2011-03-18-2020-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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2020 Vision Committee Minutes of March 18, 2011 as amended 7:45 a.m.-9:00 a.m. Selectmen’s Meeting Room Members present: Fernando Quezada, Barry Orenstein, Bhumip Khasnabish, Dan Krupka, Jane Warren, Marian Cohen, Richard Canale; George Burnell Staff: Carl Valente, Candy McLaughlin, Brianna Olson Action Items: Schedule additional focus groups. Meeting Began: 7:50 a.m. The minutes from February’s meeting were approved. Demographic Change: Town Manager Carl Valente reviewed the situation regarding a potential MAPC grant to follow up on the Demographic Change Task Force’s work. MAPC asked if Lexington wished to sign on to their application for a Federal Highway/EPA grant, and there were a number of discussions which resulted in a proposal written by Planning staff. MAPC included illustrative projects in their grant application, one of which is a land use analysis related to housing in Lexington. Carl and the Planning Department questioned whether this project is in line with the Town’s priorities and work plan, and whether it would yield practical results. Carl said the Town proposed several alternative ideas but MAPC couldn’t commit to any of these. At this point the Town has not signed on to the MAPC consortium. We will continue monitoring opportunities to follow up on the DCTF report, especially regarding the senior population. The Town is moving forward with GIS as a common data thread, and has hired a GIS Database Administrator. Eventually we will have GIS capability to analyze demographic data in more powerful ways. Focus Groups: Dan and Jane reported on the Interfaith Clergy focus group, the third focus group held to date. Participants liked Lexington’s sense of history, high quality education, and tolerance. Concerns included lack of a community center, low diversity of retail stores, and insufficient parking. After reviewing the preliminary list of groups to identify which could be scheduled next, Fernando said he would check in with the contact people about next steps. The Committee agreed to schedule a few more groups and then analyze results to identify common themes. Meeting Adjourned: 9:15 a.m. Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 14 at 7:45 a.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room.