checked out any materials(e.g., books, DVDs)from the Library f f J l Used the Lexington Community Center J � J Participated in Senior programs [ Rode on the Lexpress (' . ' Received assistance from the Police or Fire Departments J Received assistance from Human Services J � J Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 178 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 For each type of activity, please indicate whether you currently participate in the activity, used to participate in the activity, or never participated in the activity. Currently participate Used to participate Never participated Town of Lexington committee or board(e.g., Planning Board,Council on Aging,Vision for i„J f,,,/ i j Lexington Committee, etc.) Cultural,civic or community organization (e.g., IAL,ABCL, Little League, League of -.a --�., Women Voters, LexPride, � � Neighborhood associations, etc.) Lexington Public Schools volunteer(e.g., PTO, LexFUN, room parent, 0 0 0 etc.) Religious institution volunteer i J ! J i J Other(please specify) i'.a 0 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 179 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Which of the following have you used to stay connected to the community? (Please check all that apply.) (".............. ........... Lexington Newcomers Club "'............ Local Facebook groups ["�............ "........... Lexington listsery [.............. ......... Neighborhood listsery ............ Neighborhood groups (................ 11.............. Neighborhood pools ["'�............ ........... Town website .......... Town of Lexington email lists �............ .............. Town of Lexington social media 1'1�1111111111.' ........... Community-wide events "'............ Faith community ["'�............ ........... Cultural events (",............. ........... Cultural affinity groups .......... PTOs(Parent Teacher Organizations) .............. Book clubs ........... Cary Library programming ("'�............ "'............ Recreation Department programming ("'�............ "'............ WeChat (",............. ,,........... WhatsApp 1'1�1111111111.' ..........J Other(please specify) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 180 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PART THREE Lexington will always need to prioritize resources and make trade-offs. For each of the questions in this section you will be asked to indicate which of the identified competing issues are more important to you. With regard to school services and programs,which of the following would you prefer? 0 Increasing property taxes to meet budgetary needs Reducing publicly funded school services and programs With regard to municipal services(public safety, public works, human services, recreation, etc.),which of the following would you prefer? 0 Increasing property taxes to meet budgetary needs 0 Reducing publicly funded municipal services To the extent that resources are insufficient to maintain our current level of services,which of the following would you prefer? J A reduction in school services and programs J A reduction in municipal services A reduction in both school and municipal services One way to reduce reliance on residential property taxes is to expand the commercial tax base. Which of the following would you prefer? ...... Increasing commercial density(and increasing the commercial tax base) ...... Keeping zoning the same and not allow additional commercial density Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 181 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 As roadways and intersections are being rebuilt,which of the following would you prefer? ......,,,J Making roadways safer for pedestrians and cyclists, including traffic calming measures J Prioritizing roadways for vehicular flow Most of the land in Lexington is already committed to particular uses. Of the remaining land that is still available for development,which of the following would you prefer? 0 Developing affordable housing 0 Creating recreation fields 0 Preserving available open space Market forces are causing existing homes to be torn down. The new homes that replace them are often more expensive. Which of the following would you prefer? J Regulating residential land use to ensure diversity of housing options 0 Limiting regulation of residential land use and allowing the market to determine the housing mix Which do you think is more important? J Preserving the rights of property owners J Preserving the natural environment Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 182 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 As the Town plans for the future, it is necessary to balance the needs and interests of all citizens.To help us better do this,the following question asks you to rank each of the areas of planning identified in Part One of the questionnaire(above). Please drag and drop each of the following items to number them from 1 to 7,where 1=most important and 7= least important. Ensuring economic development(e.g.,attracting businesses,tourism,vibrant downtown,etc.) Ensuring quality public education (e.g.,teacher/student ratios, meeting social and academic needs, providing adequate funding for education,etc.) Addressing climate, environmental health and sustainability issues(e.g., reducing energy consumption, reducing waste streams, meeting net zero emission goals,etc.) Sustaining the physical character of the Town (e.g., open spaces, neighborhoods, historic venues,traffic flow, parking, etc.) Promoting diversity,equity and inclusion (e.g., housing, educational opportunities, hiring,etc.) Providing responsible Town government(e.g., making information easy to obtain,ensuring emergency preparedness,acting in a fiscally responsible manner,etc.) Delivering Town services(e.g., public safety, responsiveness to citizens' needs, maintaining roads and sidewalks,etc.) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 183 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PART FOUR Just a few more questions to help us ensure we are getting a representative sample of Lexington residents. This section asks for background information about you. Please be assured that the information will be confidential. It will be used in aggregated form to assess patterns of responses to the questions in Parts One,Two and Three. For each of the following questions, please either check the circle next to the appropriate answer for you or provide an answer in the blank space when requested. Are you...? (Please check all that apply.) ........... A Lexington resident ......... A Town or School staff member .......... An owner/employer of a Lexington business ....,,,,,,J Other(please specify) Which of the following describes your sex or gender identify? 0 Male 0 Female 0 Non-binary 0 Other(please specify) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 184 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey How old are you? �� �� Younger than 2O LJ Z0-29 �� �� ]O-39 L/ 40-49 /� �� SO'S9 /� �� 6O'69 7O'79 /� �� 8O'89 /� �� Older than 89 What isyour occupation? What isthe highest level ofeducation that you have completed? /� �� Less than high school /� �� Some high school /� �� High school graduate(or GED degree or vocational or technical school degree) /� �� Some college /� �� College graduate /� �� Some graduate school �� �� �ager.sDegee �� �� Professional Degree 0 Doctoral Degree Marian A.U.Cohen, Ph.D. 18S Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 With which of the following groups do you most identify? 0 Asian 0 Black or African American 0 Hispanic or Latino/a/x °_..) Middle Eastern or Arab American 0 Native American,American Indian or Alaska Native J Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander South Asian (e.g.,Asian Indian, Bangladeshi,Sri Lankan) /iy/. White or Caucasian J Other race or multi-racial/ethnic(please specify) What is the primary language that you speak at home? For how long have you lived in Lexington? 0 Less than one year 0 1-5 years 0 6-10 years 0 11-20 years 0 More than 20 years Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 186 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey What initially drew you to Lexington as place to live? (Please check all that appky.) �~� |grew uphere �~�» Family �~� Friends �~� The history �~� Location �~�. The schools �_� other(please specify) How likely isitthat you will still beliving inLexington ineight(8)years? Highly likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Don't know Under what conditions doyou see yourself moving out ofLexington? What isthe number ofpeople living inyour household atthe current time? One, | live alone /� �� Two 0 Three ormore Marian'A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 187 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R-yi. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 How many children aged 18 or younger live in your household? 0 None 1 e/ One 0 Two 0 Three or more How many of the children in your household aged 5-18 currently attend Lexington Public Schools or Minuteman Technical High School? 0 None.All children are under age S. J None.The children go to other schools. 0 O n e 0 Two 0 Three or more How many of the children in your household under the age of five(5)will likely attend Lexington Public Schools? 0 None.The children will likely go to other schools. 0 One 0 Two J Three or more Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 188 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey What isthe approximate assessed value ofyour residence? (if you donot know the assessed value cfyour residence, please 8oto C) Less than$soo'oon /� �� Between$sno'ounand$yyo'oye /� �� Between$1'000'ounand$1'499'99e �� �� Between$z'son'nnnand$z'oyy.yge �� �� Between$z'oon'nnnand$2'499.99e �� �� Between$z'son'nnnand$z'oyy.yge �� �� Between$s'oon'nonand ga'4yy.yyy �� �� Between$a'son'nonand$a'yyy.yyy �� �� $4'nno'000u,more �� �� |ama renter �� �� |don't know What was your household income(from all sources) in2021? /� �� Less than$24,999 /� �� Between$ZS,OOOand $49999 0 Between$5O'OOOand $74'999 /� �� Between$76'OOOand $99'999 Between$1UO,OUOand$149,999 /� �� Between$15O,UUOand$199,999 /� �� Between$ZUO,UUOand$299,999 �� �� Between$3UqUUUand$]99,999 �� �� Between$4OO,UOOand$499,999 �� �� $5OU,OUUormore Marian A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 189 Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Find Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 In which precinct(number)do you reside? Eyou donot+o« please camt,h tr.: b g . r..p � ! ' 2 g 0 4 § 0 § 0 7 0 a g Are you aregistered voter? ' vs ' No ' ado+l bow 5d Aum*in the as municipal election in March2021? 0 vs 0 No 0 1don't remember Moria ko Cohen, @\a 190 Ruth Remington, m\D, %N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 If you did not vote,why not? (Please check all that apply.) �.......... I am not a citizen. 11'............ I missed deadlines (registration, absentee ballot, etc.) 11'...,......... Polling place hours were inconvenient �........... I didn't believe my vote would have an influence Issues didn't matter to me/issues weren't important enough I didn't like the choices offered .......... Accessibility issues(e.g.,transportation, bad weather, illness,etc.) .......... I was too busy ....,...... I didn't believe local elections really make an impact 11'............ I don't trust government/governmental entities �..........� Other(please specify) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 191 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Town-Wide � �/��� ^ lDom ^^`DO�� 011 ^ O�Dl ". ^a� � ���� ^ Survey How did you learn about the 2UZZTown Wide Survey? (Please check all that app|y] �~� Census insert �~�» Survey postcard �~�» Word of mouth �.........v Town website K....~�v Town eNomdetter(e.8, Link to Lexington,Town News and Alerts) . Other Town social media �~� PTO newsletter ..~�v Cummunity|istsery ..~�» Other community social media(e.g, Lexington Mavens) �~�» Community organization mailing(e.g, IAL, KOLex, [AAI, CaLex) �~�» Loca| nevvspaper/media �_� other(please specify) Is there anything else about preserving or improving Lexington that you wish to add? Thank you very much for your time and thoughtful responses. Afinal report based onthe findings ufthe survey will beposted unthe Town's website at asvve||asthrough the Town's communications channels. For alist ofthe Town ofLexington communication channels,visit . The Town will be further exploring issues raised in several areas addressed in this survey.We encourage residents to participate in focus groups designed to elicit more detailed information. |fyou are interested inparticipating, please gotothis link tosign up: Marian A.U.Cohen, Pb.[). 192 Ruth Remington, PhD, R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Appendix B Questions for Focus Groups 1. We have found, from responses to the survey, that Lexington Center is an issue for many people. We'd like to hear your thoughts. What do you think about when you think of Lexington Center? Probes: appearance variety of stores/businesses parking vibrancy 2. Public education is considered to be important in our Town. What are key issues on which School Committee and the school administration should be focusing? Probes: new high school overcrowding stress/competition leadership Be sure to ask this at the end of the discussion on public education: What do we do well? 3. Our Town has become more diverse (in particular, in terms of ethnicity and economics) in recent years. What should be the role of the Town in diversity, equity and inclusion? Probes: planning hiring education too much or too little emphasis? Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 193 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 4. Questionnaire results indicated interest in a number of issues associated with infrastructure. Those included open space, conditions of roads/sidewalks, effects of climate change. Let's discuss each of these separately. a. How should open space be handled? Probes: trees open space bike/walking trails b. Conditions of roads/sidewalks Probes: paving of roads creation/maintenance of sidewalks traffic c. Effects of climate change Probes: fossil fuel use — should it be limited? by whom? planning for climate-related crises 5. What do you think about the current state of housing in Lexington? Probes: current zoning regulations affordability mansionization property rights of owners historic preservation 6. Taxes are of concern to many people. a. Under what conditions would you be willing to pay higher taxes? For what services/purposes? b. What would you be willing to forego in order to contain (or reduce) taxes? c. What should be the balance between commercial development and residential taxes? What do you think the impact of increased commercial development might be? Probes: definition of`higher' or `high' taxes Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 194 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Appendix C Stacked Bar Chart Comparisons of Importance and Performance Ratings The following charts present ratings of importance and performance for each of the issues within the broad categories in Part I of the questionnaire. The X-axis (horizontal) corresponds to ratings of importance. The Y-axis (vertical) indicates how respondents rated performance. (For example, the chart immediately below shows the distribution of ratings of performance within each of the categories of importance of having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors. Reading across the chart, one can see a comparison of the ratings of performance across all the categories of importance.) Findings are presented in frequencies. Economic Development ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Current 1,250 _ Performance How would you 1,000',; rate the current Performance of the Town with re and to each c oft he following © 750 _ items?-Having U a vibrant downtown that attracts Soo residents and visitors Excellent 250 v'erry good Good Fair Poor a Extremely vel) Somewhat I'dot very [dot at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Having a vibrant downtown that attracts residents and visitors Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 195 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Current Performance aao How would you rate the current performance of the Town with .+ 600 re�and to each C of the following :30 items?- �y Capitalizing an the Town s 400 history to attract tourists Excellent very good 200 EGood ryry ..............F 11,Eair Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Capitalizing on the Town's history to attract tourists 600 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- Current Performance 500 How would you rate the current aaa performance of the Town with reyaid to each c Oft e following items?- U 300 Providing supportive framework for economic 200 development for large businesses Excellent noo 11111lVery good Good .........Fair o DPoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing supportive framework for economic development for large businesses Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 196 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Current Performance Sao How would you rate the current performance of the Town with .+ 600 re�aril to each C of the following :30 items?- �y Providing supportive 400 framework for economic developrnout for small businesses 200 Excellent Very good Good Fair 0 DPoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing supportive framework for economic development for small businesses 600 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- Current Performance 500 Haw world you rate the current performance of 400 the Town with regard to each of the following items?- Sao Attracting additional business development to expand the 200 commercial tax base ( Excellent X00 Very good Good Fair o []Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Attracting additional business development to expand the commercial tax base Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 197 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 500 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- Current EVELOPMENTCurrent Performance 400 How would you rate the current performance of the Town with 300 reiard to each oft a following items? 0 Attracting socially 200 conscious retail and service businesses fflExcellent 100 NVery good EGood MFair Elpoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Attracting socially conscious retail and service businesses Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 198 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Public Education PUBLIC 1,200 EDUCATION Current Performance 1,000 How would you rate the current Soo Performance of the Town with regard to each of the 0 (j 600 following items?. Meeting academic, 400 social,and emotional needs of all students 200 Excellent Very good Good Fair Extremely Very Somewhat 114ot very Not at all 0 Pool, PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Meeting academic,social,and emotional needs of all students PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current 1,250 Performance How would 1,000 you rate the current performance of the Town with regard 750 0 to each of 0 the following items?- Attracting 500 and retaining high quality teachers 250 10Excellent MVery good EFair 01— 11 Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Attracting and retaining high quality teachers Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 199 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current Performance Sao How would you rate the +, 600 current = performance 0 of the Town with regard to 400 each of the following items?- Ensuring 200 educationally appropriate student- teacher ratios p EMExcellent Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all 11111Very good Fair PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance ffilpoor How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring educationally appropriate student- teacher ratios PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current Performance 600 How would you rate the current Performance of the Town C aao with regard to each of the :3 following d (� i Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current 00 Performance How would you rate the current Performance „ of the Town C acre with regard Q to each of U the following items?- Delivering Public education zea EMMMMM cost effectively Excellent Very good Good 0 ............w Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all DPoor PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Delivering public education cost effectively 1,000 PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current Performance Sod How would you rate the current performance r. 600 of the Town with regard o to each of U the following items?- a00 Providing adequate funding for education 200 ClExcellent I11Very good Fair Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing adequate funding for education Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 201 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 coo PUBLIC EDUCATION- Current Performance cora How would you rate the current Performance of the Town 3 with regard to aaa each of the U fallowing items?- Ensuring Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion 200 within the school system Excellent Very good Good c Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Poor PUBLIC EDUCATION-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring Diversity,Equity,and Inclusion within the school system Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 202 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability SUD CLIMATE, ENV'IRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Current Performance 400 How would you rate the current performance of the Town wwith regard to each of the 300 i____. ... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......_. following items? Meeting town and state goals of net 0 zero emissions in the nerd 15.30 200 years EDIExcellent Very good Good 100 12Fair Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Blot at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Meeting town and state goals of net aero emissions in the next 15-30 years 500 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Current 400 Performance How would you rape the current 300performance of the 3 Town with regard o to each of the U following items?- Reducing the Use 200 of toxic materials ®Excellent Very good ®Good 100 Fail- 0 air0 Moor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Reducing the use of toxic materials Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 203 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 500 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Current 400 performance How would you rate the current 3 0 performance of the Town with regard 0 to each of the U following items?- 200 Reducing Greenhouse Gas production front transportation 100 M Excellent MVery good ®Good IM Fail- 0 EI Pool, Extremely Very Somewhat Not very [1Jot at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Reducing Greenhouse Gas production from transportation 500 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Current 400 performance How would you rate the current 300unance of the 17012on with regard to each of the 0 following items? Stopping 200 expansion ofossil fuel use EllExcellent IlVery good 100 ®Good Ell Fair rj Pool Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Stopping expansion of fossil fuel use Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 204 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- 600 Current Performance How would you rate the current Performance of the C 400 ---- Town with regard to each of the U fallowing Nerals?- Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods 200 Excellent Very good Good EM Fair Poor O Extremely Very `somewhat Not very [1Jot at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Maintaining farmlands and access to locally grown foods CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- 600Current Performance Haw would you rate the current performance of the Town with +� regard to each of 400 _ the fallowing O Nome?- Reducing waste streams, including diverting food waste to 200 composting ®Excellent Very good Good I®Fair 0 Pool' 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Reducing waste streams,including diverting food waste to composting Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 20S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 400 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY Current - Current Performance 300 How would You rate the current performance of the T.with regard to each of the following items?- Providing public a health and safety U 200 services in response to rising temperatures and exdreme weather eW9VlExcellent 100 Very good IM Good IM Fair �,. r'oor 0 LIN MOW — Extremely Very `somewhat Not very [1Jot at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance Haw important are each of the fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing public health and safety services in response to rising temperatures and extreme weather CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND 1,250 SUSTAINABILITY- Current Performance 1,000 Haw would you rate the current Performance of the C Town with regard o 75O to each of the U following items?- Ensuring access to safe drinking 500 water Excellent Very good 250 ®�ry Good El Fair YY El Poor �II III VIII iIl AY„l�µ Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring access to safe drinking water Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 206 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 500 CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- 500 Current Performance a0a How would you rate the current Irerfo mance of the Town with regard 0 300 to each of the U following items?- Pro vrding education to 200 citizens about sustainability M Excellent 100 MVpry good ®Good ®Fail- 0 airo ( Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very [1Jot at all CLIMATE,ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY- Importance Haw important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing education to citizens about sustainability Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 207 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Physical Character qoq PHYSICAL CHARACTER- Current Performance Bqq How would you rate the current performance « 600 of the Town with regard to each of the U following items?- 400 Preservil1�g the Town s historic areas and structures 200 101 Excellent Very good Goad Fair q Poor Extremely Very Somewhat 114ot very Net at all PHYSICAL CHARACTER,-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Preserving the Town's historic areas and structures PHYSICAL CHARACTER- Current 1,250 Performance How would 1,000 you rate the current performance of the Town with regard 750 to each of U the fallowing items?- Preserving 500 Town owned open space Excellent 250; Very goad Goad Fair Opoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Preserving Town owned open space Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 208 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Boo PHYSICAL CHARACTER. Current Performance How would 600 you rate the current performance of the Town = with regard to each of the following 0 400 Reins? - Making Town' s public historic areas and structures 200 accessible to all Excellent Very good 1 11 Good aMI Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all poor PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Making Town's public historic areas and structures accessible to all Boo PHYSICAL CHARACTER. Current Performance s®a How would you rate the current performance of the Town with re and to each of c the following items? U 400 Prose ing the physcal character of residential neighborhoods 200 Excellent Very good M Good ®Fair EJ Pool- Extremely oorExtremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Preserving the physical character of residential neighborhoods Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 209 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 PHYSICAL CHARACTER- Current Performance 0a0 How would you rate the current Performance +, 600 of the Town 3 with regard to each of the �y fallowing items?- 40a Enhancing the Physical environment of the Town Center 200 Excallant Vary good Goon! 0 Now fflFair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all El Pool, PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Enhancing the physical environment of the Town Center 1,000 PHYSICAL CHARACTER- Current Performance eoo How would you rate the current Performance r. 00a of the Town with regard to each of the o following U items?. Managing the 400 flow of traffic through Town 1111 Excellent Vary goon 200 ®Good OR Fair EJ Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Managing the flow of traffic through Town Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 210 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 PHYSICAL CHARACTER- Current Performance aao How would you rate the current Performance +, 600 of the Town 3 with regard to each of the �y fallowing items?- 40a Ensuring adequate, convenient parking in the business 200 districts Excellent Very good Good o Fair Extremely "fiery Somewhat Not very Not at all Poor PHYSICAL CHARACTER-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring adequate,convenient parking in the business districts Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 211 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 1,000 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION- Current Performance 800 , Haw would you rate the current soa performance of the Town with regard to o each of the U following items?. 400 . Welcoming diverse groups of people 200 Excellent Very good Good Fair 0 0 Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very IWJot at all DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Welcoming diverse groups of people DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION- Currout 800 Performance How would you rate the current performance 400 with the Town with regard to 0each of the following items?- Ensuring housing is available for a 200 diver so population ®Excellent Very good Good no ®Fair 0 E]Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring housing is available for a diverse population Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 212 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 800 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION Current Performance 600 How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the 0 400 following items?- Offering gathering places for diverse ages 200 and interests M Excellent NVery good M Good EM Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all El Poor DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Offering gathering places for diverse ages and interests DIVERSITY, 600 EQUITY AND INCLUSION- Current Performance 500 How would you rate the current 400 performance of the Town with regard to each of the :3 following 0 300 items?- Providing booksand other materials for 200 a diveyse. population III the library fflExcellent 100 NVery good I M Good MEMEWIffiFair 0 — -I..M.. ..............opoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing books and other materials for a diverse population in the library Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 213 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 DIVERSITY, 500 EQUITY AND INCLUSION current Performance 400 How would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard 300 to each of the following 0 items?- Providing translated 200 materials on the Town website and through Town departments 100 IMExcellent 1111111lVery good NGood MFair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all upoor DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing translated materials on the Town website and through Town departments 600 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION- Current 500 Performance How would you rate the 400 current performance of the Town with regard to 0300 each of the following items?. Creating awareness of 200 the Town's diversity M Excellent 100 E"Very good M Good M Fair 0 IN 0 Poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very 1�lot at all DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance How important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Creating awareness of the Town's diversity Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 214 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 500 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION- Current Performance 400 How would you rate the current �. s0a performance of the Town :3 with regard to o each of the U following items?- 20a Diversifying Town and school staff Excellent 100 IlVery good Goad Fair Fool- 0' Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all DIVERSITY,EQUITY AND INCLUSION-Importance Haw important are each of the following to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Diversifying Town and school staff Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 21S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Government 1,500 TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance Haw would you rate the current performance of 1,000 the Town with regard to each of the following items?-Town 0 officials and U staff acting with integrity ®Excellent 500 111111very good NO Gaud M Fair El Poor a Extremely Very Somewhat Not very IWJot at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Town officials and staff acting with integrity 1,000 TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance 800 Haw would you rate the current 500 _ Performance of the Town with o regard to each of the following items?- a00 __ Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues 2pQ El Excellent very good MGood 0 ®Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all O Poor TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Balancing short-term needs with long-term issues Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 216 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,200 TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance 1,000 How would you rate the eaa _ current performance of the Town with regard to each 600 of the following U items?-Acting in a fiscally responsible 400 .___ manner Excpllent 111MVery good 200 I®Good ®Fair (Poor tr Extremely 'Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Acting in a fiscally responsible manner TOWN GOVERNMENT Current Performance 000 Nova would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items?-Living vAthin C400 constraints of :3 Proposition 2 C 112(which V limits annual growth of the property tax levy) ®Excellent lac 'Very goad Good ®Fair El Poor o Extremely `fiery Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Living within constraints of Proposition 2 112 (which limits annual growth of the property tax levy) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 217 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance sQQ How would you rate the current performance of the Town with �. 600 regard to each oft he following a items?-Making U information on decisions and 400 actions easy to obtain IWW'Wr Excellent fiery good 200 ®Good M Fair 0 Poor Q Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Making information on decisions and actions easy to obtain GQQ TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance 500 Haw would you rate the current 4aQ performance of the Town with of thd to each en following items?- sQa Encouraging diversq in participation in Town affairs 200 Excellent Very good too M Good F 0 Fair Poor Extremely `very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Encouraging diversity in participation in Town affairs Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 218 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 400 TOWN GOVERNMENT. Current Performance Harm world you 300 _ _ _ rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each of the following items?. 00 Participating in regional groups to share resources, services,and ideas 100 Excellent Very good Good Fair r1poor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Participating in regional groups to share resources,services,and ideas aaa TOWN GOVERNMENT- Current Performance 600 Haw would you rate the current performance of the Town with regard to each O400 of the following U t items?- Planning for the long-term future Excellent 200 NVery goon Good ®Fair r3Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very 1'�lot at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each ofthe fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Planning for the long-term future Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 219 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 600 TOWN GOVERNMENT. Current Performance 500 How would you rate the current performance of ............... the Town with 400 ..... regard to each of the following items?. Ensuring 0 300 Emergency Preparedness &Response in plans are tip to 200 (late MExcellent EVery good 100 EGood Fair ...................................................................................................... spoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN GOVERNMENT-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring Emergency Preparedness&Response plans are up to date Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 220 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Town Services 1,500 TOWN SERVICES Current Performance How would you rate the current 1,000 performance of the Town with regard to each of the 0 following U items?- Ensuring Public safety (police,fire 500 department, and emergency medical services) M Excellent NVery good 111 Good Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all M Fair 0 Poor TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Ensuring public safety(police,fire department, and emergency medical services) TOWN SERVICES Current 1,250 Performance How would you rate the current 1,000 performance of the Town with regard a. to each of the following :3 750 items?- p Maintaining 0 roads and sidewalks (including street Soo cleaning, snow removal, Pickup of debris,timely 250 repairs) ®Excellent ... ..........................7NVery good 0 IN Good Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Fair 0Poor TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Maintaining roads and sidewalks(including street cleaning,snow removal,pick-up of debris,timely repairs) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 221 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 TOWN SERVICES- Current Performance stag How would you rate the current performance stay of the Town = with regard to a each of the U following items?. 400 Offerilrg sports fields and recreation facilities for 200 diverse activities Excellent Very good 0 M Good Extremely Very Somewhat Not veil/ Not at all 111 Fair TOWN SERVICES-Importance D Poor How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Offering sports fields and recreation facilities for diverse activities 1,000 TOWN SERVICES- Current Performance 800 , How would you rate the current performance of 800 the Town with regard to each 0 of the following items?- 400 . Providing comprehensive library services El Excellent 200 MVery good N Good ®Fair El Poor 0 Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing comprehensive library services Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 222 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 800 TOWN SERVICES- Current Performance 600 _ _ _ How would you rate the current performance of the Town = with regard to a 400 following of the following items?- Providing quality services and facilities for 200 senior citizens 119 Excellent Very good IM Good Q IM Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all Poor TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing quality services and facilities for senior citizens TOWN 800 SERVICES- Currem Performance How would you rare the 600 ___ current Performance of the Town with regard a to each of the following :3 items?- C 400 Providing U quality services and facilities, outside of schools,for children and teens 200 Excellent Very good Good IffiFair 6 mq..17777777777777771_11­��� .........opoor Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing quality services and facilities,outside of schools,for children and teens Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 223 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 1,000 TOWN SERVICES- Current Performance stag How would you rate the current performance stay of the Town = with regard to a each of the U following items?. 400 Delivering Town services in a responsive and friendly 200 manner IM Excellent Very good Good 0 _ IM Fair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all El Poor TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Delivering Town services in a responsive and friendly manner TOWN SERVICES- Current 600 Performance How would you rate the IN current C 400performance of :3 the Town with ° regard to each t� of the following items?- 20ta EMMMMIllilillil _ Delivering Town services cost-effectively Excellent Very good ®Good 0 ElFair Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all []Poor TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the following items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Delivering Town services cost-effectively Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 224 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 TOWN SERVICES- Current Sao Performance Haw would you rate the current performance of the Town C 400 with regard O to each of U the following items?- Allocating adequate money for 200 Town services Excellent Very good Good a Wail, Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all opov TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Allocating adequate money for Town services TOWN SERVICES- Current Sao Performance How would you rate the current performance of the Town r_ aao with regard p to each of U the following items?- Providing opportunities zaa for life-long learning Excellent Vary good MGood ®Fair p 0pool' Extremely Very Somewhat Not very Not at all TOWN SERVICES-Importance How important are each of the fallowing items to you in preserving or improving Lexington?-Providing opportunities for life-long learning Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 22S Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Appendix D — List of Tables and Charts Tables Page Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance Economic Development 20 Public Education 22 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability 24 Physical Character 27 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 29 Town Government 31 Town Services 34 Conclusions Part 1 39 Treatment by Specific Town Entities 55 Ranking of Most Important Broad Category 61 Demographics of Respondents versus Population Education 64 Race/Ethnicity 64 Language Spoken at Home 65 Reason for Not Voting in March 2021 Election 68 Where Respondents Learned of Survey 69 Comparisons of Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance 70 Most Important Issues 2012, 2017, and 2022 107 Concerns about Changes in Lexington 2012, 2017, and 2022 132 Use of Town Amenities 2012, 2017, and 2022 141 Civic Participation 2012, 2017, and 2022 142 Demographic Profile 2012, 2017, and 2022 143 Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 226 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N. Final Report on Town-Wide Survey 2022 Charts Page Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance Economic Development 71 Public Education 74 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability 78 Physical Character 83 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 87 Town Government 91 Town Services 96 Comparison of 2012, 2017, and 2022 Ratings of Importance and Ratings of Performance Economic Development 112 Public Education 114 Climate, Environmental Health and Sustainability 116 Physical Character 117 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 121 Town Government 123 Town Services 127 Stacked Bar Charts of Comparison of Importance and Performance 195 Ratings (Appendix C) Marian A.O.Cohen, Ph.D. 227 Ruth Remington, Ph.D., R.N.