Copperas Cove city staff and consultant Cobalt Community Research presented the results of the 2025 citizen engagement and priority assessment at a workshop meeting on Oct. 21, 2025, showing a modest increase in overall satisfaction and strong resident support for parks and downtown improvements.

Will St. Amore, executive director of Cobalt Community Research, told the City Council the communitys American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rose from 48 in 2021 to 51 in 2025 and that the survey identified parks, public safety and streets among the top drivers of overall satisfaction. "It is something that builds trust," St. Amore said of the survey work.

The survey was mailed to a random sample of 2,000 registered voters in Copperas Cove with a valid response from 576 residents, producing a margin of error of about plus-or-minus 5 percent for the random sample results the consultant presented. Responses collected outside the random sample were retained in the project file but were not included in the benchmarked scores.

Key findings presented by Cobalt included a marked improvement in parks and recreation scores relative to 2021 and clear majority support for several capital and appearance projects. Approximately 80 percent of respondents supported upgrades to city parks (walking trails, athletic fields and related improvements), and about 68 percent supported appearance and maintenance improvements for downtown and Business 190 properties, the consultant reported. The presentation also reported that roughly 52 percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay a small monthly amount ($5, $10 or $15 options were presented) to support such improvements; about 39 percent said they would not.

St. Amore and staff highlighted a decline in several economy-related measures, particularly the availability and quality of jobs, which suppressed the overall score growth. Drinking-water quality registered a notable drop from 2021, and transportation overall showed mixed results: road maintenance scores improved while public transportation and some measures of traffic remained weak drivers of satisfaction.

Council and staff discussion during the workshop focused on translating the survey into actions. Kevin (staff) and City Manager Ryan Haverlaw noted the results will inform the citys upcoming strategic-planning retreat. "November 14 is your strategic planning retreat," Haverlaw said, noting the council will use the survey to develop focused priorities. Kevin said staff will upload the presentation to the city website's public relations page for public review.

A council member raised questions about public-transit visibility, and Kevin suggested that a recent rebranding of the local Hop service and changes to vehicle liveries during the survey period likely affected residents' perceptions. "I think a lot of people think we don't have public transportation anymore," Kevin said, describing how fewer large green buses in view can reduce awareness of service.

Consultant recommendations presented to the council emphasized five broad steps: measurement (completed), identifying a small set of prioritized actions, broadening community and staff conversations about specifics, assigning implementation responsibility, and applying project-management practices to track deliverables and timelines. Staff said the EDC's existing strategic plan and previously funded street- and parks-related work align with many resident priorities identified by the survey.

Next steps noted during the workshop included posting the full report and presentation on the city website and using the Nov. 14 strategic-planning retreat to convert survey findings into a short list of initiatives and assign staff-level project plans and timelines.