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Councilors outline education-first survey plan for 11 municipal properties
Summary
Councilors Gail Labette, Becky Soule and Michael Strand told the Bedford Town Council on May 7 they plan an education campaign followed by an open-ended, quantifiable survey of 11 town properties; the plan includes one-page scorecards, visual materials, demographic questions and meetings with the new police and fire chiefs.
Councilors Gail Labette, Becky Soule and Michael Strand presented an update to the Bedford Town Council on May 7 describing a two-step approach to assessing 11 municipal properties: public education first, then a non-leading, measurable survey.
Labette said the group concluded that an immediate survey would be “null and void” without prior education and proposed an educational outreach that includes a short, one-page scorecard for each property listing square footage, age, primary repair needs, a general cost range and a red/green/yellow criticality rating. She told the council the group wants the survey questions to be quantifiable and unbiased, using single-answer or Likert-style questions and collecting basic demographics (for example, town area and age brackets) so results can be parsed.
The group said Becky Soule will set up meetings with the new police and fire chiefs to gather facility-specific input and that they will take the chiefs on facility tours. Labette said she will draft the one-page scorecard format and the group will develop survey questions at a follow-up meeting. The council discussed using charts and simple visuals on the town website, the library and the Bedford Bulletin to reach residents.
Why it matters: Councilors said they want well-informed public feedback to guide investment priorities and to avoid producing a survey that biases responses with pre-selected options. The education-first approach aims to give residents context about condition and relative urgency across properties.
What was assigned: Becky Soule was assigned to schedule meetings with the police and fire chiefs and to join a facility tour; Gail Labette took responsibility for drafting the proposed one-page scorecard and compiling a timeline. The group plans to finalize survey questions and an execution plan at their next meeting.
Context and limitations: Councilors emphasized simplicity to avoid overwhelming respondents and said the education materials should remain short (3–5 bullets) with clear visuals. No expenditures, vendor contracts or survey vendors were discussed at the May 7 meeting; the plan remains at the design and scheduling stage.
