Laramie launches statistically valid parks, trails and programming survey

Laramie’s Parks, Recreation and Public Services Department, working with independent research firm ETC Institute, launched the 2026 Laramie Community Interest and Opinion Survey in mid‑February asking residents to weigh in on parks, trails, programming and facility priorities. “Dear Laramie Resident, We want to hear from you! The City of Laramie Parks, Recreation, and Public Services and ETC Institute are conducting a survey to help the city understand parks and recreation priorities for the community. Your feedback is essential in shaping the future of recreation in the City of Laramie,” reads the survey announcement.

The City and ETC describe the instrument as “the 2026 statistically valid survey.” The announcement states the survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete and that “responses will remain entirely confidential.” At the end of the questionnaire participants may opt in for a chance to win one of two (2) $250 prepaid Visa gift cards for fully completing the survey. ETC Institute’s project manager for the study is Ryan Murray, reachable at 913-254-4598 or ryan.murray@etcinstitute.com for questions.

County 5 republished the City announcement on Feb. 22, 2026; the County 5 page capture includes local metadata showing Laramie, WY at 4:42 pm, February 24, 2026 and a clear sky with 47°F temperature and 32 mph wind. Both the City announcement and County 5 instruct readers to “see more details and take the survey at this link,” but the supplied texts do not include the direct survey URL or a closing deadline for responses. The City text states only that “Once the data has been gathered and analyzed, ETC will present us with a report of findings that will be made available to the public,” without naming a publication date or venue for that report.

The survey launch arrives as the City moves to set recreation project priorities for county and grant funding. Agenda materials submitted to the Laramie City Council list “Resolution 2026-21, Designating Recreation Project Request Priorities to the Albany County Recreation Board for Funding Consideration in Fiscal Year 2027” with Michael Bork, Parks, Recreation, and Public Services Director, identified as lead staff. The same packet includes related municipal items: “Resolution 2026-22, Authorizing a Site Lease and a Facilities Sublease Agreement” (Jennifer Wade, Administrative Services Director) and “Resolution 2026-20, Supporting the Submittal of an Application to the Wyoming Department of Agriculture for a 2026 Emergency Insect Management Program Grant” (Michael Bork).

Laramie’s Downtown Development Authority is also collecting input this spring; a City Facebook post says the DDA “will be hosting public meetings in late March to gather community input for a new Downtown Development Plan,” and lists contacts at the City of Laramie Community & Economic Development Department at dteini@cityoflaramie.org or 307-721-5245. The social post captured in the announcement shows engagement metrics of “Image 2, 40 · 14 comments · 4.5K views,” indicating public interest in concurrent planning efforts.

How responses to the statistically valid survey will translate into the priorities named in Resolution 2026-21 and into Albany County Recreation Board funding requests for Fiscal Year 2027 will depend on the analysis ETC provides. For now the City has provided contact information for ETC’s project manager and a commitment that the final report will be made public once completed.