Residents have roughly two weeks to take an online Newtown Community Center Commission survey now live at ncccsurvey.com. Commission Co-Chair Andy Clure is encouraging all town residents to take the eight-question poll, which should take about five minutes.

“I am thrilled we are at this point with a survey, and I thank the committee members, who are all volunteers,” Mr Clure said. “We would appreciate any and all feedback from Newtown residents.”

After surveys are complete, the commission will formulate its community center plan to present to the Board of Selectmen. The selectman will later choose a referendum date for public vote.

“We are looking to get feedback from the town for what they want to see in the community center,” Mr Clure said. “There are some broad questions, and there is also a part to write in what they would like to see.”

His commission members would like to hear from everyone in town, he said. Is there support for an aquatic center, an ice rink, an arts venue? What elements will be included in a community center plan? All of these are up to the residents, he said.

Based on the survey questions, he said, “We should be able to see what each demographic is looking for.”

The survey was launched last weekend during the 2015 Newtown Arts Festival, where electronic tablets were available to residents attending the September 19-20 event at Fairfield Hills.

“We got a great response,” with as many as 200 people taking the survey, Mr Clure said.

Since then, the committee has added a preface to explain how each question is designed and how its answers need to be ranked in importance. Most questions are posed so that answers are rated on a scale, with 1 being the most important point for each question.Questions vary, with some having as many as six choices to rank and others having as few as three. The committee seeks qualitative feedback, rather than each choice receiving the same rank.

The survey’s answers are recorded anonymously. Those taking the survey, powered by SurveyMonkey, have the option of sharing their age, gender, the number of people who reside in their home, whether they have any children living at home, and how long they have lived in town. All of those questions, placed at the beginning of the survey, are optional.

While the survey is available online, he is also hoping to make it available on electronic devices at C.H. Booth Library.

Mr Clure gives credit to Bill Buchler and Kinga Walsh, the NCCC subcommittee members who worked on the survey, while the whole committee discussed and made a group decision on the final poll questions.

The online survey will remain live until Saturday, October 10.

Following 12/14, the GE Foundation made a grant of $15 million to Newtown for the purpose of building a community center. The grant was stipulated to provide $10 million for development and construction of a community center, with the balance devoted to a minimum of five years of operational programming, at $1 million per year.

The foundation has asked that the money be used to create a facility that does not exist today, does not duplicate existing programs or services, and serves the needs of the entire community as best as possible.

Community Center Public Forums

In addition to seeking input from residents through the survey, Mr Clure would like residents to consider attending one of four upcoming public forums. Attendees will be invited to engage commission members in discussion about community center planning, to date.

The Q&A-style sessions are Thursday, September 24, at 7 pm, in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street; Thursday, October 1, at 7 pm, at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street; Tuesday, October 13, at 7 pm, at Newtown Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road; and Saturday, October 17, at 10 am, at C.H. Booth Library.

Each forum will be the same, with an opening topic. The forums are not cumulative, said Mr Clure.

Questions from residents, “to the best of our ability,” will be answered, Mr Clure said. The forums will not offer a presentation of any particular plan presentation. The discussion is “about who we are and where we are to date,” said Mr Clure. Attendees will be able to ask questions and give feedback.