Jennifer Tanner, the managing director of the Strategic Growth Institute & Community Development Institute at UCA, recently completed a survey that led the town of Alabama, New York to proceed with a feasibility study of the town’s ability to support a manufacturing business park.
The feasibility study was halted last fall after the Alabama Town Board expressed concerns over public opinion of the project. The GCEDC then committed $15,000 to conduct an extensive study to gauge public support. The process began with an informational flyer that was sent to all residents and was followed by two Town Hall-style question-and-answer sessions that were conducted in November and attended by nearly 200 people. Tanner’s survey was then sent to all land owners, residents and registered voters in the Town of Alabama to gauge community support.
The survey generated an unusually high rate of response — 41.8 percent of those surveyed — when a response rate of only 10 to 15 percent would be sufficient for statistical accuracy. Tanner was so impressed by the process and the response rate that she intends to write a case study review of the project. Copies of the final report are currently available at the Alabama Town Hall and on the GCEDC?s website, www.gcedc.com.
