NORMA MacQUARRIE
In April 2013, in order to find out what you really think about our community, the City of Lacombe conducted its first-ever Citizen Satisfaction Survey with residents.
We asked your opinion on several different topics including, but not limited to, the quality of life in our City, your satisfaction about the services, public safety, and communications. Your answers gave us important feedback.
The results show that we love Lacombe and think it’s a pretty terrific place to live.
Ninety-six per cent of you rated Lacombe as good to excellent in quality of life. Ninety-five percent rated us high in quality of environment. Ninety-four per cent said it was a good place to live long term.
Ninety-four percent said it was a good place to raise a family, and 92% said it was good to excellent for cleanliness and neatness.
When you think of Lacombe, you think of our heritage buildings and our historic downtown. You love our green spaces, parks, and trails. Friendliness, sense of community and ‘small town feel’ are also marks of our city.
You ranked the Lacombe Fire Department very high, I have to agree they provide an excellent service to our community.
You also gave a very high score to the Lacombe Police Service which is one of only seven municipal police forces in the entire province.
Both entities have served Lacombe for over 100 years, and continue to play a crucial role in making our City a safe place to live.
Thank you for giving them the recognition they deserve.
The Lacombe Memorial Centre also ranked highly at 83%.
It is a beautiful building that houses the public library, FCSS and Anna Maria’s Cafe. It also provides great venues for many different types of events.
It also appears that you agree with MoneySense Magazine, which named us the eighth best city in Canada to live, the third best small city in Canada, and the tenth best place to raise your children.
One of the biggest concerns you have is the lack of retail businesses in our community.
The ability to shop locally is an important feature of a thriving city.
Let me assure you that City staff is continuing to work hard on attracting and keeping businesses in Lacombe. We believe that you should be able to live, work, shop and play in our fair City.
I invite you to take a closer look at the survey results, if you haven’t done so already. You can find it at our web site at www.lacombe.ca. Click on the blue City Hall tab/council and Legislative/Agendas/ May 27, 2013.
You will find the Citizen Satisfaction Survey there.
A city is not just about the council and administration, but it is about all of us. We all have a say in how our City is run, and our success depends on all of us working together to keep Lacombe a clean, friendly and safe place where all can live, work, grow, and prosper.
Norma MacQuarrie is the CAO of Lacombe.