BEND, OR -- Bend Parks and Rec launches a new public survey effort Thursday. Julie Brown says the district conducts a public perception survey every three years, "Really trying to get at values, satisfaction level, if people feel that the Park District is using tax funds wisely. Those are the types of questions that we aim to get insights into during this survey." She tells KBND News, "We have other surveys where we get to better understand the recreation needs and activities that people are engaging in."

She expects this year’s results to be different from the last survey conducted in 2019, "The last time that we did this survey was prior to the pandemic. And there’s a lot of aspects [sic] of how we have served the community that has evolved during that time period."

Parks & Rec has hired Portland-based DHM Consulting to conduct the statistically valid survey. They will "Select community members and addresses at random. They’re going to make phone calls and they’re also going to send texts to encourage people to go online to take a survey," says Brown. The goal is to get 400-500 anonymous responses to questions about things like safety, fees, and inclusion. 

After that first phase is complete, a public link will be available for everyone to take part, from October 28 to November 18.

Results are expected early next year.