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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-07-20-2020-minTown of Lexington Lexington 2020 Vision Committee Minutes of Meeting of July 20, 2012 A meeting of the 2020 Vision Committee was held on Friday, July 20 at 7:45 a.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room in the Town Office Building at 1625 Massachusetts Avenue. A quorum of 7 was present. Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Jane Warren, Dan Krupka, Andrew Dixon, Chuck Benson, Marian Cohen, Peter Enrich Staff: Candy McLaughlin Members Absent: Peter Lee, Alan Wrigley, Bhumip Khasnabish, George Burnell, Greg Zurlo, Margaret Coppe The meeting acted on the following items: The Committee approved the minutes from June 8, 2012. Heard and discussed report from subcommittee to broaden Asian - American participation in local government: Dan said the subcommittee still needs a Korean - speaking member, and someone from the League of Women Voters. Peter Enrich and Fernando, respectively, have leads they will follow up for these recruitments. Dan reported that the subcommittee has been working on its first charge, to gather information about steps by Town departments to ensure that services are effectively delivered to residents with language barriers. The goal is to address issues raised by finding groups such as CAAL and IAL to follow up. CAAL will work with Fire Chief John Wilson to improve communication with elderly Chinese residents at Vynebrook and Greeley Villages. Police Chief Mark Corr said his department is working with the Human Rights Committee to bring in cultural awareness training for the officers. Candy reported that the Town will present training for administrative staff this fall on building a diverse organization. Secondly, the subcommittee is looking at barriers that currently limit participation in municipal affairs. They plan to interview Asian - Americans who have participated in Lexington's government to find out about their experience. Discussed revised community survey: The group discussed the latest version of the survey instrument, as revised by Peter, Andrew and Marian. They incorporated suggestions Candy had forwarded from Town staff, included multiple ways to measure the relative importance of the items, and tweaked the categories in some of the questions. Overall people thought it was a great improvement over the previous version. The group had several suggestions, and Marian asked for additional input before the next committee meeting, including from members not present this morning. Current plans are to administer the survey in the fall, primarily over the internet, but with hard copies available at the Library, Senior Center, and Town Office Building for people who do not have computers. There was considerable discussion about ways to encourage people to fill out the survey, to help them see its importance and believe it will be worthwhile. A few ideas were suggested for using the funds available in the FY2013 budget. A publicity campaign will be discussed at the August meeting. Relationship with elected boards: Fernando distributed a discussion outline of points to be covered in communicating with the 3 elected boards regarding the 2020 Vision Committee. Candy handed out copies of the Board of Selectmen's goals for FYI 3/14. Fernando will ask the Planning Board and School Committee liaisons to the Committee about their groups' goal setting processes. Meeting Adjourned: 9:00 a.m. Respectfully Submitted, Candy McLaughlin, Scribe Future meeting schedule: August 24, September 28, October 26, and November 30, 2012