Every two years the City of Shakopee engages in a survey through The National Community Survey. The most recent survey was conducted between August 17, 2023, and September 28, 2023. Surveys were mailed to 3,000 residential addresses in the community, and 400 were completed and returned. When adjusting for those that were returned due to being undeliverable Shakopee had a 14% response rate. Selected addresses had the option to fill out the survey and mail it back or complete it online. In addition, once the randomly selected addresses had the opportunity to participate, an open participation option was posted on the city’s website and advertised through our social media platforms in order to solicit additional participation. All responses are anonymous, and for purposes of statistical significance the results were kept separate by grouping (randomly selected vs open participation).

There are two significant benefits of using the same survey tool each time: we are able to see trends over time, and we are able to compare to similar benchmarks over time. Shakopee has used this same tool five times since 2014, and there are over 600 communities that use the same tool so the comparable group continues to grow.

The full report is attached and examines many aspects of community livability including the safety, economy, mobility, natural environment, community amenities, and other aspects that make Shakopee a desirable place to live. The report will also be available to the community along with previous surveys under the “Living Here” tab of Shakopee’s website.

While there is a lot of information in the reports, the following were outlined as Key Findings:   

Residents appreciate the overall quality of life in Shakopee, and the opportunity to be involved within the community:      

• 84% rated Shakopee as an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ place to live

• 89% are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to recommend living in Shakopee if asked

• 87% are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to remain in Shakopee for the next five years, which is the highest rating Shakopee has obtained in that category       

Many aspects of the local economy received positive reviews, but residents show some concern about general affordability and their own economic outlook:

• 65% rated the overall economic health of Shakopee as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• 59% rated the vibrancy of downtown/commercial area as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’, which is the highest rating Shakopee has obtained in that category
• 54% rated the employment opportunities in Shakopee ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• 23% responded that the impact on their family is likely to be ‘very positive’ or ‘somewhat positive’ over the next six months. While this is quite low, it is similar to national benchmarks. 
  
  

Mobility continues to be a community strength, with usage rates for alternative transportation on the rise:

• 65% rated the overall quality of the transportation system as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. This was a new benchmark added in the last few years so we can only see limited trends on this item so far.

• There are several areas that Shakopee rated higher than the national benchmarks: traffic flow on major streets, ease of travel by car, ease of travel by public transportation, street repair, and bus or transit services.

In addition to the standard set of questions, Shakopee typically utilizes custom questions in order to solicit community feedback on areas of particular interest. This year questions were asked about communication methods, parking in the downtown, and the organized refuse collection system Shakopee has had in place for many years.

• When asked about the primary sources of communication respondents indicated their primary sources are the city’s website, Hometown Messenger (now named Shakopee Snapshot), news media, postcards and flyers, and utility bill inserts.

• When asked about support for installing parking meters utilizing a property tax expenditure, 81% were ‘somewhat opposed’ or ‘strongly opposed’. When asked about installing a parking structure using the same funding method 57% were ‘somewhat opposed’ or ‘strongly opposed’.

• When asked about the organized collection system currently in place, 72% of respondents said they’d prefer to keep a single hauler and utilize the savings provided by the city’s contract, 20% had no preference, and 8% wished to change the practice to allow for multiple haulers.

The open participation option was open for two weeks beginning on September 14, 2023 and received 127 responses. While the open participation are displayed separately, they do generally reflect the trends of the randomly selected sample. One major difference is how the open participants obtain their city information – social media and city emails play a much larger role in how these participants stay informed on city events. Given how they likely obtained information on the survey this does make sense. Additionally, the open participants ‘somewhat oppose’ or ‘strongly oppose’ (85%) the installation of parking meters, but ‘somewhat support’ or ‘strongly support’ (59%) the installation of a parking structure in the downtown area. When asked about the organized collection system in Shakopee, 78% said they would favor keeping the current system, 15% had no preference, and 6% would prefer the practice to change to include additional haulers.