Lockport consultant presents strategic‑plan survey: 1,166 responses, high concern for drinking water and affordability

Corey Poresplash, the consultant leading Lockport's strategic planning project, presented community survey results to the City Council and said the effort drew 1,166 responses — a response rate she described as strong.

“1,166 total responses. Is that good? The answer is a resounding yes,” Poresplash told the council, noting the sample included a wide cross-section of residents, homeowners and older respondents.

Poresplash summarized key findings: 93% of respondents identified as residents; respondents prioritized public safety, affordability/cost of living and schools; neighborhood appearance and parks rated highly for quality of life; however, she identified an anomaly on water: “We're at 71% are somewhat dissatisfied or dissatisfied with drinking water.” She told council members that roads and multiple-transportation options also showed notable dissatisfaction and suggested those concerns may be linked to local road‑maintenance responsibilities that fall to several agencies.

The consultant said the survey sample skewed older (a typical pattern in such polls) and noted that younger age groups were underrepresented. She recommended using the aggregated survey results alongside elected officials’ local experience and additional data as the council prepares for a strategic retreat.

Council members asked clarifying questions about seasonality and survey distribution; Poresplash said timing can affect responses (for example, snow storm timing could increase complaints about snow removal) but would not typically produce large systematic distortions. She said the survey collected extensive open‑text responses and that staff would receive the full dataset and free‑text comments. She also said the project team can run crosstabs and follow-up analyses if council wants demographic slices of responses.

Poresplash described common community priorities shown in the survey — safety, schools, well‑maintained residential and commercial properties — and said respondents also signaled interest in high‑quality municipal services and communication. Council members asked about distribution channels; Poresplash said mail and print remained relatively strong among respondents, especially older demographics, while younger residents favor social platforms and electronic channels.

Poresplash told the council she will call elected officials for brief interviews and that the survey should be used with other data as the council prepares for a retreat and next steps in the strategic-plan process.

The presentation produced no council action votes; staff said the results would be used in upcoming planning and a council retreat.