HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-24-VISION2025-min Town of Lexington
Vision for Lexington Committee Meeting
February 24,2023
Remote Meeting
7:45 a.m.—9:00 a.m.
Members Present: Margaret Coppe, Mark Manasas, Bhumip Khasnabish, Kathleen Lenihan, Bob Peters,
Marian Cohen,John Giudice, Mark Sandeen, Min Zhou, Weidong Wang, Daniel Joyner
Guests: Dan Krupka,Jyotsna Kakullavarapu
Staff Present:James Robinson, Hemali Shah
Absent:Andrew Dixon, Shannon Murtagh, Samita Mandelia
The meeting was called to order: 7:50 am
The Remote Meeting Script was read by Ms. Margaret Coppe. An update was given by staff regarding
the status of remote meetings moving to in-person as of 4/1/2023 due to the impending expiration of
State legislation.
Minutes:
• Minutes from 1/27/2023 were unanimously approved
Meeting Highlights:
VFL Website Report on Emails
Daniel Joyner provided the update that the Town's Communication Director will be conducting a
communications audit regarding how the Town shares information.
Membership Review
Margaret Coppe stated that the Select Board's Office will be engaged in order to fill the remaining
vacancies for the committee.
Diversity. Equity, and Inclusion Update
Hemali Shaw, the Chief Equity Officer for the Town,was present for a DEI conversation. It was
highlighted that the Chief Equity Officer has both internal organizational responsibilities as well as
community responsibilities.
John Giudice asked what problem areas the Chief Equity Officer has encountered thus far. Hemali Shaw
responded with the existence of silos among community groups and the need to pursue more internal
surveys.
Dan Joyner asked how Lexington can become more attractive to newcomers of diverse backgrounds.
Hemali Shaw highlighted the current work of the Town in recruiting and retaining members of staff from
diverse backgrounds, and that it can be more of a focus when interacting with community groups.
Dan Krupka asked what success would look like. Hemali Shaw noted that fostering a more inclusive and
diverse municipal organization would be a large portion of success in DEI issues in Lexington.
Bhumip Khasmabish sought clarity on which meetings that the Chief Equity Officer attends, and
encouraged working with retail, tourism, and school staff. It was also asked if there were plans to
develop a process for reporting DEI-related complaints. Hemali Shaw noted that they work with the
Human Rights Committee; and that the webpage will be developed to be clearer on what work is being
conducted.
Mark Sandeen encouraged trainings for community members and real estate agents that are directly
interacting with newcomers to Lexington. It was also shared that microaggressions occur in town and
need to be confronted. Hemali Shaw noted that it is an issue to be confronted, and conversations need
to occur on how day-to-day interactions and words can have a negative effect on other people.
Jyotsna Kakullavarapu asked about the difference between working with senior citizens and school-age
children. Hemali Shaw noted that the municipal organization and the school work in parallel on DEI and
target programming for the groups they work with.
Kathleen Lenihan noted that the School Committee completed a report on existing barriers. Hemali
Shaw mentioned that the report has been reviewed.
Dan Joyner mentioned that there is a complaint form on the Human Rights Committee webpage. Hemali
Shaw highlighted that those complaints are reviewed and processed by the committee.
Min Zhou reaffirmed that negative interactions based on race and ethnicity happen in Lexington and
cause grief for families. Hemali Shaw encouraged that these instances be reported to the Human Rights
Committee and highlighted that effective training is important.
Update on Subcommittee on Voter Participation in Lexington
Margaret Coppe highlighted that the subcommittee will be meeting later in the day.
Next Steps: Discussion of new study; Review of recommendations of previous studies
•Asian participation
Weidong Wang gave a presentation on Asian Participation in Lexington.
Margaret Coppe suggested that families that are new to the community might not be prioritizing
volunteering or running for Town Government as they settle into a new location.
Dan Joyner sought clarity on the drivers in changing demographics and trends. Weidong Wang noted
that more data would need to be collected to answer.
Dan Krupka suggested that community organizations encourage more participation and that boards and
committees should be more active in recruitment and retainment.
Mark Manasas sought clarity on striking the balance between matching population levels to the amount
of civic participation.Weidong Wang noted that the demographic breakdown of the Town does not
need to be perfectly matched to levels of participation, but the goal is to have a Town Government that
is more representative of the community.
Bhhumip Khasnabish suggested redefining "Asian" to "Pan-Asian" in order to be more reflective of the
diversity of backgrounds.
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Next Meeting:
March 31, 2023 at 7:45am
Adjourn: 9:00am