University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative Extension

Sustainable Community Development

Eau Claire County Indicators, 1996

The following indicators of community sustainability were collected from the Issue Team's Indicator pre-test, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, by the "Promoting Agriculture and Business Competitiveness and a Sustainable Environment" Issue Team.

Dana R. Fisher, David S. Liebl, lead authors; Mahlon Peterson, data compilation

I. Economic and Individuals

A. Population

Age distribution and diversity in county

Is the population changing?

• Eau Claire County has a population of 87,737 - 58,702 in City of Eau Claire
• Annual growth rate of 3.3%; 74.5% urban, 25.5% rural: 3.1% on farm, 27.3% off farm

Trends in aging population

• 1990: 0-19 years - 30%; 20-39 years - 35%; 40-59 years - 19%; 60+ years - 16%
• 1990: Median Age - 30.3; 47.7% male; 52.3% female (1993)

Population Flux

People coming and going from county (Distribution diversity / population diversity)

• 96.5% White; .3% Black; .5% American Indian; 2.5% Asian and Pacific Islands; .2% Other
• 1985 vs 1990: Same House - 50%; Different House-23.6%; Moved-WI- 15.8%; Moved from: NE-.2%; MW-6.2%; S-1.2%; W-1.6%; Abroad-1.4%

% Adult population in county who went through the county's school system

• 70 - 80% -- estimate

% Wages paid in community also spent in community

• 93% live in MSA/PMSA

Wages leaving county

• Eau Claire is in two counties

Number of people who work, shop, and live in community (Eau Claire)

• Work: 71,900; Shop: 300,000; Live: 58.702

% Residents' purchases made locally (Sales to community)

• 85%+

Crime rate / population (1993)

• Violent offenses - 101; Property Offenses - 3,687; 3,788; rated # 2 of safe communities in US - 1993

Civil rights complaints in workplace

• Not available

Employment discrimination complaints

• Not available

Unemployment Rate 1970 vs 1995

• 1970 - 3.1%; 1995 - 3.8%

Real Unemployment (people out of work / % unemployment)

Size of non-working force (Is not the size of the non-working population)

• 33.3% - Non-working population (includes youth, seniors, etc.); This is not the unemployment rate of the work force

Unemployment rate by diversity (ethnic and gender)

• Estimate only -- 1990 - Census; Women: 52.1% of population - 3.6% Unemployment rate
• Minority - 5% of population - 12.1% unemployment rate; Minority Women - 11.6% unemployment rate

B. Individual Wealth

Per Capita gross county GP vs state average

• PCP1 - E.C. Co. - 18,288; E.C. MSA - 17,995; State - 20,884
• 1/1/95 Median Household Income: $32,876

Range of Income by diversity (ethnic and gender)

Growth potential in county

• 1990 Census: Poverty/ No Poverty; White 13.5/82.9; Black .3/.1; Indian .2 /.3; Asian 2.0/.7; Other .1/.1

Income distribution by diversity (ethnic and gender)

Spread of income in county

• Income by Race 1989: < $5000 - 94% White; 17% Black; .2% Amer.Indian; 5.1% Asian
• $100,000+ - 98.4% White; 1.6% Black

% population with income >125% poverty level

Distribution of income

• 78.8% - 1989; 125% to 149% - 3.9%; 150% to 199% - 9.6%; > 200% - 65.3%

% firms with ration tow salaried/low

Distribution of income

• N/A

Distribution of personal income (% savings)

Are people in the county are making enough money to save and how they are spending their money?

• N/A

Median per capita income

Distribution of income in the county

• 18,288 - 1994

C. Firms in the County

% Firms with employee participation in decisions

• Cannot be found

Companies with profit sharing as a basis for salary

• Cannot be found

Rate and type of job growth vs county population

Pressures on job market, index of job placement relative to county

• Low unemployment rate

Changes in manufacturing employment-sectors moving preferentially in the county

Change in economy of county

• Less manufacturing - more service

Total Extractive Manufacturing $/year vs Non-Extractive Manufacturing $/year

Sustainability of manufacturing in county

• High;Based on # of businesses still in business

Re-employment of displaced workers in community

Support for unemployed

• High

Zoning board meets regularly

Level of regulation of growth in county

• Yes

Zoning for subdivision of county

Is level of subdivision sustainable?

• Yes

D. Energy

Energy use / capita BTUs * population

• 1995 - 295 btu/capita

Energy use of industry/capita

• Wis - 1,431,700,000,000; 19th lowest in U.S.; 325.7 Million BTU's - U.S.Average; 290.4 Million BTU's - WI

Energy Expenditure as % of Gross State Product

• $194.7 Million

% Businesses with Access to natural gas

• 32%

Commercial Energy consumption per year

• 72.2 million gals. Petroleum; 337.6 million Natural Gas; 2.1 million Coal; 1,046.7 million Electric

Electricity and natural gas use / person / year

• 6866 therms - Natural Gas; 59000 KWH - Electricity

Gasoline consumption / capita

• 607 gallons/car/year; 2,398,351 cars

Home heating fuel source

• 31% Natural Gas; 21.3% Electric; 32% Fuel Oil; 8.7% LP

Energy Conservation Programs

• All suppliers - NSP and Eau Claire; Electric

% State electricity from renewable sources

• 18.9%: 64.1% Coal; 3.9% Hydro; 13.7% Nuclear; 17.4% Turbine; .9% Reciprocating

% Energy used from renewable sources

• 66.9% - 1995

% Reduction in Energy Use (non-mobile sources)

• 3.9% ?

Electricity consumption from renewables

• 5% ?

Renewable and nonrenewable energy use

• 45.3% Petroleum; 18.1% Natural Gas; 1.1% Coal; 35.5% Electricity

E. Health

% Population with Access to primary health care by diversity

Access to initial person who could identify problems

• 3,000/85,000

# Hospitals doing epidemiological studies

• 2

# People suffering/being treated for asthma / capita

• N/A

Health Department ability to do epidemiological studies

• Yes

# County based epidemiological studies

• 1996 - 10

Indoor smoking laws

• Follow State Rules

Mortality rate by neighborhood

• Not Tracked

% Population living in industrial areas by diversity

• < 1%

F. Housing

# of homeless people / population of county

• Estimate: 15 families at once; Western Dairyland

# People using homeless shelters

• Housed = 53 families (166); Turned Away = 300 families; Western Dairyland

# Homeless shelters in county

• 3 (Families stay 1 month)

Housing available in town center

Housing potential

• No Statistics

Waiting time for subsidized housing

• Income eligible - within 30 days

Yearly % increase in number of dwelling units

• No Statistics

% Housing set aside for low/moderate income

• No Statistics

Distribution of affordable housing throughout county

• Deconcentrated

Number of rehabilitated affordable housing units

• 1996

% of Dwellings in need of major repair

• 6 in County (Rental); 46 Owner-occupied

% Population affording median home sale price

Affordability of housing in county

• No Statistics

Median rent as % of per capita income

Affordability of renting in county

• 29.6% - More than 35% of income; 645 pay less than 25%; 275 pay less than 20-24%; 187 pay 25-29%; 163 pay 30-34%

% Population affording median rental units

• 1990 - $235.00 without city; 29.6% of income

Occupancy of housing units

• 68% are owner-occupied; 32% are renter-occupied; 20,866 - Family Household - 66.4%; 10,541 - Non-Family Household - 33.6%

Home ownership rate

• 55.5%

# Retirees who own own homes/working people who own own homes

Age distribution and levels of wealth by age group

• No Statistics

Rate of development in county

Is developing rate outstripping the county's ability to cope?

• 62.3% of homes built 1958 or later

Mechanism in county to deal with these issues?

• Yes

II. Business

A. Business Size and Diversity

# Different types of businesses and/or industries

Diversity of businesses, breadth of economic base.

• SIC 52: 4.3%; SIC 55: 3.1%; SIC 53: 2.6%; SIC 55: 9.5%; SIC 54: 7.6%; SIC 56: 12.4%; SIC 57: 9.5%; SIC 59: 18.1%; SIC 58: 30.5% (retail); SIC 59: 2.3%

Employment by the top 5 employers (% of population)

Does the county has a diversity of business options or is driven by one industry.

• CVTC; City of E.C.; E.C.County; E.C.; Schools; UW-EC; Luther/Mayo/Midelfort Clinic; Hutchinson Indus.; Pope & Talbot

# Small business Development Centers

• 1 - Incubation Center

# of employers in different size categories by # employees

Diversity of type and size of businesses

• 500-999 = 2; 100-249 = 11; 250-499 = 2; 50-99 = 13

Ethnic/gender diversity in business community 1970 vs 1995

Development of diverse local businesses

• More female. Some increase in minority.

Employer payroll dedicated to training/education

How sustainable is the economic structure in the county? If money goes to training/education, then people who lose their jobs are prepared to go to other jobs.

• Very strong

Net job growth and types of jobs

• 1993-94 -- +41% increase in manufacturing; 1995-96 - civilian labor force grew 5%

B. Business Growth

Number of business permits issued per year

Is neg/pos growth in the county in balance with ability to cope?

• 161 $48,729,849 (1994)

% Development occurring in county

• Not Available

Price of building permits

• Zoned area - $75 land use fee; $.25/sq.ft. plus $25 UDC sticker fee plus; $50 erosion control fee

Office Vacancy Rate

Amount of space available for growth.

• Low - large shortage

Value of residential and business properties/GSP

Property value with relation to state income.

• Values keep going up - wage income up

Value of business loans in low income area / Number

Average size of loans given in low income areas

• Hard to measure

# people employed in locally owned business

Strength of local jobs

• 84% within 30 minutes of jobs; 66,100 jobs in EC MSA; Hard to measure

Dollars spent in locally-owned businesses /capita in county

Amount of local money staying in the county

• 100%+

% Products/Services local businesses buy from local business

• 80% commercially, 50% manufacturing

# Clients of Small Business Development Center / all business

• 100-150 among all agencies

Small Business Startups per 1000 population

• 60/year

Square Feet of building space reused vs new construction

• Presto - 300,000 sq. ft.; Banbury Place - 1,900,000 sq. ft.; (72% utilized); New - 250,000sq. ft.

C. Strength of Businesses

Real Cost of living

• $29,325

Effective buying income per capita (cost of living/income)

• ACCRA Cost of Living Index; Composite = 98.8; Grocery - 100.5; Housing - 103.4; Utilities - 98.9 Health - 107.4; Transportation - 94.8; Misc. - 93.5

Hours employment at average wage to support basic needs (to support cost of living)

• $7.70/hour

% Public $ for infrastructure maintenance and/new investments

• $2 million +

Property Tax base in county

• $2,630,886,700

Retail sales per capita

• $1,060,985,000 - 1995 Estimate; 88,668 pop. = $11,985 per capita

Average Savings per Household

Level of sustenance

• Not available

III. Agriculture and Natural Resources

A. Agriculture

# Farms and acres of Farm Land

• 1020 - 208,000 acres

# Farms / # Cows

• 410 - 18,000 cows

# People / # Cows

• 87,737 - 18,000

% major crops

• 54% major cropland

Gallons milk produced 1970 vs 1995

• 257,400,000# - 1995; 206,800,000# - 1970

Acres of active agricultural land

• 1995 - 111,100 Crop Acres; 1970 - 103,600 Crop Acres

Per Capita ratio Agricultural land / total land 1970 and 1995

• 1970 - 72,000 - 1.55 a/p; 1995 - 87,000 - 1.24 a/p

1970 Agriculture Land Still Used for Agriculture vs 1990

• 1979 - 236,500 Acres; 1991 - 221,000 Acres

% County acreage of land used for streets

• N/A

Acres in conservation tillage

• 38,885

Soil Loss

• Average less than 5 tons per acre

Soil Erosion Rates / acre of cropland

• 5 tons per acre

Priority watershed programs

• One closed - Bears Grass; Current - Lowes Creek

B. Forests

Acres of active forests

• 52,040 Acres County-Owned Forests; 156,000 Total Forest Acres

Timber forest volume 1970 vs 1995

• Equal

Forest Industry conversion efficiency

• N/A

1970 Forest Land Still Used for Forest vs 1990

• 1973 - 156,760 Acres; 1983 - 156,300 Acres - 37% of County; 35,700 A Saw timber, 28,300 A Sapling; 90,400 A Pole timber; Saw timber: volume - 376,705 growth - 12,521

Acreage Fire damage 1970 vs 1995

• 1983 - 64 fires, 573 acres; 1995 - 38 fires, 104 acres

Woodlot Management Programs

• Managed Forest Cost Share; Forest Crop Co.Forestry Dept.; Woodland Tax; 52,000 acres in County forest land; 20,000 acres in Managed forest land

C. Pest management

Pesticide Use Regulations/Policy

• State regulated in WI

Consumption of Pesticides / acre

• 1991 WDATCP West Cent. Dist. Data -- Active ingredients per Acre: Atrazine top product in 1990. Much lower since.
• Corn - 566,100 Acres or 95%; Soybeans - 95,300 Acres or 93%; Oats - 165,200 Acres or 10%

Integrated Pest Management Training and Programs

• UW Extension; WDATCP; VTAE

Acreage Insect damage 1970 vs 1995

• Lower

Agricultural Chemical Collection Sites

• 1 Container Disposal Site; Every other year - Ag Clean Sweep

IV. Tourism

A. Economics

Income from tourism / capita in county

• $113,000,000 - 1995

Number of Requests for Visitor Information-change in the rate of requests

Growth of tourism, seasonality of tourism

• 10,643 - Growth yearly

B. Size of Sector

% Population employed by recreation and travel industry full time

• 3,500 Jobs, FTE

% Population employed by recreation and travel industry seasonally

• Summer - 35% Fall - 30% Winter - 20% Spring - 15%

Annual pay Full Time travel/recreation workers

Levels of tourism industry vs other industries in the county

• $18,500 - State Average; SWAG

Annual visitors to county

• 452,000

V. Education

A. Preliminary Education (K-12)

Average Age of schools in county

Upkeep of educational facilities

• Average is 40 years + but all have been remodelled or added on to in last 10 years (13 in last 5 years plus 4 new bldgs.)

Average class room space / child

• 2,117,762 sq. ft. total space; 184 sq. ft./child

Per capita county public K-12 expenditures vs state

• State Average - hard to know what is available

Operating expenditure per student

• Actual - 1995; $78,150,742 &cedil; 11500 = $6796

Diversity of teaching staff -including post-secondary schools

• Not asked in hiring - hard to know

Average Years of school completed by diversity

• Educational Attainment-over 25 yrs./age: < 9th - 8.7%; H.S. Dip. - 35.5%; 9-12 - 8.6% Some College - 17.4%; Associate Degree - 8.9%; Bachelor's Degree- 13.4%; Graduate Degree - 7.6%

School enrollment, primary and secondary

• Primary - 1,656; Elem./High School - 13,882; College - 12,086

Tuition net cost as a percent of disposable income

• $6,687

% graduates from secondary schools with course work in non-English language

• 1996 Seniors: 749; 242 with foreign language course work

Average teacher salary

• $57,172 including 35% fringes; $43,296 without fringes

Student / teacher ratio

• 22:1 - Eau Claire Schools

School dropout rate by diversity

• 42 Total: 34 Regular Ed.; 2 LD; 5 ED; 1 CD; 1 Other

% Dropouts who find local employment

• Unknown

# Full time high school age people in work force

• 2,526

% Students earning GED equivalents

• N/A

Prerequisite Life Sciences Class in Primary Education

• Yes

# Environmental Education and Nature Classes in the schools

• All school systems in a given grade level -- all must have the curriculum

# Nature groups/Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts in county

• Boy Scouts - 15 Troopsl; Girl Scouts - 86 Troops

B. Post-Secondary Education

% students going on to pursue post secondary education

• 60% - 4 year; 13-14% - Vo Tech

Technical training for non-college-bound students

• Ag; Business; Family/Consumer Educ.; Marketing Educ; Technology Educ.

Enrollment in higher education in county

• 11,500 Students in Eau Claire Schools; 3,500 Full Time at CVTC; 20,300 Full Time at UW-EC

Investment in county for higher education / capita

• N/A

C. Adult Education

# Adult Environmental Education Classes

• 30

Adult literacy rate

• 1990 - Age 25 & over who have not graduated: 22%; 1980 was 33%.

% Adult population involved in continued learning

• 30,000 out of 260,000 in 11 county area

% persons being retrained

• 60-70% of CVTC enrollment

Logger education Programs

• On "as needed" basis. Program last fall; On BMP's for water quality.

Environmental justice awareness programs

• N/A

# Residents in job training programs

• 30,000 people. Some JPTA still ongoing.

# Residents in vocational programs

• 30,000

# 4-H and FFA Groups

• 5 - FFA Chapters; 26 - 4-H Clubs

Employers engaged in youth apprenticeship programs

• 8

# Community volunteer programs to support schools

• 40+

Rate of people who volunteer / capita

• N/A

D. Cultural Education

Geographic, historical, or cultural sites in city

• 36 historical properties in 3 historic districts

Population participation in cultural exchanges

• Last exchange was with Zelikly Ustgup Russia - 1983-86\

# Publicly sponsored art programs / year

• 100's - Chippewa Valley Museum, UW-EC, Chippewa Valley Tech. College, 4 art galleries

# art shows and performances in public parks

• 100's

# Public nature programs / year

• 50-60 offsite (r) Earth Talks (BCR) (5000); 1174 Nature Center programs (14,000)

VI. Environment

A. Air

Air Particulate matter in exceedence

• -0-

Good air quality days / year

• 36

Ozone unhealthy days / year

• -0-

CO2 emissions as % of 1990 emissions

• Same or less than 1990

B. Land and Biodiversity

Individual habitat restoration programs

• 4 per year

# exotic species identified in county

• 1 - Karner Blue Butterfly

% Native fish/wildlife endangered

• -0-

% Native plant species endangered

• -0-

% Population perceive pollution a priority

• 10% (SWAG)

% metro area that is open space

• 1038.6 acres in City of Eau Claire; 264 acres in rest of towns; 627 acres in golf courses; 6 acres in public beaches; 360 acres - Beaver Creek Reserve; 2,200 acres - County Parks

Residences per acre in county 1970 vs 1995

• Persons per square mile: 1980 - 1990; Bridge Creek 11.5/13.7;Brunswick 37.0/39.3; Clear Creek 21.9 19.0; Drammen 19.9/21.1; Fairchild 8.0/9.1; Lincoln 16.9/16.7; Ludington 20.6/19.3; Otter Creek 13.6/12.6; Pleasant Valley 34.8/37.9; Seymour 81.6/83.5; Union 82.8 85.8; Washington 102.3/116.2; Wilson 9.7/9.9

Suburban residences per acre in county

• 87% of population in Eau Claire, Altoona, Union,Washington and Seymour; 296 new homes in townships from 1989 to present

Distribution of Acres of land per capita for different land uses

• 266 campground sites

Average community distance to shops

• 10 miles throughout county

% county population with 5 minute commute of shopping center

• 80+%

% development occurring within urban area

• 90% (estimate)

Highway litter bags collected per mile

• 3 bags/mile/pickup -- 9/year total

Miles of adopted highway

• 45 groups - 90 miles

# Acres multipurpose land available for recreation

• 156,000 acres

# Acres Wilderness/ Public Land

• 156,000 acres of forest

Acres parks and protected land / population

• 417 acres - City of Eau Claire; 6 County parks; 360 acres - Beaver Creek Reserve; 5,600 acres of lakes

Recreational trail miles

• 31 miles - Ski trails; 121 miles - Snowmobile trails; 15.6 miles - Hiking trails; 51.5 miles - Bicycle trails

Public park acreage per 1000 population

• 2 - 27 acres/1000

# Acres Wetlands preserved 1970 vs 1995

• ? - figure is up

Fish species with consumption restricted

• -0-

C. Water

Drinking water quality

• High quality

Number of citizens / population with water not meeting heath standards

• 7% unsafe for nitrates

% Drinking water supplies lost

• -0-; 77.7% on public or private systems; 20.8 on drilled wells; 1-2% on dry wells

High risk population for fish consumption

• Hmong - fish advisories yearly

Monitored wells showing ground water contamination

• 20 (two major sites)

% Wells with pesticide residues

• 27/141 w/detects; 5/141 w/above standard

# beach closings / year

• 1 or 2

Fishable/Swimmable river miles / lake acres

• 5,600 acres; 54.5 river miles for canoeing

Gallons of water used daily / capita

• 60 gallons

D. Management of Societal Wastes

Septic Tanks / capita

• 7,210 Septic Tanks - 1990

# underground storage tanks cleaned up and closed

• N/A

Toxic Chemicals released / transferred

• 1994 - 3

Miles of rivers and streams not meeting water standards

• -0-

Underground Fuel Tanks

• 1990 - 2,181 tanks - 7,253,935 gal.

Integrated Solid Waste Management Programs

• Not Applicable

Composting Sites

• 1 Demo Site; 1 Commercial Site (Bush Bros.)

Tons solid waste / capita

• 50,000 tons

Recycled materials amount / capita

• 6,000 T/year (no commercial) single family

Tons Waste landfilled vs amount and variety recycled

• N/A

Recovery rate of recycled materials

• 25% - 30%

Municipal Recycling Program

• Yes - curbside pickup - county guidelines

Commercial Recycling Program

• Yes - not regulated by County

% businesses that purchase together for recycling and waste disposal

• 10% (estimate)

Utilization of Sewage Sludge

• Most is land spread and incorporated by City of Eau Claire; 1,835 Acres - City of Eau Claire; 1,419 Acres - Pope & Talbot; 450 Acres

Agriculture/Household Hazardous Waste Clean Sweeps

• 3 Ag Clean Sweeps;Yearly household

Identified hazardous waste sites cleaned or being cleaned

• 3

Household hazardous waste collection programs

• Ongoing - year round

# Superfund sites in county

• 1

E. Citizen Involvement

# Nature and environmental Groups- student and adult

• 15 - estimate

# Snowmobile groups

• 7

# Hunting Groups

• 3; Data Base at LL Phillips

# Fishing Groups

• 6; Data Base at LL Phillips

Number of community gardens in county

• 100+

F. Transportation

% Population within 50 miles of daily air passenger service

• 100%

# Weekday commercial flights in and out of regional airport

• 9 per day to Minneapolis/St. Paul

% Street miles designated bike route miles

• 37.5 miles

Carpooling rate

• 1990 - 24% carpool

# Businesses cooperating with Park/Ride program

• 1 lot for Twin Cities

Public expenditure on public transit

• $1.8 million

# Communities served by public transportation

• Two with city buses with 14 routes; Private taxi's in Fall Creek

% Commuters using public transportation

• 2-3%

VII. Government

A. Citizen Involvement

Multilingual Access

• Hmong and English

Diversity of city council members

• 1 Hmong Male; 3 White Females; Rest are white males

Diversity of county government members

• 4 Women; 25 Men

Voter Registration Rate

• 40,700 - 1996 -- Out of 45,700 eligible; No registration in townships. City only.

Voter education

• Ongoing - League of Women Voters; Service organ. @ UWEC; County parties

Voting rate of registered votes by age distribution and diversity

• President -- 70% - 90%; Non-President -- 2%; County Elections -- 2% - 40%; Non-Partisan -- 6% - ? - 60%

Citizen meeting with officials

• All City - 400+; County - 150+; 50,000 people

Community representation on governing boards

• City -- 150-200

# Community Associations

• 276

# Citizen Groups

• N/A

# Local Chapters of states and national organizations

• 80+ estimate from phone book

# open meetings / capita

• City -- 400-500; County -- 200+

# announcements on local issues / capita

• 1,000's

City human services expenditures / capita

• $21,000,000/87000=$241.38/capita

Campaign contributions from small contributors

• Don't know where to obtain

B. Other

Total sales tax revenue

• 0 - County Sales tax

Goals and measures for local budgets

• In Place

Average Fire / EMS call response time

• 4.3 minutes

Library and community center usage rates / capita by age distribution and diversity

• 10.2 items/capita or 914,748 total circulation

# Libraries on-line

• 3 -- Eau Claire, Altoona, Augusta

Land Use Plan

• Comprehensive land use plan is being revised now along with subdivision plan