Survey aims to provide improved population data

Cordova, Alaska. (Sept. 28, 2020) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

The Native Village of Eyak and Anchorage-based firm CRW Engineering Group will conduct a door-to-door population survey in Cordova July 21-23. Inaccurate population data has caused Cordova to miss out on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding, according to a release from CRW.

The project will be carried out by CRW planners Adison Spafford and Hannah Weekley, who will ask residents to fill out a brief survey. Spafford and Weekley will both be screened for the novel coronavirus prior to traveling to Cordova, and will undertake precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer while working, according to a release from CRW.

Cordova’s participation in the 2020 U.S. Census was disrupted by miscommunications that left both residents and census workers unsure who had been counted and who hadn’t. The community delivered its lowest response in at least 20 years, with less than half of households participating, according to Census Bureau estimates.

Survey organizers invited the public to direct additional questions about the project to NVE Capital Projects Director Sean O’Brien at sean.obrien@eyak-nsn.gov.

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