Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-09-20 SB-min Select Board Meeting September 20, 2021 A remote participation work session of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 20, 2021 via Zoom remote meeting services. Select Board Chair Ms. Hai; Vice Chair Mr. Lucente; and members Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry; and Mr. Sandeen were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; Ms. Labrecque, Management Analyst; Ms. Katzenback, Select Board Executive Clerk; Ms. Prizio, Select Board Department Assistant. Ms. Hai stated that the meeting was being conducted via Zoom as posted, with the agenda on the Town’s website. Ms. Hai provided directions to members of the public, watching or listening via the Zoom application, regarding the procedure for making a public comment. Ms. Hai reminded Board members, staff, and members of the public about Lexington’s Standard of Conduct regarding civil discourse during Town Government meetings. SELECT BOARD WORK SESSION 1. Select Board Committee Membership Process Ms. Barry and Ms. Labrecque provided an update on the research to date and the surveys regarding the committee membership process. The information will lay the groundwork for potential changes to how Lexington’s Select Board and Town Manager committees and boards are appointed, organized, and managed. Ms. Barry said some of areas to be addressed with this initiative are the need for review, revision, and streamlining of the appointment processes, including the Town Manager and Select Board committee applications. Ms. Barry said it is important for Lexington to establish a consistent protocol for how to advertise committee vacancies, as they occur. Another need is to establish and communicate the process for creating new boards and committees. Ms. Barry reported that other towns interview committee/board candidates in Open Session Select Board meetings, rather than to rely on board members to conduct interviews individually. Some towns also require candidates to attend a certain number of committee meetings and /or Town Meeting to be eligible for appointment. Ms. Barry noted that term limits for chairs and for general members might be something Lexington could consider as well as evaluating the current process of automatic renewals at the end of a term. Ms. Barry cautioned that a one size might not fit all in terms of rule revision, since different committees perform different roles and have different requirements. She believes transparency should ultimately be achieved so that everyone is clear about how a committee works. Ms. Barry said formal committee member training beyond Open Meeting Law and Ethics training could be considered. Regarding the two surveys, Ms. Barry and Ms. Labrecque reported that:  The first was sent to 339 non-elected Lexington committee/board members on September 13, 2021. In the intervening 10 days, 107 responses have been received. Respondents’ identities will be kept anonymous; responses will be accepted until September 30, 2021. An email was sent to committee chair people to inform them of the surveys and to ask them to encourage members to respond.  The second survey was sent to 12 surrounding towns; 11 of the 12 have responded. 1 The responses to the two surveys will be collated and reported fully at a later date, while maintaining the confidentiality that was assured to respondents. Ms. Labrecque reported that she is also interviewing Town staff who interact with the committees. She intends to finish this part of the work by the end of the month. Ms. Barry stated she and Ms. Labrecque can return to the Board at a later date with survey results. They hope the approved changes to committee functions will take effect on January 1, 2022. Ms. Barry asked the Board to provide feedback on some points  Board members comments on communication, i.e. advertising and awareness: Ms. Hai said getting Town communications out into the public has become more difficult. She believes Sean Dugan, Lexington’s Information Officer, has made great strides in bridging the gap left by the Minuteman but she also noted that many people still are unable or chose not to receive information electronically. Mr. Lucente suggested that a “job fair” might provide information about committees that people need in order to become motivated to apply. He also stated he believes word of mouth plays a key role in recruitment and this could be formalized into the outreach. Mr. Sandeen suggested Discovery Day as an outreach opportunity. Mr. Pato said visuals, more compelling than a handout card, might be needed for Discovery Day. He suggested getting the word out via religious and cultural groups, an effective strategy used in previous instances to reach diverse populations. Mr. Malloy said some towns use roadside electronic sign boards to advertise committee openings. Some Select Boards also regularly announce committee vacancies at their meetings. The TV screens in Town buildings can also be used to advertise openings. Mr. Sandeen suggested using the PTA email lists. Ms. Barry agreed and added that LexMedia could be helpful as well. Mr. Lucente said that periodic advertisement of all available openings seems to be more effective than promoting a vacancy here and there.  Board members comments about whether to use the term “application” or the term “statement of interest”: Mr. Lucente said he looks favorably upon a formal committee application as it is akin to what a business would require. Mr. Sandeen said that starting with a statement of interest might provide a comfortable entrée into committee work and it can be kept on file for future committee openings. Mr. Lucente said, in the case of a committee that hopes to find a certain candidate with expertise in an area, the formal application/resume seems more appropriate. Mr. Pato said that even if someone has expressed interest and an opening comes up, that person may not possess the skill set needed by a committee at a particular time. Therefore, the interest list might not be an adequate resource in some cases. Ms. Sandeen noted that both Weston and Needham have electronic application forms; he hopes Lexington will move in that direction, while reserving paper forms for those without internet access. He also likes the idea of texting interested parties when openings occur. 2 Ms. Barry said that the online form should be translated and in the right resolution for accessibility. Mr. Lucente said that a question should be included on the application to find out where the applicant heard about the committee opening. He agreed that paper versions of the application should be available for those without internet access.  Board members comments on the subject of interviewing candidates: Mr. Sandeen, Mr. Lucente, and Mr. Pato said the ranking of choices is a fair process, in the case of multiple candidates. Mr. Lucente cautioned that candidates should be made aware of public interviews, if that direction is chosen. Mr. Malloy said he believes there is value to formal interviewing but there is also value in getting feedback from the committees themselves about preferred skillsets and candidates. Appointment authority may depend on the type of committee. Mr. Pato said he makes a practice of interviewing applicants for regulatory boards Ms. Hai agreed that interviewing for regulatory boards is important. She added that, in some towns, committees themselves conduct the candidate interviews.  Should there be a standalone policy regarding committee regarding committees/board processes or should it be embedded in the Board’s procedures handbook: Mr. Lucente supported embedding the policies rather than separating them out because these procedures are an integral part of the Select Board Town Manager Act. He and Ms. Hai agreed, however, that the policies could be posted separately on the Committee page of the Town’s website. Mr. Pato feels strongly that the Procedures Manual is in need of a revision in a variety of areas so he does not see the answer to the question as simply yes or no. There is already a segregated policy on committee qualifications and some committees specify the need for specific qualifications while the less technical committees could also spell out the baseline qualifications for eligibility. Mr. Lucente wants to understand the level of diversity currently serving on Town committees and, given that, what the diversity goal is. He also asked for more information about how the Town of Bedford conducted its “committee diet”. Mr. Malloy said ad hoc committees in Bedford will now automatically disband after one year, unless renewed. He added that he dealt with committee bloat in another community by fist listing the committees that are required by statute or legality. That allows for a clearer understanding of which committees were formed to suit a purpose or solve a problem that may not be crucial anymore. Committees can also be combined if they serve similar functions. Mr. Lucente noted that the topic of term limits has yet to be addressed. ACTIONS: Ms. Barry and Ms. Labrecque will continue to work on this initiative and bring a draft of the new application and the survey results back to a future Select Board work session. DOCUMENTS: Board/Committee Review Presentation; Town of Lexington Board/Committee Application for Membership—Select Board & Town Manager; Town Manager Reappointment Application; Lexington BOS Procedures Manual (Pages 24-26 ONLY); BOS Policy Criteria for Committee Membership; Committee Inventory; Volunteer Non-Elected Board/Committee Members Survey Questions; Surrounding Towns Volunteer Town Boards Survey Questions. 3 2. Review Select Board Member Participation Options (Remote/In-Person/Hybrid) for Upcoming Meetings Ms. Hai provided a sampling of what other towns and organizations are doing vis-à-vis in-person, hybrid, or virtual meeting formats. She also shared ventilation/air flow information for several Town of Lexington meeting rooms to consider for meetings: Battin Hall, 201 Bedford Street, 173 Bedford Street (the tent structure), and the Select Board’s Meeting Room in the Town Office Building. General Board discussion ensued regarding the Select Board Member participation (remote/in- person/hybrid) for the Goal Setting meeting. Mr. Lucente, Ms. Barry and Ms. Hai indicated they are comfortable meeting in-person in any of the Town of Lexington meeting rooms listed for consideration. Mr. Pato stated his preference is to meet remotely, but if the goal setting meeting needs to be in-person, he prefers use of Battin Hall or 201 Bedford Street. Mr. Sandeen said that of the places named, he is most comfortable meeting with Battin Hall or 201 Bedford Street. Mr. Malloy said he is comfortable holding the Goal Setting meeting in-person in Battin Hall or 201 Bedford Street but prefers 201 Bedford Street. Ms. Hai stated that all Select Board meetings will continue to offer zoom as the method for making the meeting open to the public and that the “public” would not be attending any of the Select Board meetings in person at this time. Ms. Hai noted that the upcoming schedule for all the other Select Board meetings is extensive and asked when the Board would like to discuss having hybrid or in-person Select Board Member participation for those Select Board meetings. Lucente noted it may be a better time to discuss the question again after the Board of Health revisits the mask mandate in early November 2021. The Board was in agreement discuss later in November the subject of when to have hybrid or in-person Select Board Member participation at their meetings. For now, the meetings would be fully conducted via Zoom. ACTIONS: Ms. Hai will double check to see why the cafeteria at the Community Center was eliminated as a possible meeting site for Goal Setting. The Board will reevaluate the question of how to meet in early November. DOCUMENTS: 201 Select Board Meeting Calendar September 2021 - December 2021; EH&E Report. ADOURN Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted 5-0 by roll call to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m. A true record; Attest: Kim Siebert, Recording Secretary 4