COMMUNITY VISION

Residents are engaged in their community.

ENGAGED IN THEIR COMMUNITY DEFINED

Residents have a sense of ownership of and pride in their community as evidenced by activities such as voting, volunteer work, event attendance and participation in neighborhood associations.

Cultural and Recreational Opportunities

§      While the number of events administered by the Winston-Salem Sports Complex (Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Annex, Dixie Fairgrounds, Ernie Shore Field and Bowman Gray Stadium) has remained relatively consistent for the past two years, the total attendance for all venues decreased by 17.1%.

§      Over 1 million persons attended an event at the Winston-Salem Sports Complex for FY 2009.

§      Sporting events account for the largest percent (49%) of people attending Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum events.

§      From 2008-2009 to FY 2009-2010, there was a 9.8% increase in the amount of grant funding awarded by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County to organizations and individuals. For 2009-2010, $1,825,500 was awarded to 42 organizations and 19 individuals (some received multiple awards). In 2008-2009, this figure was $1,662,490 supporting 37 organizations and 16 individuals (some received multiple awards).

§      The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County operational and maintenance support for community facilities decreased by 10.5% from FY 2008 to 2009. For 2009-2010, $535,000 support was provided for the operation and maintenance of Arts Council Theater at The Hanes Community Center, The Sawtooth Building and the AC- Delco Building. In 2007-2008 this figure was $597,734.  

§      The Stevens Center is booked with performances, rehearsals or special occasions during all but about 70 days a year. The total seating capacity is 1,380. To date (September to November 2009) there have been 28 performances (musical, dance, and drama) held at the Stevens Center.

§      For the past three fiscal years, 2.0% of the Forsyth County Budget has been appropriated for Cultural and Recreational Activities (library and parks/recreation). For FY 2010, 2% represents $15,660,906.

§      The actual expenditures for cultural and recreational activities by the City of Winston-Salem (parks/recreation and the arts) will decrease by 3.3% for FY 2009-2010 ($9,453,180) from the previous FY 2008-2009 ($9,777,890) and  FY 2007-2008 ($9,574,118).

§      The 2009 Dixie Classic Fair, held annually in Winston-Salem, the second largest agricultural fair in North Carolina, broke last year’s attendance number of 310,160 with a total of approximately 323,000 (numbers are based on tickets sold at the gates and advance sale tickets).

Library Usage

§      The percentage of registered library users and rate of circulation per population has increased from 2006-07 to the 2007-08 year by 4%.

§      For the past three years, Forsyth County has ranked 4^th related to four other benchmark communities for rate of circulation (Mecklenburg, Durham, Guildford, and Wake).

§      Over 1 million library visits were made by residents for FY2007-2008.

§      Almost two million items were circulated by the library system for FY 2007-08.

§      Over 350,000 residents used a computer at a library.

§      As of October 2009, there were 131 computer workstations available via 67 branches and extension (use of laptops).

Electoral Participation

§      14% of the Forsyth County residents who are eligible to vote were not registered to vote in 2008.

§      More than 75% of all Forsyth County registered voters participated in the 2008 General Election. This is up from the 66.9% who participated in 2004.

§      62.5% of all registered voters participated in the 2008 General Election which is consistent with the North Carolina’s 62.4% participation rate. The state’s highest participation rate was 69.3% (Durham County).

§      For the past two years, the majority of officials elected to public office in Forsyth County have been male and Caucasian. A decrease in female officials elected to office was noted in this time period. [Note: To be updated in November 2009.]

Volunteerism

§      Winston-Salem’s average of 29.9% was above the state average of 25.3% for percentage of residents in who reported volunteering (comparisons through 2008).

§      Students from 37 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (middle and high school) provided 33,780.05 volunteer service hours via the Crosby Scholars program which accounts for an economic contribution of $687,424 to the community.

§      During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools was provided with 290,942 services hours by 13,707 volunteers which resulted in an economic contribution of $ 5,920,669.70.

§      Hands-On-Northwest North Carolina reported 492 volunteer opportunities,1,582 active volunteers and 2,130 volunteer referrals were made for 190 member organizations in the region (90% of which are based in Forsyth and 10% in other counties who also recruit Forsyth volunteers).

§      As of September 2009, Meals-On-Wheels (MOW) had1,482 volunteers; during 2008, the MOW volunteers provided an estimated 6,864 service hours per year which accounts for an economic contribution of approximately $14,000 to the community.  

§      Nationally, one in three persons identifies volunteer work through their faith-based organization. In Forsyth County there are 592 churches (denomination-specific/nondenominational) registered with the Internal Revenue Service (2009).

Neighborhood Support

§      As of September 2009, in Forsyth County there were:

§      128 neighborhood associations are registered within Forsyth County.

§      201 registered neighborhood crime watch groups in the county. 150 are registered with Winston-Salem and 51 more reported for the rest of the county.

§      661 homeowner’s associations registered with the state for Forsyth County. The majority in Winston-Salem and Kernersville.

Environmental Stewardship

§      Since 2004, almost every day in Forsyth County has been rated as healthy according to the Air Quality Index.

§      In 1999, there were 17 unhealthy days in Forsyth County.

§      Air quality for benchmark communities have consistently been rated as healthy.

§      The quality of the water samples regulated at the City of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County treatment plant and the distribution system have been consistently within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

§      Forsyth County treats approximately 11.61 billion gallons of wastewater per year within 1,675 miles of sewer lines and 53 pumping stations. 

§      There were 117 SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) events in Forsyth County for the FY 2008–2009 which suggests that there have been minor-moderate problems with this type of pollution.

§      The leading causes of SSO events in Forsyth County were grease (47.9%), roots (23.9%) and debris (18.8%). Vandalism accounted for 3 (2.6%) of these overflow events. 

§    In 1992, approximately 54% of Forsyth County was covered by forest; by 2001, this value was approximately 40%.

§    Deciduous forest (trees that lose leaves) composed 32.35% of the forests in Forsyth County, followed by evergreen forest (6.8%) and mixed forest (.97%) in 2001.

§    The amount of developed space increased by 52.4% from 1992 to 2001.