The population of Olds grew slightly this past year, according to final numbers found in a census the Town of Olds carried out earlier this year.According to Debbie Godfrey, the town's legislative clerk, Olds counted 8,617 people as of April 9 this year.She said that number was sent to Alberta Municipal Affairs on June 23 in a “determination of population affidavit.”The population total was based on 4,460 addresses that were contacted, said Garth Lucas, the town's director of corporate services.He said 13 addresses were not contacted, meaning that the occupants declined to respond either online or in person.Enumerators talked to neighbours, allowing the town to estimate the number of people living in those addresses, he continued.Last year, the town's population as tallied in the Town of Olds' census was 8,511.In 2011, the population was 8,235.The Town of Olds started conducting its own census after the federal government discontinued the mandatory long-form census for 2011.This year's survey also included questions about residents' satisfaction with community services.Godfrey said favourable answers – either “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” – were combined into one number.“What we've done is we've broken out our stats with respect to ‘very satisfied' and ‘somewhat satisfied' in one category and then we just calculate the percentage of those that responded,” she said.Lucas said results from the community service questionnaire are based on 3,563 homes that responded.Eighty-six per cent said they were satisfied with “the overall level and quality of services provided by the Town of Olds.”Ninety-two per cent said they were satisfied with recreation and cultural programs.Eighty-nine per cent said they were satisfied with communication provided by the town.Seventy per cent said they were satisfied with land use and community planning by the [email protected]
