HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-20-2020-min
Town of Lexington
Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee
Minutes of Meeting of November 20, 2015
Parker Room, Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue
Members Present:
Fernando Quezada, Peter Lee, Dan Krupka, Carroll Ann Bottino,Joe Pato, Alan
Wrigley
Visitors:
Marian Cohen, Elaine Ashton, Inku Subedi
Staff:
Candy McLaughlin
Members Absent:
Margaret Coppe, Peter Enrich, Andrew Dixon, Bhumip Khasnabish, Ginna Johnson
Action Items:
None for the Committee as a whole; small groups will move forward with specific focus areas.
The meeting was called to order at 7:50 a.m. and acted on the following items:
Approved minutes
from the October 30 meeting.
Heard update on Subcommittee on Asian Communities.
Dan reported that they have narrowed the communities for research down to eight – 5 in California and 3
in New Jersey. The Asian population has grown rapidly over the last 20 years in these communities, and
is currently 40% or more of the total. The group is developing survey questions and running them by
Lexington community leaders. The Town will provide funding to Framingham State in the form of a
grant, and Marian and her students will administer the survey and analyze results, which need to be
completed by May. The Subcommittee will also speak to civic leaders in these communities from local
government, the schools, and ethnic organizations. They will introduce themselves to these contacts
through a letter signed by civic leaders in Lexington, follow up with an email and then call.
Changed “proposed” to “new” 20/20 Vision focus areas –
there was agreement to move these forward.
Issues of Social Diversity:
Carroll-Ann reported that she, Peter, Andrew, Gina, Inku, and Marian
have held one meeting, and will now define the structure for their work. Inku plans to meet with
Marian to review current data and brainstorm other sources. She suggested having a central place
such as a Google drive where everyone could share data.
Future of e-government:
Candy reported that the Town plans to unveil a new website on November
30, and then will begin developing more of a social media presence. She said that she and Donna
Hooper were unavailable to attend a meeting proposed by Bhumip, but have suggested that he meet
with them to talk about possible directions for the 20/20 initiative. Fernando asked whether the
increasing use of digital communication methods is creating a technological stratification, so that not
everyone gets included. Alan said that the key is to communicate the same factual message on every
platform. Joe commented that it is important to meet people where they are and respond to multiple
styles of interaction (many people don’t attend 7:45 AM meetings!) There was a brief discussion
about how common Lexington values, such as open space and education, are perceived differently in
the community, e.g. some people want to use dirt bikes or take dogs on conservation land while
others want a quiet natural area. There are tradeoffs and the need to balance value against cost. The
same is true for communication, which takes time to manage and curate. Inku said that she heard
about the Lexington Citizens’ Academy through a Facebook post by the Mass. Chamber of
Commerce, and suggested social media are a way to reach people not reached before.
Meeting adjourned:
8:50 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted: Candy McLaughlin, Scribe
Next meeting:
Friday, December 18, 2015 at 7:45 am in the Parker Room