Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 08 03 JT

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Page 7 of 150 community museum. Now that the major issues and needs have been identified through this planning process, attention will by necessity need to turn to an educational phase in order to explain these needs to the general public. The survey results from the 2016 Louisville Citizen Survey show that there is work do be done, particularly in the current environment when there are so many needs in the City to consider. The results show that "[n]ine in 10 awarded high marks to Historical Museum programs and the overall performance of the museum," but also show that three percent of respondents indicated that expanding the Museum should be considered one of the top three issues for the City to invest in for the future. Twelve percent indicated that expansion was an essential or very important priority for the City. An encouraging result of the survey is that without any accompanying information about the Museum's lack of ADA access or the fact that its facilities have never been updated and improved like other City facilities, 53% of respondents still indicated that expanding the Museum is at least "somewhat important." Also, 81% of respondents indicated that creating indoor community gathering space is at least "somewhat important," with 29% indicating that it is at least "very important." Creating indoor community gathering space is one of the reasons for the City to construct a new Visitor Center building, which is being called the Community House. It is hoped that information about what needs would be met through a new Visitor Center building can be communicated to Louisville residents in ways that it was not possible to do through the format of a survey.