Residents will sound off in city's new survey
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The city of Moorpark is taking a scientific approach to determine what its residents really want- and more important, what they'd be willing to help pay for.

This month, officials from Godbe Research, a market and public opinion research agency, were hired to conduct a community poll and rank the projects people would like the city to pursue.

Residents and local representatives have expressed interest in a new library, a public pool and an additional gymnasium at Arroyo Vista Park, but the city can't afford to build and maintain all these facilities without extra income, so priorities must be set, said Councilmember Roseann Mikos.

"We may need help from the community to fund these things, so we need to see what they'd be willing to fund. That's what the survey aims to accomplish," Mikos said.

According to Mikos, who will serve on an ad hoc committee with Councilmember Janice Parvin, the survey will be conducted scientifically and local officials won't dictate who gets polled. The committee's purpose is to create a survey that is relevant for Moorpark and will result in accurate statistics, Parvin said.

"It's important to make sure that i t 's done well," said Parvin.

Moorpark has depended on developer fees in recent years, but now that construction is slowing, the city's income stream is shifting to sales tax revenue, which is an amount lower that what many neighboring cities have to work with. That's whyCouncilmember Keith Millhouse said, it's important to find out where residents want tax their dollars to go.

"People can set forth what's important to them, but there are limited financial resources, so we must spend them wisely," Millhouse said.

Both Mikos and Parvin were involved with the parks maintenance tax initiative that passed seven years ago. The initiative failed at first, but once people were properly informed about the benefits of maintaining the parks and how important it is to the city, they approved the $32 per year tax, Parvin said.

Mikos said the survey should be translated into Spanish so the appropriate percentage of Hispanic residents gets to participate in the polling.

At present, about one-third of Moorpark residents have Latino surnames. Many of them are founding families that have been here longer than most other residents, Mikos said.

Most of the Hispanic population probably speaks English, but the Spanish option should be available nevertheless, Mikos said. The council hasn't approved the request yet, but Mikos is optimistic she'll get support.