quality of life

Bloggers,

On Monday, more than 100 Clay Countians gathered at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Performing Arts to vision Clay County's future. The all-day session was facilitated by Clay County consultants and leaders of the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.

An informal, on-line survey yielded 965 responses. Ulrich and Associates, a Clay County research consulting group, compiled the data from the on-line survey. The results were fairly predictable in terms of identifying the problems we face in Clay County. During the visioning session, there was a lot of discussion on what was "right" in Clay County.

Bloggers,

In an attempt to refocus everyone on this thread, let me offer some observations:

1) Conducting a Quality of Life survey is but a first step in defining where we are, where we want to go and how we're going to get there. It will take everyone's input if it is to represent our diverse population.

2) The Clay Quality of Life Council is looking for input in the following areas of life indicators: Achieving Education Excellence, Growing a Vibrant Economy, Preserving the Natural Environment, Promoting Social Well Being and Harmony, Enjoying Arts, Culture and Recreation, Sustaining a Healthy Community, Maintaining Responsive Government, Moving Around Efficiently, Keeping the Community Safe and Other.

This morning's Florida Times-Union contains an editorial about a survey. If you want to know more about the survey itself, check that out. But the findings, well, they were fairly interesting ...

- Quality of life is declining, say 43 percent of those surveyed, a 7 percent increase over those who responded that way last year. Also, 37 percent of those surveyed expect Florida to become a worse place to live in the next year compared to 24 percent who think it will get better.

I'm with the 43 percent, and think there's a probable decline ahead. Some of that decline, however, can be mitigated by some common sense (instead of developer-, special interest- and lobbyist-driven manipulations) in managing growth. It is a statewide problem, not just Clay County's, but Clay County is where we can force our government to change its approach.