(KAIR)--The final report from the 2021 Atchison Community Survey is complete, with the results reviewed during Monday’s meeting of the Atchison City Commission.

According to a release from the City, more than 450 responses were submitted, “well exceeding the minimum necessary for the results to be considered statistically significant.”

Questions posed in the survey included the perceived quality of public safety, code enforcement, infrastructure, parks and facilities, utilities, economic development, and city communication services.

According to Interim City Manager Justin Pregont, in the release, the City conducted the survey first in 2018, meaning “the 2021 dataset now allows [the City] to see where [the City has] most improved and where the people of Atchison most want to see improvement in the future.”

The release notes that the biggest improvements from 2018 to 2021 include Overall Quality of Downtown Atchison, which is up 17%, Overall Feeling of Safety in the Community, up 12%, Quality of Entertainment Options, up 12%, Quality of Drinking Water, up 9%, Quality of Parks, up 9%, and Maintenance of Oak Hill Cemetery, up 9%.

The release also notes the biggest drops from 2018 to 2021, which include Quality of Animal Control, down 11%, Overall Condition of Streets/Bridges/Sidewalks, down 7%, and Quality of Fire Prevention and Education Program, down 7%.

According to the release, “police, fire, and solid waste/recycling services again received the highest marks from survey respondents,” with the survey identifying “infrastructure and code enforcement as the biggest priorities for improvement going forward.”

Police, fire, and solid waste/recycling services again received the highest marks from survey respondents. The survey also identified infrastructure and code enforcement as the biggest priorities for improvement going forward.

The survey, and resulting report, were compiled by ETC Institute, an Olathe, Kansas organization that the City says has “an outstanding record of performance in gauging community feedback nationwide.”