In 2017, the City of Howe’s economic development arm put forth a survey to citizens to gain an idea of what their opinions were to the next five to ten years. The City of Howe’s Comprehensive Plan was last completed in 2010 and a few things have changed since then. The survey initiated the same questions to citizens to see if anything had dramatically changed since the answers of 2010.
The first question was: What would you like Howe to be like in the next five to 10 years?
In 2010, the answers were: “Growing town with small-town feel; Expanded downtown which maintains “old” character. Something to be proud of; A proactive city which uses consistent application of codes to improve quality growth and development; a middle class bedroom community; more industrial, more employed, better roads; a city government more supportive of local businesses; clean; excellent schools; new homes and improved older homes; self-sustaining – groceries, other services, more housing, better utilities.”
In general, back in 2010 Howe residents appreciated the small town feel associated with Howe. They desired a certain degree of self-sufficiency in regards to jobs, services, and amenities. A major recurring desire among those surveyed was to continue to improve the school system while keeping Howe a safe and small community.
In 2017, the general response was one that said,” Strong residential community with added amenities but with preservation of the current small town atmosphere.” Others were: “Still Howe. Not a hodgepodge of development; Conservative small town, no traffic problems, better streets, good neighborhoods, no drugs, more employers, new school, taxes same, housing standard code enforced, grocery store, satellite school for Grayson or Southeastern in Oklahoma; A small town still but able to grow as more people move into the area, but still be the quiet town it is; Not too small, but not too big. I love the small town life, but it would be nice to have more grocery, restaurant choices than we currently have; Significant residential/commercial growth Improvements in infrastructure, Fire Department, and city services; A diverse community that supports equality but has the facilities and retail to spend our money in our own city instead of driving somewhere else to do so; A small town with better roads and no more sardine can subdi
visions. Minimum lot sizes, please! Don’t let us turn into Frisco or McKinney in the name of growth; a Classic small town with enough employment for most of the residents; a few restaurants, stores, and other services; and a pleasant place for families to live.”
Question #2 was aimed at discovering what residents found attractive about the City of Howe. In understanding what draws all ranges of residents, the plan can more thoroughly address the needs of the city with regards to development and maintaining its appeal. In general, most residents surveyed enjoyed the small town feel of Howe, but appreciated its location near the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex as well as the cities of Sherman and Denison. The affordability of housing, as well as the sense of community also serve as attractive characteristics of the city.
The 2010 responses were: “Hometown atmosphere/small town feel (multiple responses); safe, police protection; easy accessibility to other larger cities; strong values; affordable housing; friendly people; emphasis on school events; churches; good post office; good water; process of reestablishing civic pride.” In 2017, the same question brought a common sense of direction. The results could be wrapped up by this answer, “Conservative, quiet, excellent schools, safety, small “town-ness”, neighborly, reasonable taxes, good leadership, sports-minded, community support.”
When producing a word cloud, the most often words used were town, people, friendly, feel, and small.
The third question was aimed at getting an understanding of what the citizens would like to see improved, added or removed from the city. This question of “What would make Howe a better place?” enables the comprehensive plan to be shaped in a way that improves the unattractive or undesirable aspects of the town creating a more vibrant and desirable community. Answers to this question in 2010 were wide-ranging, but in general, citizens seemed to want more economic opportunities within the town, as well as an overall facelift making Howe a more beautiful and appealing city. Results from the question ended with these responses: “Growth: grocery store, more businesses, increased affordable housing; more small restaurants, more restaurant choices; video store; grocery store (multiple responses); more chamber of commerce interest; consistent enforcement of codes; better street and utility maintenance; street scaping; sign ordinance to reduce small signage; beautification program; tree trimming; no alcohol sales; “Welcome to Howe” sign; stronger leadership; better utilities with own sewer plant; less strict building codes; doctor’s office, general medical; more community-wide activities like Fall Festival; getting rid of eye sores, i.e. burned down grocery store on west side of town; revitalized downtown while preserving historic charm.
This is the area that has been much of the wishes have been checked off from 2010. Howe has experienced growth and more businesses. The chamber of commerce has re-emerged, a beautification program has been created,. Two separate Welcome to Howe signs have been put in place, stronger leadership is in place, a sewer plant is in the works, and more activities have been added, such as an improved Founders Day, Howe-lloween, chamber mixers, and more. Also, a downtown revitalization has taken place since this last survey.
Although much has been accomplished in this area, the question was still put forth to the citizens in 2017 because one glaring object still missing is a grocery store. The results were not surprising as the citizens responded with: “Addition of small amenities – neighborhood grocery store/pharmacy, local restaurants, resident-owned businesses; a place where community celebrations can be held. Maybe a community park with a large pavilion and several small ones that can be reserved through the city; more in town shopping, groceries, pharmacy, restaurants. More entertainment for the kids, pool, park; we need to be more attractive from 75; keep the parks better landscaped (mowed), roads in better condition (not a bunch of temporary fixes), hold occasional family events (more events like the ones held in downtown).
Question four was a ranking of what businesses were needed in Howe. In 2010, they were 1. Grocery Store, 2. Specialty Store/Small Shops, 3. Restaurants. In 2017, the order was 1. Grocery Store, 2. Restaurants, 3. Retail Shopping.
Question five was what type of housing Howe needed more of. In 2010, they were 1. Single-family – large lot (1+ acre), 2. Single-family – small lot, 3. Townhouses. In 2017, they were 1. Single-family – large lot (1+ acre), 2. Single-family – small lot, 3. Tied with Townhouses and Large Apartment Complexes.
Question six dealt with the ratings of the streets and while most think they need improvement, the results were that citizens were more satisfied with the streets in 2017 than in 2010.
Question seven was the rating of the water and sewer utilities available. While the majority is the same from both surveys that have the vast majority saying the utilities are satisfactory, more people in 2017 said they need improvement. Most of the respondents were speaking about the cost of utilities in the improvement area.
Question eight was the ranking of parks, recreation and open space needed for Howe. In 2010, the results were 1. Athletic fields, 2. Large community parks, 3. Neighborhood Parks. In 2017, the results were Large Community Parks, 2. Athletic Fields, 3. Neighborhood Parks.
Overall, the questionnaire was set forth to give city leaders a direction from where the current citizens would like to see the Howe over the next few years as the opportunity will present itself to improve certain things about Howe. Citizens have said that they want to remain a small town, with the small town feel with good schools and charm. Things to improve on are parks and retail opportunities for local shopping. The people of Howe are not interested so much in developments with homes nearly touching each other. They want large lot spacious places to live.
The people have spoken.
Howe ISD usually is in charge of handing out grades, however, they were the recipient of federal standards recently. The good news is that the local district met or exceeded the standard at all campuses in the majority of the tested areas.
