HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.c. Resident Survey 4ROSEMOUNTEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CITY COUNCIL
City Council Regular Session: March 18, 2014
AGENDA ITEM: Resident Survey mown* S CTION:
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PREPARED BY: Dwight Johnson, City Administrator AGENDA NO. f n
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ATTACHMENTS: Proposed contract with Morris APPROVED BY; lX
Leatherman Company nay
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the attached contract with Morris Leatherman
Company to conduct a resident survey.
BACKGROUND
The Council has expressed interest in moving forward with a survey of residents. The last survey was in
2007. Staff discovered that Decision Resources, the firm that did the survey in 2007 is no longer in
existence,but Bill Morris and Peter Leatherman of the Decision Resources firm have formed the new firm
of The Morris Leatherman Company within the last year. They have been contacted and are willing to
work with us again. A proposed contract is attached.
Staff and Council have reviewed the 2007 survey and updated the questions to be asked. Upon approval
of the contract, staff will send in the proposed questions for final editing by Morris Leatherman. The City
Council will then be asked to review the proposed final questions.
DISCUSSION
The survey is proposed to be a phone survey involving about 400 residents,which is the number to make
the results statistically significant within a reasonable margin of error. Questions will be cross-tabbed so
that differences in responses between locations, age groups etc. can be evaluated. Mr. Leatherman believes
that if our proposed questions can be determined within the next few weeks,he could be in the field with
questions during April and May and have results for us in June. The cost of the survey is about$20,000
depending on how many questions we decide to ask. We had 132 questions in 2007 and Mr. Leatherman
says that is well within the mainstream of other surveys he conducts. The survey would be paid from
assigned funds which were left over from a previous budget year and designated for this purpose.
Therefore, there would be no adverse effect on the current 2014 budget.
RECOMMENDATION
The Council should approve the attached contract with the Morris Leatherman Company in order to
proceed with the survey.
The Morris Leatherman Company
3128 Dean Court
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416
February 24, 2014
Mr. Dwight Johnson
City of Rosemount
2875 145th Street W
Rosemount, Minnesota 55068
Dear Dwight:
The Morris Leatherman Company is pleased to present this survey research proposal to you for
the City of Rosemount. This prospectus is organized in three parts: a potential design; project
schedule; and, estimated project costs. As you will see, I am certain that we can provide the City
of Rosemount with the information it seeks in both a cost-effective and timely manner.
DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH:
The Morris Leatherman Company proposes to conduct a telephone survey of 400 randomly
selected households in the City of Rosemount. A sample of 400 residents would provide results
projectable to the entire city adult population within± 5.0 percent in 95 out of 100 cases. The
sample is also of sufficient size to permit the city to be divided into a maximum of four
categories for more detailed analysis, such as age, mobility, home ownership, location of
residence,presence of children, and other demographic characteristics.
To insure the integrity of the sample, the Morris Leatherman Company places the most exacting
sampling standards in the industry on our procedures. Before an alternate household is
substituted for a designated target, at least ten tries are made to contact the initial households
during a five-day period. The telephone calls take place during various times on weekday
evenings and during the weekend. Our interviewers are also instructed to seek convenient
appointments with interviewees, cutting our non-contact rate to less than five percent on average.
An unbiased selection process is also used to identify the adult member of the household to be
interviewed. To validate the completed sample, the latest United States Census updated
population characteristics are utilized as a standard of comparison.
The questionnaire would be administered by company trained and supervised personnel. The
computer analysis will be obtained from our in-house C-MENTOR and SPSS statistical analysis
City of Rosemount
Residential Survey Research Proposal
February 2014
systems, insuring both access to the most current analysis programs and confidentiality of the
data set.
The City of Rosemount will be presented with bound copies of the final report highlighting all
the major findings of the study. The Morris Leatherman Company will also speak to any major
differences from and similarities with the past studies of the community, when applicable, in
addition to other maturing communities. A volume of all computer-generated cross tabulations
and other multivariate statistical techniques will also be included.
PROJECT SCHEDULE:
1. Planning with City Council Members, City Staff, and/or relevant individuals to establish the
topics to be covered in the survey. Based on these topic concepts, the Morris Leatherman
Company would word specific, neutral questions. This activity can be completed by a meeting,
telephone and/or fax, depending on client wishes, within two weeks of the initiation of the
contract.
2. Structuring of questions and final approval of the survey instrument. These activities are
usually completed within three weeks of the discussion of topics to be covered in the survey.
3. Final determination of the field dates for interviewing.
4. Pre-testing and, if needed, approval of resulting revisions. This activity is usually completed
by the second day of fieldwork.
5. Completion of all fieldwork within a two-to-three week period.
6. Computer analysis and preparation of written report. All analytical tests and commentary will
be available within four weeks after completion of the fieldwork.
7. Delivery of the final written report to the City of Rosemount, including presentation graphics.
Afterwards, telephone consultation, as the need arises, will be provided about the study's
findings and implications.
PROJECT COSTS:
The cost of a survey is driven by two factors: sample size and questionnaire length. The cost to
conduct a 50 question unit survey would be $13,000.00. Each additional question unit beyond
the initial allotment would be $135.00. The typical city survey is generally between 120 and
150 questions with an estimated cost of between$18,000 and $22,000.
City of Rosemount
Residential Survey Research Proposal
February 2014
A s company po licy, the Morris Leatherman Company any requires one-half half of the cost prior to the
commencement of fieldwork; the remainder is due upon delivery of the final written report.
Unless otherwise arranged, the Morris Leatherman Company invoices clients for the initial
payment at the time of the initiation of the contract; the remainder is due at the time of the receipt
of the final written report.
If you require any further information from us, feel free to contact either Bill Morris, Diane
Traxler, or me. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the City of Rosemount once
again.
Sincerely,
Peters 4eat(rmae
Peter Leatherman