HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-26-VISION2025-min Town of Lexington
Vision for Lexington Committee Meeting
March 26,2021
Remote Meeting
7:45 a.m.—9:00 a.m.
Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Dan Krupka, Margaret Coppe, Mark Manasas,Joe Pato, Bhumip
Khasnabish, Kathleen Lenihan, Robert Peters and Samita Mandelia.
Members Absent: Peter Lee,Andrew Dixon, and Alan Wrigley
Guests: Candy McLaughlin, Marian Cohen,Jyotsna Kakullavarapu
Professional Staff Present: Katharine Labrecque, Management Analyst
The meeting started but was not called to order: 7:49am
The Remote Meeting Opening Script was read by the chair, Fernando Quezada.
Minutes:
• Minutes from the February 26, 2021 meeting were approved with minor edits.
Handouts/Documents Shared on Zoom Screen:
• Goals from the ECiL report
• Letter to the Select Board and School Committee
Action Items Summary:
• Fernando will add vote of the co-chair to the next agenda.
• Margaret, Dan,and Joe will meet to review the applications for membership and
recommend three acceptances to Fernando.
• Joe will talk to the Town Clerk regarding the subcommittee tasked with reviewing the
charge.
• Kat will send the letter to the school committee and Select Board.
Meeting Highlights:
Fernando welcomed Samita Mandelia,the committee's newest member and asked her to share a little
about herself. Samita has been living in Lexington for 13 years now and is currently serving as a town
meeting member. More recently she has also been appointed to the Town Celebrations committee.
Fernando asked all committee members and staff to introduce themselves.
Future committee membership, charge and structure
Fernando informed members that we received nearly fifteen applications for committee membership.
Fernando added that he is hoping to accommodate everyone who expressed interest. However,we
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have only one open seat at the moment. Fernando noted that Joe mentioned to him that we might want
to consider expanding the committee.Joe responded that the Select Board will be reviewing the
applications at their April 5t" meeting.Joe noted that he recommended that the Select Board wait a
month,giving time for this group to determine how large we want to grow.Joe commented that he
imagines adding two more seats to go up to fifteen. We will send our recommendations then to the
board, even though they are ultimately the appointing authority.Joe further added that if we are going
to increase our membership,we should use this opportunity to talk about how large,what the quorum
should be, and possibly something about how we absorb more people on task activities.The wealth of
talent in this pool would be available for that.Joe suggested to Fernando that we put together a small
group of people to go through the applications and suggest small tweak we want to make. We also want
to be thinking about continuity and succession planning.Joe commented that it has been hard for
Fernando who has been chair for 20 years. We may want to have a co-chair,which we had in previous
years. Fernando commented that he asked Margaret to serve as co-chair during this process.Joe
suggested that we put a vote on our next agenda. Margaret commented that we should follow up on
Joe's suggestion and create a group of about 3 people. Margaret, Dan, and Joe volunteered to serve on
the group to review the applications and select three to be recommended to Fernando car. Mark asked
if we have a specific set of criteria that we are looking for in committee members. Fernando responded
that it was fairly generic, but we did have a conversation at a previous meeting about what skills we are
looking for. We did specify availability. Fernando asked for consensus to maintain the current vacancy
until we create additional vacancies on the committee.There was consensus. Candy added that for a
while,the committee considered specific affiliations for membership to make sure we are considering
the whole range of folks in the town, such as clergy, business people, school representation, and cultural
groups. Fernando asked Joe if the subcommittee has to obey open meeting laws.Joe responded that it
is sort of an informal task at the moment.Joe will talk to the Town Clerk and see if we can post anyway
so people know. Mark asked that whoever has the final criteria for new members to circulate it around.
Dan said that he doesn't know if we had finalized it but he had a PowerPoint slide.
2020 Town-wide Survey Planning Update
Fernando asked Mark for an update on the working group's efforts. Mark commented that the Town
Meeting article has not been taken up yet at this time. Fernando asked Mark if he received feedback
from a broad range of stakeholders so far. Mark confirmed that they have and are now starting to
review the questions.
Measure,Track and Support Progress in Topics Studied
Enhancing Communication in Lexington
Mark displayed two slides listing the top recommendations or goals that came from the ECiL survey.
Mark noted that one of the top recommendations was to create a communication plan with Sean
Dugan,the Public Information Officer. However, it is not a current objective for the Town Manager or
the Select Board to develop one. Mark commented that he feels strongly that it should be a priority
for the Town. Mark continued that the second recommendation was to enable a method for Town
Committees to more easily be notified of attempts to contact the committee.This is coming out of
the fact that 87%of the committees did not respond to an email send out months ago. After
addressing with the IT Director,Town Manager, and Sean their answer was that they need more
training. Mark is working behinds the scenes to work with IT to have their person email address to
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forward their town business to. Right now it is not working, but they are hoping to get it straightened
out. Mark asked Joe if it is legal to go to each committee's chair who do not respond to their email,
and get their personal email address to forward committee emails to.The next recommendation
Mark reviewed was to implement actions to increase enrollment on electronic communications
platforms. Sean has been doing this by asking people to sign up for newsletters when he puts
information out. However,there is no specific campaign to increase enrollment. Mark commented
that an RFP is being prepared for that, and Mark has been stressing the importance of a search
function.The fifth goal is to create a shared communication structure for town and school
communications. Mark noted that the sixth goal is to identify and incorporate non-internet centered
communication platforms for residents who choose not to use social media or listservs,which Sean is
doing the best he can, so there is not much to do there. Mark added that one of the very few
interactions residents have with the town is when they call up to report a pothole or street light out.
Residents don't know where the recorded messages goes or if anything is going to happen. Mark
commented that if we had to pick one thing that this committee should advocate for it is a
communications plan. Dan added that what should concern us is that we really don't know what
Sean's responsibilities are; and until those are clarified,we should put this work on hold. Fernando
asked Candy for input. Candy noted that she doesn't think the issue is with staffing but a lack of
coordination. Candy continued that that committee email issue is a tough one, and she has been a
part of attempts to handle it. Fernando agreed that this a hidden problem, and we need more
vertical and horizontal coordination. Samita commented that it may be helpful to add the heading
"please read and respond," sometimes that works when you get so many emails in your inbox. Mark
commented that it was a combined invitation to the Futures Panel. Mark continued that the smaller
committees don't even know they have an email.
Subcommittee on Asian Communities
Dan spoke on this topic. In 2015, this committee had a meeting regarding the recommendations
made by the subcommittee on demographics. Dan added that recently a new body was created by
the town manager called the Citizen Advisory Council. Dan commented that he felt the best way to
move this issue forward was to write a letter to inform the Select Board and the School Committee
that we now have two diversity groups formed addressing the same issue. Dan's draft letter
highlighted that we should not lose sight of what the subcommittee recommended in light of the
growing Asian population. Mark shared the letter on the Zoom screen.Joe commented that the
Diversity Advisory Task Force has been dismantled, although not formally and without informing the
members.Joe added that he thinks this letter is appropriate because it reflects what the public's
understanding of what it is going on. Dan commented that we must not lose sight of the large Asian
population in town. Fernando said he disagrees. Fernando asked Kathleen if the task force was
helpful to the current School Superintendent. Kathleen responded no, because part of the issue was
it was set up by Carl Valente and Mary Czajkowski and then they both left.Jim and Julie inherited it.
Kathleen added that naming things is also very important. People interpret diversity in a wide variety
of ways, so the name Diversity Advisory Task Force is ambiguous. Kathleen agreed that it would be
worth reconstituting it with a different name. Mark commented that from what he sees,the focus
has been on racial equity to that exclusion of other groups in town. Dan added that this is an
important issue and no one has been working on it. Fernando asked Samita for input given her
involvement in cultural groups and one that identifies as Asian. Samita commented that she doesn't
think people are not aware of the opportunities and the ways to get involved in Town.Jyotsna
commented that she feels that the IAL community is no longer ignored and feels there is good
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representation on various community groups and town boards and committees. Dan noted that the
issue is not about representation but weaving the Asian population into the fabric of the community.
The letter is intended to start a conversation. Fernando asked Joe and Kathleen how the letter should
be sent.Joe and Kathleen agreed that it can be sent to their respective boards using email.
Next Meeting Date
• 7:45am,April 30, 2021
• 7:45am, May 28, 2021
• 7:45am,June 25, 2021
Meeting ended at 9:00 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Management Analyst, Katharine Labrecque
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