City of Longmont 2023 Library Recreation and Culture Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of an online survey of 2,842 registered voters in the City of Longmont, Colorado. The interviews were conducted from February 22nd – March 8th, 2023.

Longmont voters were asked to indicate how frequently they or members of their household visited each of the city’s eleven recreation and cultural facilities. The Longmont Library was the most visited facility, with 42% of respondents visiting at least a few times per month. The Longmont Recreation Center at the Quail Campus was the second most visited, with 32% visiting at least monthly. Sunset Pool, Union Reservoir, and the city golf courses followed in overall visit frequency. The Longmont Youth Center had the lowest usage, with 94% of respondents indicating they never visited it. Voters were also asked to rank all eleven facilities by their value and importance to the broader community, and the Library again ranked first by a wide margin, with 70% placing it in the top three. The Recreation Center ranked second at 56%, followed by the Senior Center at 33% and the Museum at 29%.

The survey then presented voters with four new recreation and cultural projects identified through the city’s master plan review, each tested individually with project descriptions and associated costs. A new Branch Library, estimated at $22.7 million and costing approximately $38 annually for a home valued at $500,000, received the highest support among the four projects at 60% in favor and 33% opposed. A new Recreation Center at $64 million, costing approximately $108 annually, received 56% support and 35% opposition. A Center for Arts and Entertainment, with a city contribution of $45 million and an estimated annual cost of $76 per home, received 55% support and 36% opposition. A Museum and Culture Center Expansion at $19 million and $22 annually received 54% support and 38% opposition, the narrowest margin of the four projects.

When asked to identify a single project they would most prefer to see on the ballot, voters chose the new Recreation Center most often at 27%, followed by the Center for Arts and Entertainment at 21% and the new Branch Library at 16%. The Museum Expansion was selected by just 8% of respondents. Twelve percent said they wanted to vote on all four projects, while 11% said they did not want to vote on any of them.

Three new park projects were also tested individually. Union Reservoir Enhancements, estimated at $18 million and approximately $30 annually per home, received 57% support and 33% opposition, the highest support among the park projects. Completing Dry Creek Park, at $33 million and approximately $56 annually, received 55% support and 33% opposition. The Montgomery Farm project, at $26 million and approximately $44 annually, received the weakest support at 39% in favor and 46% opposed — the only project among all those tested where opposition exceeded support. When asked to select a single park project for the ballot, 30% of voters preferred the Union Reservoir Enhancements, 27% preferred Dry Creek Park, and just 7% preferred Montgomery Farm.

When the three park projects were grouped together into a single ballot measure at a combined cost of $77 million and approximately $130 annually per home, support dropped to 47% in favor and 41% opposed, with 12% undecided. This grouping produced notably closer results than the individual project tests, suggesting that the combined price point created resistance among voters who would have supported one or two of the projects on their own.

Two renovation projects were also tested. Renovations to the Longmont Recreation Center at 400 Quail Road, estimated at $5 million and approximately $9 annually, received 57% support and 33% opposition. In contrast, a proposed renovation to the Centennial Pool Facility that would remove the pool and replace it with basketball courts and other fitness spaces, at $7 million and approximately $12 annually, was strongly rejected, with only 28% in favor and 55% opposed — making it the least supported project tested in the entire survey. When asked to choose between the two renovation projects for the ballot, 47% of voters selected the Recreation Center renovation and just 8% selected the Centennial Pool Facility renovation.

When the Recreation Center, the Recreation Center renovations, and the Centennial Pool Facility renovations were grouped into a single ballot measure at $76 million and approximately $128 annually per home, support collapsed to 31% in favor and 53% opposed. This result demonstrated clearly that the Centennial Pool Facility renovation was a significant drag on support when combined with otherwise popular projects. Grouping all nine projects together into a single comprehensive ballot measure at a total cost of $239.7 million, with an estimated annual cost of $395 per home, produced a similarly unfavorable result of 33% in favor and 54% opposed, despite including several individually popular projects.

The survey results consistently showed that voters responded most favorably to projects tested individually and at modest annual cost, while support declined markedly when projects were bundled together at higher cumulative price points. The Library and Recreation Center were the clear favorites among both the new construction and community value rankings. The Centennial Pool Facility renovation, which proposed removing a pool rather than enhancing or replacing aquatic amenities, stood out as uniquely unpopular across all tested scenarios, and its inclusion in grouped measures appeared to suppress overall ballot support.