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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-07-30-VISION2025-min Town of Lexington Vision for Lexington Committee Meeting July 30,2021 Remote Meeting 7:45 a.m.—9:00 a.m. Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Dan Krupka, Margaret Coppe,Joe Pato, Bhumip Khasnabish, Samita Mandelia,Weidong Wang,Alan Wrigley, Rina Kodendera, Daniel Joyner and Andrew Dixon Members Absent: Robert Peters, Mark Manasas, Kathleen Lenihan and Peter Lee Guests:Jyotsna Kakullavarapu and Marian Cohen Professional Staff Present: Katharine Labrecque, Management Analyst The meeting was called to order: 7:48am The Remote Meeting Opening Script was read by the chair, Fernando Quezada. Minutes: • Minutes from the June 25, 2021 meeting were not approved at this meeting due to substantial changes. Handouts/Documents Shared on Zoom Screen: Action Items Summary: • Katharine will make the suggested edits to the June 25th minutes and circulate to the committee for review prior to the August meeting. • Katharine will send Weidong and Samita a contact list she has for Lexington community and cultural groups. • Andrew will send out a draft project scope for the new logo to this group for feedback before as we solicit designs. • Joe will send his comments on the draft annual report to Katharine, Margaret and Fernando. Meeting Highlights: Review of the Town-wide Survey Preparations Marian provided an update on the town-wide survey preparations. Marian commented that a lot of the survey topics will remain the same. Some questions were removed and some added based on current events or issues. Marian noted that the working group is currently meeting about once or twice a week now to finish up the questions before the end of August. She also explained that Weidong Wang is helping with Chinese language translations and the group is looking for additional help with to translate the survey into other languages.Joe added that we are little concerned about the length of the survey as we added new sections and questions. Fernando asked what makes the number of responses representative of the total population. Marian commented that the 2017 survey was represented of the 1 population based on census data. In terms of getting more people to participate, Marian noted that the working group intends to put a flyer in the census mailing in January of 2022, advertise on the town's social media accounts, and reach out to various groups in town. Bhumip asked if Marian planned to create both a short and long version of the survey for those who don't want to invest the time in completing the entire survey. Marian responded that the disadvantage of a short version that it would be really hard to determine what to cut out, among other things.Jyotsna asked about questions related to the seniors using information we received from the Age Friendly Report. Marian noted that we did receive feedback from the Council on Aging and incorporated it into the survey, unless something new came up. Marian asked that if there are new questions that they be sent to her as soon as possible. Rina asked if someone skips a question if that survey is counted. Marian confirmed it is counted and that they analyze all the responses they get. Margaret asked if Marian might want to talk to our new Chief Equity Officer about DEI initiatives. Marian responded that the group did received some feedback from Martha the new Chief Equity Officer. Marian noted that her questions were unfortunately rather long and convoluted but the group was able to capture the main points. Marian noted separately that they will be adding a progress bar so respondents can see how close they are to completing the survey. Plans for Verification of Contact Information for Local Community Groups Fernando asked Samita and Weidong for an update. Weidong commented that he and Samita exchanged emails but have not followed up yet. Weidong said next month they will most likely have something to review before we start engaging the groups. Samita asked if she and Weidong could get an updated contact list. Katharine mentioned that she may have a copy of that list and can send it to them. Consideration of Local Voter Participation as a Scoping Group Topic Margaret spoke on this topic. Margaret commented that one concern that she shares with some community members is low voter turnout. Margaret continued that last year, she and others started a pilot program of reaching out and calling people to remind them an election was coming up. Margaret added there is no real advertisement on the town website or throughout town. Margaret noted that the Town of Concord put sandwich boards out as an example of possible outreach. Another issues Margaret noted related to this topic was that elections are on a Monday,which isn't ideal for most people.There was consensus to take up this topic as a scoping group. Fernando asked for more people interested in the scoping group. Dan Joyner volunteered to serve on this group. Samita commented that emails also help to understand the process, especially those who are new to Lexington. Update on New Committee Logo Andrew provided an update on the logo progress. Andrew commented that he reached out to LHS and Minuteman Tech, but we probably won't hear back from them until late August when school resumes. In addition,Andrew commented that he also reached out to some former colleagues for graphic design help. Andrew will send out a draft project scope to this group for context as we solicit designs. Rina commented that we should try to get this logo completed to be included in the survey when it becomes available. Draft Annual Town Report Submission Fernando asked for feedback on the draft annual report that Katharine distributed.Joe commented that we should remove the bullet points noting that we have meetings and add points about the virtual forum we held, and some of the issues we plan to focus on in the future.Joe will send his comments to Katharine, Margaret and Fernando. Fernando asked Katharine if she has a picture from a previous 2 meeting of everyone that was well attended on Zoom. Katharine responded that she didn't, but we can try for the next meeting. Weidong asked about the newly appointed members and their inclusion in the report. Fernando noted that he will make sure to confirm the appointment dates. Margaret commented that Bob Peters should be listed as Robert Peters for the report and if Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti should be included as well. Margaret also asked that the Enhancing Communication in Lexington subcommittee should also be added to the report as well. Additional Topics of Discussions Dan Krupka announced that he will be resigning from the committee and will only be able to attend the last two meetings. Dan asked Weidong to take over collecting data from the Asian population in town. Everyone thanked Dan for his work and noted he will be missed. Next Meeting Date • 7:45am,August 27, 2021 • 7:45am, September 25, 2021 • 7:45am, October 29, 2021 Meeting ended at 8:58 a.m. Minutes submitted by Management Analyst, Katharine Labrecque 3