Oct 2, 2007

Groups urge outreach to pass bonds

Focus groups reveal distrust of government

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

Researchers presented results of bond measure focus groups on Monday night that showed a bleak future for library and public safety building bonds in Palo Alto -- unless a massive public education campaign is launched.

At Monday night's city council meeting, representatives from two voter research firms said 21 Palo Alto residents who participated in focus groups held Aug. 30 expressed overall skepticism about the city's need for $50 million each for a new public safety building and library improvements, including the renovation of Mitchell Park library.

"There was a significant level of distrust and cynicism about city government," said Jessica Reynolds of the Lew Edwards Group. Specifically, some residents considered the costs exorbitant and a majority thought the city council made decisions regardless of the public's input -- a specific complaint more worrisome than a general anti-government sentiment, she said.

Richard Bernard, spokesman for the Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates opinion research group, cautioned that the 21 focus group members did not necessarily represent the overall sentiment of the city's population. But he noted that the group's consensus was very similar to his firm's polling of 600 randomly selected residents last February.

In both the previous poll and in the focus groups, a majority favored each project separately -- but that support fell short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass a general obligation bond.

In addition, placing the two bond measures together on one ballot could reduce both measures' chances of passage, especially if a school finance measure appeared on the same ticket, Bernard said.

That the support failed to reach two-thirds was in part due to the community's current level of satisfaction with services in Palo Alto, he said.

"Most participants did not see a pressing need for public safety improvements in Palo Alto, viewing the city as quite safe already," he said.

Council Member LaDoris Cordell called the situation "a bit of a Catch-22," wondering at the public's "lack of awareness to these issues which consume us."

Those who have direct experience with the current, aging police building were much more likely to support a bond, suggesting that providing the public with more specific information about the city's needs could generate more support, Bernard said.

"You have a very educated constituency that wants a lot of detailed information," he said.

Reynolds recommended launching a 12- to 18-month public education campaign, complete with facility tours, personalized stories illustrating the city's problems, detailed spending plans and extensive public outreach at meetings, coffees and other forums.

Earlier in the evening, Project Manager Dawn Merkes of Group 4 Architecture presented options for a renovated Mitchell Park library and community center, and updates at the Main and Downtown branches as part of a budget item authorizing the expenditure of an additional $275,000 for library design plans.

At press time the council had not yet decided whether to authorize the funds or how to proceed with the focus group information.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.