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Community Foundation releases 'Love Where You Live' survey findings: residents want jobs, blight removal and clearer communication
Summary
Hutchinson Community Foundation reported results from 723 local survey respondents that identified attracting new businesses, removing blight and improving wages/housing as top priorities; workshop participants emphasized visible signs of progress, civic engagement and ALICE household concerns.
The Hutchinson Community Foundation on March 4 presented results from the first year of its three-year Love Where You Live initiative, reporting findings from 723 Hutchinson respondents who took a community-perception survey and 79 residents who attended follow-up workshops.
Key findings: Survey respondents prioritized economic metrics and reported concerns about current business conditions. In workshop sessions, residents identified three cross-cutting priorities: attract new businesses, remove and renovate blight, and improve wages/housing. Foundation staff highlighted ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed) data showing 42% of Reno County households fall into the ALICE or poverty categories, with Reno County’s share about 3 percentage points higher than the Kansas average.
Why it matters: Foundation Director of Strategy Carrie Mayhew said residents link negative perceptions of current business conditions to visible blight — empty storefronts, closed businesses and deteriorating properties — and that they become more optimistic when they see visible signs of progress such as new childcare capacity, the YMCA project, hotel construction and other investments. Workshop participants asked for more door-to-door outreach, a centralized hub for housing and community information, and more frequent public updates when progress is occurring behind the scenes.
What the Foundation will do: Mayhew said renosurvey.com hosts the full benchmarking report and community-specific data; the foundation will repeat the survey in fall 2025 to measure change and hopes to improve demographic diversity among respondents in future rounds. The fund for Reno County’s grant process has been updated to align with priorities identified through the work, including smaller community catalyst grants and a larger second-cycle grant opportunity with up to $50,000 awards.
Reaction: Council members and staff praised the engagement process and said the findings will inform the city’s internal strategic-planning work. City staff said they will route relevant plans and findings to the Wichita State strategic-planning group assisting the city so that resident priorities inform municipal priorities.
Provenance: The survey results presentation and workshop summaries are recorded in transcript blocks beginning about 4486.505 through 5476.675.
