The residents of the Village of Empire have spoken - well, at least 305 of them have, according to the results of a community survey conducted by the Empire Village Council.

At its meeting Tuesday the public got its first look at findings from the survey, which was sent to all property owners and village residences in September. Council president Sue Carpenter said the village received back 305 surveys, which she called a good response. The survey had 29 mainly “yes or no” questions to gauge the public’s interest in a myriad of subjects that included sewer systems, Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Music festival, and park and recreation issues.

The council took no action related to the survey, since its purpose was to gather resident input on issues. The council and village Planning Commission have scheduled a joint meeting for Monday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Township Hall to go over the survey results concerning planning issues.

Perhaps the most pressing issue in the village is the Dunegrass festival. Started in 1992 as a one-day event to showcase local music acts, Dunegrass has grown exponentially since Beulah-based Grassroots Productions took over the events’s marketing and production. The 2007 edition attracted a crowd of approximately 9,700 people over four days.

Grassroots Production founder Stephen Volas said Tuesday while the festival has proven to be very popular with village residents, he understands some of the complaints village officials have received as to the size and scope of the event. To that end, Volas announced he and the Grassroots staff are working with Empire Township officials to see if the festival can be located somewhere outside of the village. He said, however, that Grassroots doesn’t want Dunegrass to get too far away from the village.

The Empire survey asked four questions related to Dunegrass. The first was “Do you support the continuation of the festival at the current location?” The response: 191 said yes, and 92 said no.

“I was very surprised at the outcome of this question. I know a lot of people enjoy Dunegrass, but a lot of what we heard afterward this year was so negative,” Carpenter said after the meeting.

There were three other Dunegrass questions asked, including:

• ”Were you inconvenienced, disturbed or unhappy with the event in 2007?” Sixty-seven said yes, and 216 said no.

• “If the festival is allowed in 2008, should camping also continue to be allowed?” One hundred seventy-six said yes, and 101 said no.

• “Did you attend the festival?” One hundred and two said yes, and 186 said no.

The festival was held in a field adjacent to St. Philip Neri Catholic Church on the village’s north end, which also has many nearby residences. Eric and Ann Arnold, who rent a home that is located next to the field, have stated they will file a civil suit against the village in 2008 if the council approves issuing a special land use for the event in its current format.

Eight of the survey questions dealt with the need or interest in a village sewer system.

Earlier this year a group of residents and business owners attempted to secure a state grant to fund the building of a wastewater treatment facility that would service the Front Street area of the village. That attempt failed, but spurred interest about the need for a system.

Survey responders expressed an interest by a slim margin, 144-133, to using village tax dollars fund a needs study concerning a village-wide sewer system. Responders did not support having some property in the village being rezoned and used for sewer system, and for the most part seemed satisfied with their existing septic tank systems.

Survey respondents were also asked if they had replaced their septic system in the last 10 years, and 215 said no while 52 said they had.

Carpenter said she was also pleased with the response to the part-time county Sheriff’s deputy patrol the village received over the summer. Most survey responders supported the village contracting for the part-time patrol again in 2008. But, they didn’t support hiring a full-time summer deputy.

A possible change in how the village clerk position is determined may be coming in the near future. A change in state law allows village councils to appoint the position of clerk. In Empire it is an elected position, as it is in the Village of Northport. Earlier this year the Village of Suttons Bay changed the clerk’s job to an appointed position.

The council included a question about placing this issue on an election ballot for consideration. Of the 276 responders to this question, 206 supported at least asking the question. Clerk Patricia Zoyhofski, who has not determined if she will seek another term as the village clerk, will do more research into the impact of changing from an elected to an appointed position.