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Home My WebLink About2021-08-27-VISION2025-min Town of Lexington Vision for Lexington Committee Meeting August 27,2021 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, Rina Kodendera, Daniel Joyner,Andrew Dixon, Robert Peters, Kathleen Lenihan and Peter Lee Members Absent: Mark Manasas and Alan Wrigley Guests: Professional Staff Present: Katharine Labrecque, Management Analyst The meeting was called to order: 7:47am The Remote Meeting Opening Script was read by the chair, Fernando Quezada. Minutes: • Minutes from the June 25 and July 30, 2021 meetings were approved at this meeting,with Robert Peters abstaining as he was not present at the July meeting. Handouts/Documents Shared on Zoom Screen: Action Items Summary: • Katharine will make the suggested updates to the annual report and submit it before the 9/24 deadline. • Andrew will reach back out to Lexington High School regarding the design for the committee's logo. • Fernando will put the topic of Lexington's increasing Asian population on the agenda for the September meeting. Meeting Highlights: Review of the Town-wide Survey Preparations Bob offered an update.The group was meeting twice a week for a few weeks to get the questions done by the deadlines in the contract, and so that it is ready for beta testing. Andrew added that it will be important to see how long the survey takes and if we need to add or remove questions. Plans for Verification of Contact Information for Local Community Groups Weidong provided an update to the committee. Weidong shared that he, Samita and Mark met about a week ago and reviewed the list of questions Joe gave them. Weidong continued that they discussed different opinions and options, but they ultimately came up with a draft of what they think the system 1 should be. Ideally they want something where community groups would be able to register themselves and update their contact information if needed. Weidong said that this would also be a place where you can get other groups contact information from.The committee or a few select people would be the manager or owner of the system. Weidong added that Mark suggested we look at purchasing an actual system but in the meantime use Google Docs to collect information. Bhumip asked if we need to get permission from the Town's IT department.Joe said yes, it is partially IT and the Town Clerk's Office who we need to consult with. Weidong reiterated that we would not collect personal information,just the group or organization contact info. Fernando asked Kathleen for more information about the PTA and PTOs and how they collect and share information. Margaret asked if we had an update on the new website. Katharine was able to find out by the end of the meeting that the Town issued an RFP for the new website and has received three bids that they are currently reviewing. Consideration of Local Voter Participation as a Scoping Group Topic Margaret discussed how she imagines this scoping group coming together. Margaret noted that Rina, Dan Joyner and Marian offered to help.The group would be looking at local elections as opposed to state or national elections. In addition,they will be determining if this issue is important and if people are concerned about it. Margaret commented that you can get voter participation data for both the Town of Concord and Arlington on their websites.The group would ideally look at other Towns for comparison purposes and see if we can partner with their respective League of Women Voters,who are generally very active. Margaret noted that the state will have to figure out at some point future plans for voting by mail. Margaret continued that she imagines the smaller group will meet first and then open it up to anyone who is interested, even outside of the VFL. Dan commented that after the last meeting, he sent a note to Marian Cohen asking if we could add something to the town-wide survey. Dan added that this could contribute to the validity of the proposed study. Bob responded that they did add a question to the survey based on Dan's feedback. Andrew added that we asked respondents if they are a registered voter and if they voted in the last election, and if not,why. Bob asked if perhaps there is a correlation in Lexington between the declining circulations of local newspapers and correspondingly,the declining participation in local elections as people don't have a means to easily get information as they once did. Dan Joyner commented that it might be good to engage the youth and tie this into existing civic programs in Town. Weidong commented that he is interested in this topic and would also like to be involved. Margaret wrote his name down. Bob commented that we definitely want to encourage people to vote, but there is also an educational component to that. Dan commented that he and Mark asked Town staff to put information on the website to inform people how local government operates, but it never went anywhere. Fernando commented that Citizens'Academy is a way to get residents informed. Update on New Committee Logo Andrew and Peter offered an update. Andrew has been in touch with Alison Barry from Minuteman Tech. They are very excited to have their seniors working on this project. Andrew commented that he has not heard from the LHS yet, but will reach out again when school starts back up. Dan commented that since both schools were asked, do they know they are in a competition with each other. Andrew commented that he will make sure to let both schools know. Rina asked if there are any restrictions or recommendations on what types of colors or design to use for the logo. Andrew responded that he is not aware of any restrictions.Joe commented that the only restrictions is the use of the Town seal,which we would need permission form the Town Clerk to use. 2 Draft Annual Town Report Submission Fernando commented that the revised entry was distributed to committee members.Joe commented that the Futures forum highlight should be removed as it actually happened in FY20. Weidong asked whether it was determined if the new members should be included. It was confirmed that all the new members should be included in the annual report. Katharine will make the updates as discussed to the annual report submission. Newly Established State Demographic Data Dan displayed the graph showing the percentage of Lexington residents of Asian descent on the Zoom screen. c 40% a 33.1✓ 30% a Ln 41 J 9.J°✓ zs 20% d� 10.9% 10°r� Lexington could become a tw M 6 4°° majority Asian community by 2035 �a �u 0% 1990. Census 2000 Census 2010 Census 2020 Census Dan commented that the Town's Asian population is increasing and if this trend continues linearly,within ten years'time about 46%of the population will be of Asian descent. Dan added that Lexington could be a majority Asian community by 2035. Dan brought up the question Susie Snell posed to the Select Board, which is: Do our civic leaders have the responsibility to plan strategically for the growth of Lexington's Asian population or should they deal with any consequences as they occur? Dan requested that we set aside a significant amount of time to discuss this at our next meeting. Fernando commented that this question is important, but can be asked about any ethnic group. Additional Topics of Discussion Fernando asked Kathleen for an update on the schools. Kathleen shared show the schools plan to start the year including the restrictions being put in place because of the pandemic. Next Meeting Date • 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