HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-04-2020ECON-min.pdf Lexington 2020 Vision Committee
May 4, 2006 Meeting Minutes
7:45 a.m. Selectmen's Meeting Room
Members present: Fernando Quezada, Marian Cohen, Peter Enrich, Stacey Hamilton, Charles
Hornig, Richard Pagett, Ann Redmon
Others: Candy McLaughlin, Carl Valente, Ingrid Klimoff
Fernando called the meeting to order at 7:50 am. The minutes from the April 6 meeting were
approved.
Sustainable Lexington Task Force planning. A stakeholder meeting has been scheduled for
Tuesday, May 23 at 7:30 pm in the Library meeting room. Candy sent out email invitations and
has been getting a generally positive response. Peter commented that it will be important to talk
about the next step of convening a scoping group, and to get leadership lined up and generate
participation going forward.
Economic Development Task Force planning. Fernando has been exchanging email messages
with potential scoping group leaders and participants. We had hoped to have a scoping group
convene by the end of May but this may not be possible given the override election scheduled for
June 5. The scoping group would work into the summer to focus issues for a future Task Force.
The timing of the Task Force's work in relation to the potential hiring of an Economic
Development Officer is an important issue. If the override passes, Carl indicated that
recruitment would begin after Labor Day for a person to start in early November. If the override
fails, an Economic Development Officer will not be hired and the scoping group will need to
address issues differently. Two considerations were discussed:
(1) Peter asked whether substantive Task Force work is appropriate before the Economic
Development Officer is on board, or whether the Task Force should begin in January.
Consensus was reached that the scoping group should address this question as they
review the issues and think through the Economic Development Officer's role.
(2) Charles asked whether the Task Force is likely to make recommendations for action at
the 2007 Annual Town Meeting. Richard stated that the Selectmen have not yet done
collective goal setting for the coming year and he did not see any issues that would be
ready for the warrant. Stacey commented that since the 2020 Vision perspective involves
long-term thinking, the focus of the Task Force will not be on near-term goals and
actions.
Progress Report distribution and publicity. Candy distributed the Progress Report that was
put on the table at the last session of Town Meeting. The Committee did not make a verbal
report to Town Meeting this year due to time constraints. The decision not to mail the Progress
Report town-wide was confirmed; it will be sent to the "alumni" and made available at the
Library. Peter raised the issue of outreach to people who are unconnected in the Town, which is
a major goal of the 2020 Vision process. Stacey suggested electronic networking, such as
notifying the Lexington list that the report is on the website. Participation in Discovery Day,
which was an effective outreach mechanism last year, is beyond our capacities this year but
committee members will continue to watch for other opportunities. The committee will submit a
Guest Commentary for the June 15 issues of the Minuteman newspaper, and ask Laurie Atwater
about a follow-up article in the Colonial Times.
Review recruitment strategy. Fernando will continue to follow up with the Clergy
Association. Ann will check back with Mike Kennealy. Ingrid agreed to talk to Margaret
Counts-Klebe about neighborhood participation in the area beyond Route 128. Fernando will
contact Helen Cohen about designating a School Committee liaison and providing orientation
about the 2020 Vision process to new School Committee members. The new Planning Board
member, Greg Zurlo, will be involved in the Economic Development Task Force.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 am. Future meeting schedule:
- Thursday, June 8
- Thursday, July 13
- (no August meeting)
- Thursday, September 14