Geneva business survey light on answers

Geneva economic development officials won't rely on results of the 2010 Business Retention Survey to make any binding decisions because only 7 percent of businesses responded.

But answers to some of the questions have caught their attention.

The survey was sent in July to 42 industrial companies and 912 retail- or service-oriented businesses. Six of the industrial companies returned it, and 60 of the others. The survey was in two versions, tailored to the groups, with the industrial portion focusing a bit more on work force issues such as housing, transportation and labor skills.

Those who did return the survey indicated they were generally satisfied with doing business in Geneva, but are concerned about housing costs, lack of public transportation and local labor skills.

Two-thirds of the retail-service responders were located in the downtown area. This sector was asked about the effectiveness for their business of 26 festivals and promotional events held downtown. The highest-rated were the four festivals run by the Geneva Chamber of Commerce: Festival of the Vine, Swedish Days, Geneva Arts Fair and the Christmas Walk. They scored from 3.12 to 3.47 on a 5-point scale.

When asked if they thought there would ever be consistent hours among downtown businesses, 72 percent of respondents said “no.”

The surveys asked almost 30 questions.