Chamber Survey Shows Saginaw's Image is Strong... Government and Leadership Earn Low Marks by John Herbst
Things have never been better in Saginaw. At least not in the past fifteen years.
That's the conclusion of a preliminary study sponsored by the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce. The study, conducted in August, found that nearly 70 percent of the 300 respondents gave "acceptable" marks to the overall image of the Saginaw community.
The newest study compared perceptions to those expressed in a survey held fifteen years ago, according to James J. Bockelman, president of the Saginaw chamber.
"In the new study, we did some bench marking against the 1985 Image Survey by asking similar questions" said Bockelman. "We found that people's attitudes toward Saginaw greatly improved (since then)."
The overall image of the Saginaw area in the mid-eighties stunk, according to nearly any measurable criteria. The crime rate was high and unemployment ran at nearly ten percent.
Richard and Florentine Van Tiem were beginning what proved to be a futile attempt to succeed in the hotel business downtown. Construction on the Zilwaukee Bridge was about to resume after a three-year hiatus. Lufkin Rule burned down and Officer Ed Nowaczyk, a friend to a generation of Saginaw school children, died at 60.
Second National, the last locally-owned bank, sold out to Citizens' Bank of Flint. There wasn't much to cheer about.
The unemployment rate in the area today is about three percent. This, Bockelman admits, may have much to do with the current, positive outlook.
"The economic outlook is dramatically better," he said. "When the unemployment rate is low, people feel better about their community."
Nearly a quarter of them do, anyhow. According to the survey, 24 percent of those polled said things had improved, while one-half said the situation was about the same.
The survey also found that neighborhoods are still important to Saginaw and the surrounding area.
Most residents are satisfied with the quality of life, safety, trash services and policing near their homes. They are more critical when they look down the road.
"I would be misleading people if we didn't mention that we have some soft spots in our image," Bockelman noted. "One area of concern, which surprised us, was related to government and leadership."
While 59 percent of all those polled said they felt school and government officials cared about what the residents wanted, less than half of those in Saginaw city (46 percent) felt that way.
Bockelman didn't know why city residents were more dissatisfied, though he said he thought it might just be a sign of the times.
"You're in an environment today where I don't know why anyone would want to be a politician," he said.
But when the survey asked residents to what extent they felt able to influence decisions within their local governments and school boards, more than half responded "not at all" or "only to a little extent," according to Bockelman.
Other organizations scored far better. Churches were perceived as being effective as a way to deal with community concerns. The Crime Council was lauded as a good way for citizens and police to improve dialog between the cops and those they serve and protect. Bockelman also noted success with the chamber's Vision 2020 and Leadership Saginaw programs.
Educational opportunities, especially on the college level, were also rated as positives.
Bockelman said that local leaders next need to ask if we are doing all we can to improve life here, and whether the things we are doing are the proper actions to take.
"There is a surprising sense of apathy within the community," he said. "We are trying to combat that with Vision 2020 (a chamber-sponsored program which involves asking citizens for input and suggestions on long-range community planning)."
"Developing a 'can-do' attitude -- that's a concern," added Bockelman. "We also need to become -- how do I put it -- more friendly with one another."
The survey also asked respondents to give recommendations to improve the image of Saginaw and Saginaw County.
"Roads got mentioned a lot," said Bockelman. "Whether that was because the roads are being fixed or need to be fixed, I don't know." Improving and enhancing downtown Saginaw, and cleaning and enhancing the community were also cited by those surveyed.
"Wally Bronner (noted Frankenmuth merchant and philanthropist) calls it a 'sparkle-clean attitude," said Bockelman, noting that the chamber has taken the initiative along with the city by tearing down four dilapidated houses along South Washington Avenue near the chamber offices.
"We need to do a better job of cleaning up."
Other survey recommendations included improving local government leadership, reducing crime, providing more recreational activities, bringing in more business and improving the riverfront.
"We especially need to spend more time developing activities for young people,"Bockelman said, though he noted that no concrete plans have yet been developed.
Overall, though, the outlook is pretty good. Today, 55 percent of the respondents would recommend moving to Saginaw County -- up from just 43 percent who would have made such a recommendation fifteen years ago.
"We do these surveys to establish a benchmark," Bockelman said. "Without it, you don't know if things are getting better."
They seem to be -- at least at the moment. There is good news out there in the year 2000 and making things even better should be in all our interests.
Will matters continue to improve? Check back in 2015.
