Los Alamos Police Chief Dino Sgambellone, left, and Fire Chief Troy Hughes and their departments receive high marks from the community in a recent County Survey. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Last year Los Alamos County surveyed residents on how they thought local government is doing. The County recently released the survey results and overall, residents gave the County strong marks.
The survey is conducted biannually, Los Alamos County Public Information Officer Julie Habiger said. The 2020 survey had about 600 participants, who were selected through randomized address generation.
The participants were sent postcards and letters and encouraged to either take the survey online or fill out the paper form and mail it back in. The results were compared with other municipalities to see how Los Alamos measures up.
Looking at Los Alamos’ survey responses, Habiger said the County performed well.
“…It affirmed that some of the services we provide are very high quality and appreciated by our residents,” she said. “For example, our police and fire department continue to score high, higher than other communities. Our public library system, our public transportation system, which is Atomic City Transit, all scored higher than other communities …”
Los Alamos County Councilor Sara Scott agreed.
“It was a good calibration of where we are – both in areas of where we are doing well (quality of life, safe and healthy environment, excellent educational opportunities) – balanced with what we’ve heard from the community are priorities that we will continue to work on (housing, and improving the vibrancy and amenities in our downtowns, and support for the business environment) – for example, we’ve heard from businesses in our town that being able to purchase rather than rent property would increase their sustainability…,” Scott said.
In general, the areas identified in the study that need attention include community design, layout and livability, Habiger said. Los Alamos didn’t score as high as other communities in these areas, but she said the County is working on the downtown master plans and making changes to the County development code.
Another area of need highlighted in the survey is affordable housing and the type and quality of housing that is available to residents, Habiger said.
The County is tackling housing issues; Habiger pointed out that construction of two affordable apartment complexes is underway on DP Road and a new apartment complex will be built off Trinity Drive.
“It does take time to turn that around,” she said. “I think what it says is that we are working on the right things and we need to continue to put time and effort and money towards those things.”
Due to the timing of the survey, County staff worked with the survey consultants to include questions about the pandemic, Habiger said. While there is no national benchmark data for comparisons, she said the questions took the pulse on how the community thought Los Alamos is fairing with the pandemic.
“People … while they may not have high concerns about food insecurity or ability to pay rent for housing, overall, there is a general feeling of not being in control of when the pandemic will come to an end,” she said. “Some of those factors do make them concerned about the future economic health of our community.”
This information is valuable because it shows the County needs to continue to support the community and it can see people are supportive of the measures in place for personal protective equipment and the public wants the County to continue to support local businesses, Habiger said.
Scott applauded the County staff for not only effectively responding to the pandemic but ensuring that essential day-to-day operations continued.
“I’ve been very impressed with what the staff was able to accomplish,” Scott said.
She added not only did the County staff “turn on a dime” in response to the COVID-19 outbreak but they completed a myriad of projects including road improvements to Trinity Drive, building the new restrooms and locker rooms at the Los Alamos County Ice Rink, constructing the new splash pad, performing extensive maintenance on the County’s trails and installing needed infrastructure upgrades at the Los Alamos County Golf Course.
2020 was a challenging year for Los Alamos County, in particular for Los Alamos fire and police departments, but the community gave high marks for both departments in the survey.
“We’ve always done pretty well … I think it’s a tribute to the guys working with us …. They really go above and beyond just doing the job description,” Fire Chief Troy Hughes said.
While staff is one of LAFD’s strongest assets, it faced a challenge last year because of the delays in the department’s hiring process. Hughes said some staff retired and because the positions couldn’t be filled right away, current employees did a lot of overtime work.
However, “I don’t think anybody who called 911 during the last year really noticed … the guys on operation have maintained what they have done for years,” he said.
In fact, he said that was the fire department’s biggest success last year – continuing to serve the community and ensure these services were unhindered by the pandemic.
“I think (our biggest success was) just maintaining our operational strength despite the COVID challenges,” Hughes said. “We have done a pretty good job keeping a healthy staff … they have been pretty regimented … keeping themselves healthy.”
Hughes also commended Safety Chief Joe Baca. Baca handles emergency responses and has taken care of LAFD staff’s health from getting personal protective equipment to keeping everything sanitized, he said. Hughes also credits EMS Chief Chris Bartlett.
“(Baca) really stepped up and took a big role in this pandemic,” Hughes said.
He added that LAFD looks forward to the day when the pandemic no longer has such a significant presence, and the department can interact more with the public.
“We’re certainly sad about not being able to do Firefighter For A Day … we certainly enjoy that part of our job more (interacting with the public) … we enjoy being with our public and we have missed that during the course of the last year,” Hughes said.
The Los Alamos Police Department also appreciates the public’s support, Police Chief Dino Sgambellone said.
“The Los Alamos Police Department has regularly and historically been well supported by the community,” he said. “I have no doubt that the community’s support is a reflection of the professionalism of the Department’s employees and their dedication to public safety and customer service.”
It wasn’t an easy year for law enforcement. The pandemic raged along with nationwide calls to reform policing. In response, Sgambellone said LAPD has proven it can evolve to comply with the changing times.
“I have been particularly impressed with the employees’ ability to adapt to change, whether in the form of emerging COVID protocols or new policies based on the social justice movement,” Sgambellone said. “Additionally, the (at times) intense anti-law enforcement rhetoric seen at the national level this past year certainly impacted morale within the profession as a whole. I am proud of the employees’ resiliency in that regard and ability to remain focused on the job at hand.”
He also commended the good relationship between the community and police department for a successful year.
“Our success is driven by our ongoing relationship with the community that has resulted in Los Alamos remaining one of the safest communities in the nation,” Sgambellone said. “To continue providing exceptional customer service, victim advocacy, animal welfare, emergency management, and overall public safety in what has been a remarkably challenging year highlights our teamwork and commitment. I remain very proud to be part of this team and look forward to an outstanding 2021.”
The survey highlighted the fact that residents are highly invested in all areas of local government. For instance, Habiger said the survey had a 36 percent response rate.
“The consultant told me that’s actually above average for what they see for a response rate from other communities … our citizens really want to participate and give us this feedback,” she said.
The information from the survey will be referenced in County work moving forward, Habiger said.
“It allows us to work on developing our budgets that are presented in April with an eye toward those things that might need more staff time or funding or attention in response to the survey results,” she said.
Scott added that public input and engagement is essential to identify community priorities, make investments and focus on addressing long-term needs and challenges. This survey is one tool for obtaining input, but other types of ongoing communication and engagement also are critical in getting feedback, she said.
“Just yesterday, I received email input from a 12-year-old constituent regarding some needed facility repairs; staff was able to immediately address the major concerns,” Scott said. “And the County will keep looking for new ways to effectively communicate – both in getting information out and hearing ideas and concerns from the community … we worked hard on it during the pandemic and we will continue to do that.”
