HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-07-2020-min
2020 Vision Implementation Committee Joint Meeting
Thursday, September 7th, 2005
Meeting Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting Room 7:45 am
Members present:
Fernando Quezada, Marian Cohen, Ann Redmon, Richard Pagett
Others:
Carl Valente, Candy McLaughlin, Tom Watkins
Minutes:
The meeting minutes from the July 22, 2005 meeting were approved.
Introduction:
Fernando opened the meeting with a brief review of the issues raised at
the Operations Subcommittee meeting of August 24, 2005. He stated the primary
purpose of that meeting was to look at the Fall agenda. There was support for a Joint
meeting with the Selectmen, School Committee, and Planning board, as well as senior
staff, to discuss three issues:
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implementation of the two task force reports
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engage support for an effort to inventory progress toward the vision and goals
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inquire where the 2020 Vision process can best support town leadership over the
next few years
It was suggested at the Operations Subcommittee Meeting by Carl that tracking the
progress of 2020 is a good way of recruiting others. Carl also had suggested goals for
2020:
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Communication (website, cable TV)
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Revitalizing website
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Recruiting newcomers
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Training Boards and Committees
Joint Board Meeting:
The objective of the Joint Board meeting would be to set a clear
vision for 2020 which will help them to move forward. Fernando stated that one of the
good outcomes of the Brookhaven meeting was that the group prioritized their goals and
established where 2020 could make a difference. Fernando believed it important to
revisit these points due to the shift in leadership within the Board of Selectmen and Town
Management. Marian stated that it would be helpful to have the board tell 2020 where
they could be most useful. Richard noted the many issues in front of the elected boards
and questioned whether a joint meeting would be necessary.
Carl mentioned seeking a middle ground to the Joint meeting. He suggested bringing in
the Chair and vice Chair of the boards/Committees to discuss their own goals for 2020.
Such a move would help maintain focus and not lose sight of 2020’s vision. Fernando
agreed that this was a good idea and state they would move forward with this
recommendation. Candy and Carl will follow up in terms of setting up a date for the
meeting. It was also noted that there should be a separate meeting involving senior staff
in order to get them involved.
Implementation of Task Force Recommendations.
Richard stated that he was pleased
with the 2 Task Force reports but admitted that he saw limitations on the number of staff
in Town and the availability of staff to take a leadership role with these issues. He then
stated that the Board of Selectmen have informally adopted the communications piece of
the reports. He also thinks the Town Manager should play a significant role as well as
other committees, such as the Communications Advisory Committee. Richard also
believed that it would be good to have a Webmaster within Town staff but noted that
there is a lack of funding for such a position.
Marina said that she would like to see the priorities of the board of Selectmen for 2020,
however 2 primary concerns should be the Town’s website and Committee and Board
training. She stated that it is frustrating that these committees put in such hard work
without anything getting implemented. She asked what objectives in the two reports
require the attention of the Selectmen, Town Manager, committees, etc. Fernando
recognized that this was something that should be done, especially due to the changing
membership of the town’s Boards and committees.
The ideas of training and civil discourse were discussed. Goals are to help maintain civil
discourse within the community as well as develop a curriculum on how to properly, and
legally, train and operate a committee and retain public records of the meeting. The
group had a brief discussion as to how to implement a Civics Course at the High School.
Committee Membership
. Fernando also had a discussion as to why some members of
the board may not be coming as well as how to recruit new members. He mentioned he
would like to possibly recruit a representative from the private sector (i.e. Banks) as well
as a member of the local Clergy.
Meeting ends:
8:45
Meeting Minutes
recorded by Tom Watkins