Grand Valley survey results given to city leaders

Government leaders from two area cities received valuable information from surveys conducted by statistics students from Grand Valley State University.

John Gabrosek, an associate professor in the Grand Valley statistics department, partnered with officials from both Grand Haven and Roosevelt Park. His class developed and conducted scientific surveys of residents' opinions about their city services. The goal was to determine why each city’s recent attempt to fund infrastructure improvements with millages failed at the polls.

Results will be presented in a final report to Roosevelt Park City Council at their June 4 meeting. The Grand Haven City Council received its results at a meeting on May 21.

While the students gained valuable experience, the two cities saved thousands of dollars with a free survey, paying only for the costs of printing and mailing the survey. The students spent time listening to the concerns of the city managers after doing background reading on the projects and political surveys in general. The class then worked on determining target populations, the sampling strategy and a pilot study prior to the full surveys.

"We see this as a winning situation for both the students and the cities," said Gabrosek. "It was a good opportunity for students to see statistics at work in the real world and provide valuable information for the city officials and residents."

For survey results or more information contact John Gabrosek at the Grand Valley State University Department of Statistics, (616) 331-3355.

Photo: Shown left to right are front row: Julia Kukulski, Whitney Miner, Amanda Vincent, Michelle Kohler, Tina LaBelle, Augusta Lloyd, Ashley DeBoer, and Grand Haven City Manager Pat McGinnis; back row: Sarah McCormick, David Hunter, Peter Lapham, Kevin Littlepage, Brett Foster, Jeff Breault, Andy VanGarderen, Paul Grawburg, and professor John Gabrosek.