Groups seek ‘community involvement’ in revitalization survey

Revitalization expert Quint Studer speaks in Palatka during a meeting in 2019.
Positively Putnam FL

Is Putnam County heading in the right direction?

Palatka Young Professionals and the Studer Group want to find out the answer to that question and more from residents.

PYP, a nonprofit group of young professionals with the mission of reviving Palatka and retaining local talent, has taken on the project of conducting the Quality of Life Survey in Putnam through Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

The nationally-known firm plans to contact at least 500 Putnam residents this month for a phone survey to measure the community’s perception on key issues, including the performance of elected officials and other Putnam-specific questions.

The results of the survey will be provided to the Studer Group ahead of Quint Studer’s planned visit next month. Studer is the Pensacola businessman Putnam groups hired to guide revitalization efforts in Palatka and Putnam County.

Seth Miles, chairman of Palatka Young Professionals, said the survey will be a way to gauge community involvement on “where they think we are and where they think we should be.”

Miles said the project is an important one for the group.

“PYP’s whole goal is to raise new leaders for the community, so new leaders should be figuring it out as we go forward,” Miles said. “The idea is to get a good, quality survey of as many people as possible from different areas in the county.

“If we can get a good amount of people from various walks of life, we’ll get a good picture of what’s going on.”

Miles said Mason-Dixon plans to get a sample size of 500 to 625 residents from different sectors, including race, gender and age. The survey will begin this month with questions that are most understandable and relatable to Putnam residents.

“Mason-Dixon has done this in the past, and it seemed like that was the way to go and a lot better than us trying to figure it out on our own,” Miles said. “We’re always looking for something to do to help out our community. This is probably the most beneficial thing we can do to help right now.”

Miles said survey data will be shared with the Studer Group. Studer is scheduled to visit Palatka again Oct. 27-28.

“The things he’s done for Pensacola is what we would like to see happen here,” Miles said. “He turned Pensacola around. He’s been working with the area a couple of years. It will ultimately come down to people here, but it’s nice to have someone with his experience to see if he thinks we’re headed in the right direction.”

Studer said the Mason-Dixon survey will provide objective data that best represent Putnam County.

“Cities often say they want input from residents and get a website where people can go for a survey,” Studer said. “But they don’t know how to get the right mix of people. Mason-Dixon will hit all the right numbers – age, gender, race and other valuable-related data.

“This will give us a baseline. This is about saying we measured and this is what we need to do. The goal is to help the city get healthier and stronger.”

In 2019, nonprofit 1 Putnam, the city of Palatka, the Chamber of Commerce and the county hired Studer to help build a more vibrant community.

Studer said he remains optimistic about revitalization efforts in Putnam despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 census showing a decline in population of 1,043 people compared to 2010.

“The fact that Palatka and Putnam County are sticking with it is important,” Studer said. “The other thing I hope people realize is this isn’t a quick fix. It can take years. The whole goal is to get local people to invest.”

Studer said the population decrease is a concern.

“What everybody wants now is talent,” he said. “If your Chamber (of Commerce) is trying to attract outside companies, one of the first questions will be, ‘Do you have people for us to hire?’ Putnam has to create the type of place where population grows, and vibrance and opportunity will drive it.”

PYP welcomes donations to help pay for the Quality of Life Survey. For more information, email info@palatkayp.com or visit the group’s Facebook page.