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City of Missoula Voters and and Parks and Recreation Funding Prepared for the Friends of Fort Missoula Regional Park 1 February 2008 ---PAGE BREAK--- Survey Methodology Survey Methodology Sample 400 interviews among a representative sample of – 400 interviews among a representative sample of voters in the City of Missoula, Montana Method – Telephone interviews conducted February 10-11, 2008 S li Sampling error – Plus or minus 5% at the 95% confidence level 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- “In 1995, the citizens of the City of Missoula voted for a $5 million dollar open space bond. A portion of that money was used to buy 97 acres at Fort Missoula for the purpose of developing a regional park and sports complex. The master plan for the park includes running and walking trails picnic shelters a year running and walking trails, picnic shelters, a year round pavilion for ice skating and public events, fields for softball, volleyball, soccer, rugby, football, as well as playgrounds, fishing areas, water ti d ibl ti f l recreation and accessible recreation areas for people with disabilities.” 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- $8 Million Ballot Measure $8 Million Ballot Measure “Do you think you would vote yes in favor or no to oppose an $8 million dollar ballot measure 70% 80% “Do you think you would vote yes in favor or no to oppose an $8 million dollar ballot measure to develop and fund maintenance of the first phase of Fort Missoula Regional Park?” (Q4) 60% 27% 40% 3% 20% 4 0% TOTAL yes Don't know TOTAL no ---PAGE BREAK--- Funding Priorities Funding Priorities “Now I would like to ask a series of questions regarding possible recreational facilities this ballot “Now, I would like to ask a series of questions regarding possible recreational facilities this ballot measure might fund. Regardless of how you would vote on such a measure, please tell me if it would be extremely important, fairly important, not too important or not at all important that each of the following facilities be funded by the ballot measure we have been talking about.” Extremely/ fairly important Not too/not at all important Walking and biking trails (Q14) 89% 11% Unstructured open space (Q12) 77% 22% Playgrounds (Q8) 83% 17% Playing fields (Q9) 72% 27% y g ( ) Picnic shelters and pavilions (Q10) 72% 28% Historical interpretation and art features (Q11) 60% 39% 5 ( ) Formal and native gardens (Q13) 57% 41% ---PAGE BREAK--- Missoula’s Multi-Use Fields Compared to Montana Cities ---PAGE BREAK--- Remember the Past…. A Park for the Future ---PAGE BREAK--- S e a t t l e · P o r t l a n d · S p o k a n e · B o i s e · H e l e n a · W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . Memorandum To: Charlie Vandam, From: John MacDonald, Gallatin Group Date: February 15, 2008 Survey of Missoula Voters on Fort Missoula Regional Park Summary: The survey of Missoula voters was prepared for Friends of Fort Missoula Regional Park and was intended to gauge the level of support for a ballot measure to help fund the first phase of the Fort Missoula Regional Park. The survey was drafted in accordance with standard polling practices and was fielded by Moore Information, a reputable polling firm based in Oregon, which The Gallatin Group has used quite extensively. The pollsters collected comments from 400 likely voters over a two-day period – Feb. 10th and 11th. The telephone survey reflects the general demographics of the community. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The results indicate overall strong support among voters for a ballot initiative. What is of particular interest is that strong level of support is present even though the majority of respondents also indicate they believe the level and quality of existing parks within the city are good. It seems to indicate that the majority of respondents believe the city’s parks and recreation system is good, but they are not afraid to pay more to make it better. Some Highlights: • 80 percent of respondents believe the number of Missoula parks and recreational facilities is equal to or great than the number of facilities in other Montana communities • 76 percent of respondents believe the quality of existing parks is excellent or above average • Those ratings were consistent across all demographics, including age, sex, political affiliation and income level. • 70 percent of respondents said they would support an $8 million ballot measure to develop and fund maintenance of the first phase of Fort Missoula Regional Park. • Walking and biking trails, unstructured open space and playgrounds were most often cited as the facilities most important to the first phase of the park, but there is no real consensus about what types of facilities are needed most. • 77 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that parks are important to “introducing our children to important values of nature, outdoor recreation and maintaining active and healthy lifestyles.” • Specific knowledge about the cost to individual taxpayers for the $8 million ballot proposal did not diminish support.