Open Space & Recreation Survey Information

Open Space Surveys

In 1994, the Town of Marion began work on an Open Space and Recreation Plan. Hod Kenney, then President of the Sippican Lands Trust, wanted to make sure that all voices within Marion were heard on the issue of open space. Mr. Kenney felt that there was deep support for protecting open space within the Town, but recognized that this support was not manifested by those on town boards. Kenney enlisted the help of John Rockwell, then a Regional Planner at the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, to help with all aspects of a survey. Mr. Rockwell used the 1986 League of Women Voters town survey and the 1986 Open Space Survey as a starting point for the 1994 survey.

The Open Space Acquisition Commission has since used the 1994 Survey as a model for surveys in 2004, 2011, and 2017. We see the surveys as the best way to reach a wide circle of Marion residents. Using the same survey over the years gives us a chance to track changes in residents' use of and attitude towards open space.

1986 League of Women Voters Survey

This was a town-wide survey put out by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters regarding a myriad of issues concerning the Town. Over 2,800 surveys were distributed. They were mailed to all Marion postal addresses and to all nonresident taxpayers on record. In addition, they were made available for pick-up around the town. 439 were returned and tabulated by local League of Women Voters volunteers (a 16% return rate).

1986 Open Space Survey

The Open Space Planning Committee conducted an Open Space survey to determine public interest in open space for conservation and outdoor recreation. A questionnaire was mailed to every household in Marion and was also available for pick up at various locations in town. The survey was promoted on the local cable television channel and in two local papers, "The Sentinel" and "The Presto Press." 336 households responded, representing 15% of the total households in Marion. The Committee noted: "While this is not a true sampling of the interests in Marion, it is a sampling of those interested enough to respond.

1994 Open Space and Recreation Survey

The Open Space Planning Committee was created by the Board of Selectmen to write a new Open Space and Recreation Plan. Having a plan approved by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services qualified a town for grant monies under the Self-Help Program. The 1994 Survey results were obtained from a sample of the registered voters. Surveys were sent to every fifth voter, resulting in a sample size of 503 voters. The response rate was 66%, or 328 returned surveys. The response provides a statistically valid prediction of the attitudes of the larger sample, i.e., all of the registered voters in Marion. This survey was the basis for the 1999 Open Space and Recreation Plan.

1995 Open Space Criteria Survey

The criteria used by MOSAC to evaluate open space parcels for possible acquisition was assembled by the Open Space Planning Committee in 1995. A representative of the Open Space Planning Committee met with the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Marine Resources Commission, Select Board, Board of Assessors, Finance Committee, and Recreation Committee seeking criteria to obtain open space. In addition to meeting with town boards, a letter was sent to a mailing list of folks indicating interest in open space or environmental improvements in Marion. In addition to the input derived from town boards, 92 criteria suggestions were derived from the public. This outreach by the Open Space Planning Committee resulted in a list of thirty criteria.

To properly measure the importance of each criterion, the Committee utilized a ranking technique based on an approach developed by Thomas H. Athey and explained in Systematic Systems Approach (1982), where each criterion is ranked against every other criteri0n.

Results from all the responses were averaged. A mathematical manipulation was performed to transform the responses to run from 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).

Links:

Criteria Handwritten Responses (PDF)

1995 Criteria List and Ranking (PDF)


1999 Open Space Plan Appendix E 

Kristen Leotti, working as an intern for the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, researched previous planning documents and surveys to find issues related to Open Space and Recreation. She compiled these to determine which issues were consistently mentioned.

2004 Open Space and Recreation Survey

The 2004 Open Space and Recreation Survey results were obtained from a sample of registered voters. Surveys were sent to every tenth voter, resulting in a sample size of 340 voters. The response was 197 returned surveys or a 58% response rate. This survey was the basis for the 2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan. The survey was written by the Open Space Acquisition Commission after consultation with various town boards and commissions.

2005 Community Planning Survey, Open Space Extract

This is an extract of Open Space and Recreation issues explored in the Marion 2015 Task Force Planning Survey. For the complete survey, see below.

2005 Community Planning Survey

The Marion 2015 Task Force was an initiative by the Board of Selectmen to get the various town boards to do some long-term planning. A mail survey was conducted in April 2005 to solicit the opinions and views of Marion residents and non-resident property owners. The survey was mailed to all registered voters in the town and to non-resident households. A total of 4,088 surveys were mailed to Marion residents. The Center received 1,085 completed surveys for a response rate of 26.5%.

2011 Open Space and Recreation Survey

The 2011 Open Space and Recreation Survey is the result of the tabulation of 152 surveys returned to the Open Space Acquisition Commission in the Spring of 2012. The Open Space Acquisition Commission started with a list of voters supplied by the Town Clerk's office and had a final sample size of 329. 152 surveys were returned giving a 46% return rate.

This survey was conducted for a planned update to the 2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan which would qualify Marion for DCS grants. Upon review of the scoring system used by the Commonwealth at the time for DCS grants, it was determined that Marion would not be awarded any grants due to its community profile score. Due to the inability of the Town to receive grants from DCS at the time, the update was not completed.

2017 Open Space and Recreation Survey

The 2017 Survey results are from the tabulation of 169 surveys returned to the Open Space Acquisition Commission in the fall of 2017 and winter of 2018. The results will be used both by the Open Space Acquisition Commission to guide land purchases, and by the Stewards of Community Open Space as a public input component of an update the the 2005 Open Space and Recreation Plan. Of the 392 surveys sent out, 23 were returned for various reasons as undeliverable, leaving a final sample size of 369. 168 surveys were returned, giving a 46% return rate. The Open Space Acquisition Commission would like to thank David Borges at the UMass Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis for the tabulation of this survey.

2018 Open Space and Recreation Survey

The 2018 Survey results are from the tabulation of 44 surveys returned to the Stewards of Community Open Space in the Fall of 2018. The Stewards of Community Open Space was supplied with a list of 404 nonresidents by the Assessors' office. Surveys were sent to all those on the Assessors' list. 182 of the surveys were returned as they were addressed to a street address where mail was sent to a Post Office box. 44 surveys were returned, giving a 20% return rate. This survey process revealed two glitches that must be corrected if surveys are sent out to a non-resident list in the future. First, a better system needs to be developed for obtaining a good address, as over 50% of the surveys were returned as undeliverable. Second, this survey sample group was meant to capture information from the non-voters; however, the supplied list included a significant amount of registered voters, a group that was previously represented in the 2017 survey.


2023 Open Space Criteria Survey


This survey was an update of the 1995 Open Space Acquisition Criteria Survey. Twenty-eighty years had passed since the 1995 survey.

To review the list of criteria (as opposed to the ranking) The Open Space Acquisition Commission used social media to reach out to the public, and to sought comments from the Select Board, Conservation Commission, Affordable Housing Trust, Parks and Tree Committee, Planning Board, Assessors, Sippican Lands Trust, Board of Health, Finance Committee, and Marine Resources Committee.

To rerank the criteria, the Commission contacted the members of the boards and commission listed above, used a mailing list derived from the 2016 Open Space and Recreation Survey.

Links:

2023 Criteria List and Ranking (PDF)