The public recycling drop-off site at Walla Walla Recycling is open April 22, 2022. Results from the 2022 Walla Walla resident satisfaction survey, conducted between November 2022 and January 2023, show residents want glass recycling as well as more shopping options.

WALLA WALLA — Walla Walla residents want curbside glass recycling, and most are willing to pay for it.

That’s a top takeaway from the 2022 Walla Walla resident satisfaction survey, an annual report used to gauge how residents feel about city services and local government.

About 2,000 residents split evenly between the city’s four wards were randomly selected to participate in the most recent survey, conducted between November 2022 and January 2023.

Surveys were sent to the selected residents with their utility bills, and 394 residents responded. Though the response rate was slightly lower than it was in 2021, it was robust enough to limit the report’s margin of error to 4.9%.

The survey was conducted by nonprofit Cobalt Community Research, and findings were shared by William SaintAmour, executive director of the research firm, at the Monday, March 6, work session of the city council.

Walla Walla’s overall rating improved since 2021, and the city is surpassing most state and national benchmarks, but residents see room for improvement in several areas, including curbside recycling services, road maintenance, parking, bike trails, retail options, affordable housing, and mental health and medical services.

Overall findings

Residents want city funding to go toward street maintenance; police, fire and ambulance services; sidewalks; recycling and parks.

Walla Walla had an overall satisfaction score of 65, up three points from 2021 and up two points compared to other Washington cities. Scores are out of 100.

The local government management score was 70, up two points from 2021 and up seven points compared to other Washington cities.

“That’s something that doesn’t happen accidentally,” SaintAmour said. “That really speaks well to all of you and just the staff really making sure you’re delivering good services and (a) good experience.”

Residents gave strong scores for the city staff’s knowledge and professionalism (both 78) but scored the city lower for wise spending (59).

Residents also rated the city poorly for street maintenance and repair (53), recycling services (50) and convenient shopping for major items (48).

Scores in the economy category were low across the board. Cost of living (47) and housing affordability (33) were the lowest.

There seemed to be some progress for availability and quality of services in Spanish, with overall scores improving for fire (79), police (80) and utility (82) services in 2022. Scores from Hispanic residents and residents who speak Spanish at home were 10 to 15 points lower than the overall Spanish language accessibility scores for fire (64-66), police (73-74) and utility services (72).

Fire (86), police (84) and emergency medical (86) services, parks and recreation (78) and the library (82) all had strong overall scores.

“Those are all bright, shining stars for the community,” SaintAmour said.

Written comments from residents called for improvements in affordability for shopping and housing, bike trails, family activities, street maintenance, parking and mental health services. Residents were satisfied with events in the area but wanted more quality sporting events and opportunities for cross-cultural engagement.

Recycling

Walla Walla residents are not satisfied with the city’s recycling program. Though the recycling score (50) improved from 2021 to 2022, it remained one of the lowest across the survey.

The city currently accepts paper products, cardboard, tin and aluminum in containers for curbside pickup.

Glass and plastics were included in the city’s program once-upon-a-time.

The glass collection program was ended in 2012 because of expense and challenges with the program. Recycling of plastics was discontinued in 2020 to reduce contamination and costs.

The city took another look at glass recycling in 2022, initiating a study of program options and costs, and returned to the discussion of recycling plastics recently in January, but no steps have been taken to reintroduce the materials for curbside pickup.

But the satisfaction survey shows a continued interest from area residents. Many residents, more than 75%, would like to see the return of curbside glass recycling, and more than 60% support a monthly fee to fund the service.

Retail options

Shopping has been a struggle area for Walla Walla over the years, and scores in this category remain low even with some improvement in 2022.

More than anything, residents signaled a need for more retail options.

Residents gave poor scores for the ability to conveniently shop for major items (48) and having sufficient choices for most needs (56).

Residents were satisfied with everyday shopping convenience (67) and restaurant choices (67), although the category of restaurant choices was down one point from 2021.

Overall, shopping had a score of 59 in 2022.

Historical scores in this area ranged from a low of 53 in 2013 and a high of 72 in 2018.

City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain said the high score in 2018 coincided with the reopening of the Walla Walla Town Center. She said she’s optimistic for progress in 2023, with new businesses expected to set up shop in the former Gottschalks and ShopKo buildings.