HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-01-11-2020ECON-min.pdf 2020 Vision Committee Meeting
Friday,January 11,2008
Selectmen's Meeting Room
Meeting Time: 7:30 A.M.
Attendees: Fernando Quezada, Chuck Benson, Ann Redmon, Peter Enrich, Candy McLaughlin
The Committee reviewed and approved the minutes from the 12/4/07 meeting.
LexSelects. There was brief discussion of the videotaping scheduled for January 16, with
George Burnell and Norman Cohen co-hosting a program on 2020 Vision. Participants will be
Peter Enrich for the overall process, Mollie and Greg for the Economic Development Task
Force, and Peter Lee for the Demographic Change Scoping Group.
Review of Goals. Chuck said that after reviewing all the goals he was pleased to note that
something has been done on almost all of them. 2020 Vision has had an important role in
documenting and giving visibility to these goals, whether or not it can take credit for specific
actions. Peter said the process works by connecting relatively small groups of people with Town
mechanisms and giving them a context for getting things done. Fernando noted that 2020 also
seeks to raise awareness of the need for a long-term view, a mental framework that looks to the
future.
The 2020 Vision process is a vehicle to continue communicating what people in Lexington
consider important for the community, and Chuck said he thinks all the goals are still relevant.
The goals are very different in scale, and the group discussed whether this should be cleaned up.
Peter noted that the committee manages process, and doesn't"own"the goals, so a mechanism is
needed to engage people and facilitate a community review of the goals. Objectives of the
process include:
• Refine the goal statements to update language and improve coherence;
• Reassess the goals in light of changes in the external environment and seek new input; &
• Regain community buy-in.
One idea is a community workshop in the fall to hear about sustainability, economic
development, and demographic change (topics of a recent, current, and soon-to-be formed Task
Force, respectively). These presentations could be followed by small-group discussions of the
goals. A separate,parallel process for high school students could capture input from young
people, to provide the perspective of potential future residents.
Demographic Change Task Force. The committee plans to form a Task Force on changing
demographics in Lexington once the Scoping Group finalizes its report. Membership of this
Task Force should include experts in the field, and the group discussed ways to recruit. A first
step would be to ask people already involved in Town government to suggest names of people to
contact. It will be important for Town Manager Carl Valente to be visibly behind this effort.
Next Meetings. 7:45 a.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room:
o Friday, March 7
o Tuesday,April 8
o Friday, May 9
o Tuesday,June 3