wpnewsblog and the Daily News are working in conjunction with one another to help City of Bogalusa distribute and collect surveys in connection with the city's participation in the Louisiana Development Ready Communities program.
As soon as website-compatible surveys have been created, both news outlets will post links to them so that persons may respond. In addition, copies of the five-page survey will be distributed to major employers and made available at Bogalusa's annual Fourth of July parade and celebration. In addition, Facebook and web pages will be available so that the community can stay up-to-date on the effort.
The surveys are one of the first phases in Bogalusa's participation in the program, now that the community has been selected. It is anticipated that respondents will be able to complete the survey in five to 10 minutes, and those who respond will help provide the base information from which a plan of action can be developed for building the communities future.
The surveys, one for the general community and another for businesses, ask respondents to rate the city within categories such as Quality of Life, Education, Leadership, Market and Quality of Jobs and Training.
The surveys represent the first step in an intense, fast-paced, state-directed program developed to bring about a research-based, Bogalusa-specific economic development plan. More importantly, the program is designed so as to ensure the plan is implemented.
The idea behind the program is to make communities around the state more competitive and, as such, make Louisiana more competitive.
Mayor Charles Mizell says that scenario provides for what he calls a "win/win situation" and has issued a challenge to local residents, business owners and all “stakeholders” in the city to respond to and return surveys so the Bogalusa response rate will surpass the top 2010 project city rate of 1,000 returns received by the city of DeRidder.
"I want us to do better than them," he said at a recent city council meeting.
The Bogalusa LADRC steering committee has increased that response goal to 1,400 or a bit more than 10 percent of the population, and set a return deadline of July 30.
The surveys will provide broad-based perceptual information that will be considered with public input gathered at subsequent Town Hall meetings and with data and extensive inventories provided by sub-committees to create a “differentiated” vision for Bogalusa, to develop a plan to make that vision a reality and to set the plan in motion.
Mizell said he believes the surveys represent a first step toward building a better Bogalusa. They are becoming available at various locations in paper or electronic form.
Paper copies will be available at Cassidy Park on July 4 as well as at City Hall and the Daily News thereafter.
Links will be available on The Daily News website, gobogalusa.com and at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot. com.
The survey is being turned into an internet-friendly document, whereby respondents can make their selections or comments and when they finish and close the survey, it will automatically go into a queue for counting and analysis.
The first Town Hall meetings for the Bogalusa LRDC project will take place at City Hall on Monday, July 25 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to enable as many people as possible to participate.
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