HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-21-2020-min
Town of Lexington
Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee
Minutes of Meeting of August 21, 2014
20/20 Vision Committee
A meeting of the was held on Thursday, August 21, 2014 at 7:45 a.m. in the Selectmen Meeting
Room in the Town Office Building at 1625 Massachusetts Avenue.
Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Dan Krupka, Matthew Pronchik,Joe Pato
Staff: Melissa Jones
Members Absent: Andrew Dixon, Alan Wrigley, Bhumip Khasnabish, Peter Enrich,Margaret Coppe, Peter Lee,Saatvik
Ahluwalia
Others Present: Marian Cohen
Action Items:
Bring final draft of Annual Report write-up to the September meeting (Melissa)
Draft outline for study of community models of multicultural integration (Matthew)
Coordinate outreach events for survey results with the League of Women Voters, Schools, and Chamber of
Commerce (Fernando)
The meeting was called to order at 7:50 a.m. and acted on the following items:
Approve minutes from July 25, 2014:
Tabled due to lack of quorum.
2014 Annual Report Write-Up:
The group reviewed the draft write-up, which covers FY2014 (July 1, 2013-June 30,
2014). There was discussion on one of the “highlights,” as the group would like to clarify that it discussed both a student
version of the Citizens’ Academy as well as a one-session, “mini” Academy. The group suggested integrating the student
version of the Academy into the current civics curriculum at the high school. The group would like to explore the “mini”
Academy further. Joe suggested making this a one-time event that could be recorded and viewed on-demand.
Discuss next steps for study of community models of multicultural integration:
Dan said that he has specific ideas for
this study. He said that we can learn from other communities, beyond those in Massachusetts, that have undergone
significant population changes. He said that the Committee previously concluded that it needs “professional” assistance
with this study. Fernando noted that the Committee may need to seek funding for this, and that it can consider funding
sources outside of the Town budget (i.e. grant funding). The group discussed the timeline for this study; it discussed
possible working on the scope in the fall of 2014 and finalizing it in the spring of 2015. Marian asked whether the task
force on issues of diversity beyond race and ethnicity (the next item on this meeting agenda) might need to be addressed
prior to this study. She said that ethnic diversity and cultural diversity are two different things, and that if the Committee
wants to link the two, it would be a multi-step process. Dan noted that this study should produce action items, as opposed
to just “nice to know” information. The group discussed possibly framing this study as a hypothesis to be tested.
Matthew offered to put together a rough draft for an outline of this study.
Discuss possible task force to address issues of diversity beyond race and ethnicity:
The group noted that this item
may be merged with the prior agenda item. This might be a first step in a study of community models of integration, as
this information could be added to that provided in the demographic change report. The group agreed to discuss whether
a task force should be formed at a future meeting.
Finalize plan for targeted dissemination of survey results in September:
The group discussed and identified three
outlets for disseminating the community survey results: League of Women Voters First Friday; School staff; Chamber of
Commerce. Fernando will reach out to those groups to coordinate the outreach events. The group agreed that the
Committee should draft a write-up of the survey results to be used at the outreach events.
Meeting adjourned:
9:00 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted: Melissa Jones, Scribe
Next meeting:
Friday, September 26, 2014 in the Parker Room