Survey shows room for economic improvement

Albert Lea residents aren’t excited about the state of the city’s economy, but they feel good about living and working in the community, according to results of a community survey released Monday morning.

While only 28 percent of residents polled said the overall economic health of the community was positive, 63 percent rated the city as an excellent or good place to live.

A representative sample of 448 Albert Lea residents was taken in the report.

The report found that 56 percent of Albert Lea residents rated the city as having a quality of life that is either excellent or good, lower than the national benchmark, according to the study.

“I would hope these numbers would be higher, but we are in a time of change, and with that, there will be some dissatisfaction, but hopefully those numbers will start to change as time moves on,” said Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr.

Economic poll numbers are somewhat due to the city’s location, Rasmussen said.

“Those are factors we will continue to work on,” he said. “A lot of the problems we face in our

economy are based on our close proximity to Iowa. At the state level, Iowa regulatory rules are easier, and it’s generally a friendlier place for business.”

Rasmussen said he is working on addressing issues at the state level, including affordable housing, incentive programs for business recruitment, including broadband access to Albert Lea and rural communities.

He said he is also looking at addressing regulations at the state level to increase Albert Lea’s business-friendly environment.

Other economic poll findings in Albert Lea include:

• Twenty percent of residents polled had a positive view of shopping opportunities in the community,

• Nineteen percent of residents polled had a positive view of employment opportunities in Albert Lea, below the national benchmark but above the 12 percent polled in 2012 that had a positive view of employment opportunities in Albert Lea.

• Twenty-six percent of residents had a positive view of the downtown/commercial area,

• Thirty-eight percent had a positive view of business and services,

• Thirty-seven percent of residents had a positive view of cost of living.

• Forty-four percent of Albert Lea residents viewed Albert Lea as a positive place to visit,

• Thirty-four percent viewed Albert Lea as a positive place to work.

The report also found a disparity in views of the economy in Albert Lea. The city, as a place to work and to visit, employment opportunities and the overall quality of business and service establishments within the city, rated lower from residents who aren’t white.

Residents in Wards 5 and 6 rated Albert Lea lower on a number of facets, including as a place to work, visit and overall quality of business and services.

The economy was a central element to the conclusions in the report. The report came to three conclusions:

The economy may be an area for improvement. Residents identified the economy as a community focus area for the coming years, according to the survey.

Residents care about education and enrichment. The study said these two areas were identified as potential focus areas for the community.

Mobility is improving in Albert Lea. More than eight in 10 participants rated Albert Lea’s paths and walking trails and ease of walking as excellent or good, according to the report.

The City Council, along with city staff, will review the survey during the summer and use the results for goal planning in the future. Input from the community is also planning to be gathered at neighborhood parties that are being planned for Aug. 11, 12 and 13.

“This provides us more direction,” Rasmussen said of the study. “You can see what areas people feel need to be addressed and this survey provides another tool for us to set goals and identify the needs that we haven’t done as good of a job at addressing. This survey will better the community.”

This was the second report taken. The first one in Albert Lea was done in 2012.

Albert Lea residents with a positive view on the National Citizen Survey

    

Question  

Overall economic health of Albert Lea 30 percent, white residents   0 percent, non-white residents

Albert Lea as a place to work 35 percent, white residents  16 percent, non-white residents

Albert Lea as a place to visit 45 percent, white residents  25 percent, non-white residents

Employment opportunities 20 percent, white residents  4 percent, non-white residents