2007
LRPC Membership Survey
A survey of all
members was taken to determine opinions on:
- POA
amenities most important to resident and non-resident members alike
- The
importance of security and keeping POA facilities private
- Member
desires regarding adding to, expanding or improving facilities
As with previous Long
Range Planning Committees of the POA, the 2007 group feels that membership
opinion is of prime importance in planning the future of the POA. Survey results, therefore, will be a key
guideline in determining committee recommendations for future board
actions. The committee also recognizes,
however, the realities of financing and other factors such as weather-related
emergencies, and will take these into account along with member responses in
crafting a long-range plan.
A total of 8,036 surveys
were mailed to members, including 2,253 to residents in the 78645 zip code and
5,783 to non-residents. Returns included
511 (23%) from residents and 423 (7%) from non-residents for a total response
of 934 (12%). This response rate was
somewhat lower than the 29% resident and 11% non-resident return and an overall
15% return in 2002.
Obviously, non-resident
survey response was less than that from residents, as it has been in the
past. Both common sense and survey
results lead to the conclusion that out-of-town property owners are less
familiar with POA facilities, less likely to use them and --unless they plan to
move here in the near future -- less likely to be interested in expansion and
improvements. They're also less likely
to participate in local clubs and organizations that use POA facilities, though
many continue to give high marks to the POA for providing parks, water-based
facilities such as marinas, boat ramps and the fishing well, along with hiking
trails and other facilities.
That said, though,
responding resident members and nonresident members alike showed a great
similarity in interest regarding POA parks and related facilities. Security, park improvements and park privacy
were tops in survey results, and a significant percentage of respondents are
willing to devote future resources to projects related to POA parks.
A few other demographic
findings from the survey show that slightly more than half (55%) of the
families living here who responded to the survey are retired. Of those living here, more than half (56%)
say they do not belong to any organization.
Given the time constraints of commuting and caring for a family, it
isn't surprising that most who belong to clubs and organizations are those who
have the most time for community involvement.
Of the non-residents responding, a little more than a third (36%) say
they will move here in the future.
Resident respondents to
the 2007 survey reported an average of 1.85 adults and 0.37 children per
household, for a total of 2.22 persons per household living in Lago Vista. These numbers are smaller than the 2.32 household
average reported in the 2000 census and the projected 2.38 for 2010. This anomaly may be explained when looking at
the age groups of resident respondents, which show a much lower return rate for
younger households. The response rate to
relatively lengthy surveys may improve if future surveys are also available
online, particularly among younger residents.
Small numbers of both
residents and non-resident responders report owning a boat or that they use
boat ramps. A similar small number reports participation in local clubs and
organizations.
In counting organization
memberships reported by members, the largest POA member participation is found
in the Lago Vista Women's Club, followed closely by the Lions Club, along with
several dance clubs and bridge groups.
All of these groups regularly use POA facilities for their meetings and
activities, as do other popular groups such as the Hill Country Singers,
Players and the Artists' Association. Other popular activities such as the
men's and women's golf organizations also attract a great many POA members, and
other groups mentioned range from Scouts, Lady Lakers, Little League and Tennis
Association to literature groups, Keep Lago Vista Beautiful, Republican Club,
4th of July Committee and the Balcones Canyonlands group. Fewer mentions went to bingo groups, bunko
groups, mom's club and Paws, and a significant number of respondents even
listed their church as a club activity.
Among hobbies, golf,
boating, and fishing were most often mentioned, followed by gardening,
swimming, travel, and camping. Reading,
walking, hiking, biking and exercise were next in rank order of mention,
followed by card games, hunting, tennis, other sports, art and dancing. Music, sewing, woodworking, cooking, outdoor
activities, photography, cars, crafts, jogging, and RVing also were mentioned,
as were birding, picnicing, sailing, scuba diving, theater, genealogy, horses,
snow-skiing, four-wheeling, jet-skiing, motorcycling and writing.
The survey also attempted
to determine which facilities are most used by residents and
non-residents, and how often. In
looking at across the board responses, it is obvious that the parks are number
one with both residents and non-residents.
However, except for parks, non-residents report that they almost never
use POA facilities. Even regarding park
usage, 77 percent of non-residents report that they seldom or never use the
facilities. There is some
non-resident use of parks, the marina, boat ramps and hike and bike trails, but
almost no usage of any other facility.
Facilities most used by
resident POA members include the parks, K-Oaks and the fitness center. Boating, if you combine the reported interest
in both the marina and boat ramps, also is a popular activity for resident POA
members. Beyond those, however, residents
who say they never use POA facilities outnumber those who say they use
them often or seldom combined.
Least used facilities include the youth program, disc golf, the
skateboard park, volleyball pit, basketball courts and soccer fields.
The survey also asked
members whether they favor devoting resources to securing our private
parks. In this area, residents
and non-residents alike overwhelmingly favor devoting resources to securing POA
parks for use by members and guests only.
On a total response basis, this came to 81 percent in favor of securing
the parks. A breakdown shows 86 percent
of residents and 74 percent of non-residents in favor.
When asked if they favor
upgrading park facilities, an even greater percentage (82%) of
respondents would like to see park facilities upgraded, with residents (83%)
slightly more likely than non-residents (80%) to approve of upgrades. Overall, more than three in four respondents
favored permanent restrooms. Six in 10
want trash cans, and about half were in favor of lighted, covered pavilions and
new picnic tables. Only about one in
five wanted additional playscapes and roughly one in ten favor more basketball
courts.
POA members also were
asked whether they use the campground, if they own an RV, and
if they feel the campground is the best use for this land. Responses regarding camping and RVing were
very interesting, in that very few people actually use the campgrounds, yet
most members feel strongly that this is the best use for the land. Also, few POA members own RVs. Of those responding, just under 16 percent
report RV ownership. Just under 14
percent of respondents say they've used the campground in the last year, while
more than 19 percent have used it in the last five years and 10 percent in the
past 10 years. Many who use this
facility checked more than one answer to indicate usage in each time
period. Resident POA members were about
2.5 times as likely to have used the facility in the last year or last five
years as non-residents. A whopping 84 percent
of both resident and non-resident responders said they feel the campground
should remain a campground.
When asked if they'd like
to see the fitness center improved, slightly more than half (53%) of
those responding said yes. Interestingly, residents favored such improvements
to only a slightly greater degree than non-residents, who presumably have less
opportunity to use these facilities.
Also, the response seems to contradict findings from the 2002 survey, which
resulted in a recommendation that a new fitness center be built as soon as
possible. Of those in favor of fitness
center improvements, more favored enlarging the current center (190) than
building a new one (116). Overall, about
11 percent of responses were favorable toward including a children’s play area
in the existing center, while 18 percent were in favor of a play area in any
future new centers. It would be possible to enlarge the current fitness center,
rather than building a new one, without giving up space currently being used
for games and meeting rooms.
Asked if they'd like to
see more meeting rooms and game rooms, member responses left no
doubt that they have little interest in adding to these facilities. In fact, 87 percent rejected the idea of
additional meeting rooms and 79 percent vetoed the idea of more game
rooms. These questions were almost
equally rejected by residents and non-residents alike.
A significant portion of the survey looked at POA amenities, whether we should continue to include them, and whether they should be available to members only or non-members as well.
Preferred amenities, in
order:
Facility
%
Favor % Say Members Only
Parks
96 % 82%
Boat ramps 95 86
Fitness Center 92 88
Swimming pools 92 82
Fishing well 90 85
Tennis 89 74
Campground 87 76
Youth Programs 87 70
Soccer
82 64
Softball/baseball 81 59
Volleyball 80 63
Basketball 80 68
Golf
79 61
Disc golf 71 72
Racquetball 68 82
Skateboarding 67 72
Miniature Golf 63 67
Football 56 60
Note: Several of these amenities (golf,
racquetball, miniature golf) are not currently provided by the POA
Inside the Parks:
Residents and
non-residents once again were once again in close agreement as to inside the
parks amenities or improvements. Shown
below, in order of preference, are the percentages of total responders
approving these improvements or additions:
Picnic tables
97 %
Permanent restrooms 92 %
Security gates
91%
Security
91%
Pavilions
90%
Playscapes
84%
Security cameras 83%
Showers
68% *
* An interesting variance among resident/non-resident
responses: 80 percent of non-residents
but only 59 percent of residents thought showers in the parks would be a good
idea.
Finally, members were
asked how they'd prefer to see improvements or additions financed. A number of respondents -- particularly among
non-residents -- left this section blank, and numerous others checked multiple
financing options. Overall, with 517 mentions,
annual membership fees were the top funding choice, though 70 percent of the
members making this choice were residents.
User fees were the second choice, with 501 mentions, and were favored by
slightly more non-resident than resident members. A one-time assessment was favored by only 80
respondents, with residents nearly twice as likely to select this funding
option. And finally, borrowing money to
fund projects was favored in 176 responses, more than half of them coming from
resident members.
A few last
observations:
Of
more than 1,100 who live in households
represented by the resident responses, almost 400 were in the 45 to 65 age group and another
364 in the over 65. And, with more than
half of the households containing retirees, it appears that the majority of
members who use POA facilities are older people.
That impression may be
somewhat skewed if it is indeed true that younger households were less likely
to respond to the 2007 survey than those containing older residents. A greater number of property owners may
participate in future surveys if both online and hard copy versions are
available.
The number of members who
responded to this survey was small, with the smallest response coming from
non-residents. In fact, the response
rate in 2007 was significantly lower than in 2002. Thus, even though a percentage of
respondents to a given question may be high, that doesn't mean a large number
or, indeed, the majority of POA members would agree.
This means that even the
most popular POA amenity is used by a relatively small number of members in
many cases, and that any additions, changes or improvements made in the future
will of necessity be funded by the many for the regular benefit of the few. In turn, this leads to criticism since no one
project will ever receive a 100 percent approval rating from our diverse
membership. This survey represents our
best effort at finding out which of our many facilities are most important to
the greatest number of our members, which should be first in line for
improvements or additions, and which are of least interest.
To refresh the reader’s
memory, a copy of the survey is included with this report, as is the tabulation
of all responses to the 2007 LVPOA membership survey.
We thank all those who
responded for their honesty and for their interest in their POA.
NOTE: The
raw data from survey may be found by clicking 2007 member survey.
NOTE: The raw data from survey may be found by clicking 2007 member survey.