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Is this heaven? No, it's St. Louis Park ~ StarTribune.com <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />INFORMATION <br />StarTribune <br />~~ _-- <br />y P:~mt ur <br />r7toL`:Ic. R~r ~~~ r iu <br />kitty.; Rrt ib~_ri~ ;rzi <br />Is this heaven? No, it's <br />St. Louis Park <br />Article by: ,Star Tribune <br />Updated: July 5, 2011 - 2.50 PM <br />People who live in St. Louis Park are happy <br />with their city. Giddy, even, compared to the <br />ratings people in other Minnesota cities give <br />their hometowns. Content, even though as a <br />group they make less money than they did 2 <br />1 /2 years ago. <br />Those are some of the results of a citywide <br />survey that took the temperature of St. Louis <br />Park residents this spring, part of a city <br />effort to track trends and check priorities. <br />Ninety-seven percent of residents rated the <br />quality of life in St. Louis Park as excellent or <br />good and 95 percent said they feel safe. <br />Only 4 percent of residents said they <br />anticipated moving in the next five years, <br />and 89 percent rated city services as <br />excellent or good. <br />Survey firm Decision Resources told city <br />officials those ratings are among the highest <br />they have seen in the many Twin Cities <br />Jacobs was pleased. <br />"I can go on and on about how St. Louis Park <br />is a different place," he said. "It stems from <br />the notion of neighborhoods and how <br />connected people are." <br />City Manager Tom Harmening pointed out <br />that just 13 percent of survey respondents <br />did not know the name of the neighborhood <br />they live in. But Harmening said the city also <br />has a history of setting high standards for <br />resident services and a tradition of working <br />with residents. <br />"We try to get citizens to be part of the public <br />process," he said. <br />Asked what serious issues face the city, 18 <br />percent of residents cited Hennepin <br />County's desire to move a freight train line <br />from Minneapolis to St. Louis Park to make r <br />oom for light rail. Eight percent cited high <br />taxes and rising crime, and 12 percent said <br />they did not see any serious issues. That "no <br />issue" response is twice the suburban norm, <br />according to the survey company. <br />Reaction to a changing city was mild. <br />Seventy-five percent of those surveyed said <br />they thought the city's growing diversity was <br />a good thing. While some residents have <br />Advertisement <br />. _~ _ ~ , <br />~} <br />~`~ ~ ~`~~~ l~fVE fI{! Tr~E N~Utf 11+'fl~~~`!~ ~~t~HfTHE~`+€`fR <br />-~ <br />:# ~ ~ w sA~ru~~aarr ~~Ff~l~vts~R ~ ~~~;~ ~,~~ <br />.; ~~ ~. ~ C?N SAtE FRIDAY, JULY 8 <br />~ ~r~~:.~ . <<~~ r <br />~ ,.~ __ n~}~~tiEiaEte.cana <br />'~ ~ ~, <br />http://www.startribune.com/local/west/124813844.htm1 07/07/2011 <br />