HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-05-26-2020-minTown of Lexington
20/20 Vision Committee Meeting
May 26, 2017
Parker Room, Town Office Building
1625 Massachusetts Avenue — 7:45am
Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Alan Wrigley, Kathleen Lenihan, Dan Krupka, Joe Pato, Ginna
Johnson, Andrew Dixon, Bhumip Khasnabish, Peter Lee, Carrol Ann Bottino
Members Absent: Peter Enrich, Margaret Coppe
Visitors: Marian Cohen, Tom Case, Mark Manassas
Minutes: Claire Vanessa Goodwin
CaII to order: 7:51am
Minutes: Joe asked that the language be revised to clarify that the Chinese and Korean versions for the
surveys were in paper form only. Claire will update the minutes. Based on this change, the April
minutes were unanimously approved.
Discussion with Tom Case, Town of Lexington CIO: Fernando stated he would like to hear Tom's take
on the way we look at tech in Lexington. Tom said much of the tech work done for the Town of
Lexington was done in 2004 with the understanding that tech is important to the Town as an
organization. Tom is the second CIO. Tom said improving communication inside and outside the
organization was the long-term goal. The Town is hiring new staff to help in IT and will be implementing
Pro -Phoenix to the Police and Fire departments (dispatching software). Laserfiche is a program the
Town would like to expand and there is work to be done with file naming conventions and putting older
content into Laserfiche. Tom said there is a new law regarding public records and Laserfiche is a key
product for the Town and the new IT Project Manager to continue to roll-out. View Permit is also a
program the Town is not using to the fullest — but there is an appetite with all Departments to learn
more. MUNIS is also a program we could be getting more out of. Tom said the Department is looking to
make information more available to the residents and looking forward, as the Town thinks about new
products based in cloud services.
Bhumip asked if the programs currently used by the Town are licensed. Tom said yes. Bhumip asked
about open -source programs. Tom said his web developers always look for open -source tools first.
Fernando said when the 2020 Vision Committee first started, residents were saying that the priority was
transparency. Fernando asked how Tom sees the communication improving with the residents. Tom
said the Senior Management Team was looking to address this topic. Fernando asked about on the
school side and the convergence with the school side. Tom said they were planning to meet soon, but
there is a turn -over with a key IT staff on the school side.
Dan said he was accustomed to a Resource Board dictating the priorities. Tom said the Town's Goal
Setting meetings focuses the priorities and he wants people to give feedback on what works and what
doesn't. Bhumip said looking at hybrid software would be good. Tom said they definitely do that — and
View Permit is an example.
Marian said on the Town -wide survey, residents said they wanted more communication using apps like
What's App and Next Door. Dan said that it sounds like the Town needs a Communications Officer. Tom
said his staff has done some good work on increasing communication. He encourages everyone to look
at the new public records access webpage. Fernando asked if there is a way to find out who takes
advantage of the public records requests. Tom said the Town tracks all requests.
Working Group on Social Diversity: Andrew said the group has met a couple times and now they have
identified times and dates for the focus groups. Fernando asked about the responses to the survey.
Marian stated there were 1,700 responses. Income and age distribution was slightly off, but overall it
was a representative sample. Marian said most people gave an 8 out of 10 on living in Lexington.
Marian said they have been focusing on the focus groups because it will add to the richness of the
project. Marian said there would be a minimum of 5 participants and a maximum of 10. On Thursday,
June 15t a training session for those who volunteered to be a note taker and facilitator will be held.
Marian went through a handout of the questions that would be asked in the focus groups (see draft
attached). Marian asked for feedback from the group. Bhumip asked if a longer version and shorter
version of the questions should be created. Marian said she would give the questions to facilitators in
advance at the training meeting. Dan said he would like to see the questions tied to the interests
expressed in the survey. Ginna said she thinks the group needs to narrow down the questions, but
Questions 2, 5, 8, 10 are the most important to the Planning Board. Marian said the most important
aspects for respondents were the following: Economic Development- having a vibrant downtown;
Physical Character- preserving historic neighborhoods; Town Government- Town officials acting with
integrity; and Environment- protecting land from development. Fernando asked how the group can
establish tradeoffs and if the focus groups look at the tradeoffs. Marian said the responses were
regarding schools: increase property tax vs reducing school services, two-thirds of respondents said they
would increase property taxes. 47% said they would reduce municipal services over school services.
80% said they would increase commercial density. 73% said they wanted to make roadways safer for
pedestrians and cyclists, whereas the remaining said make drivers the focus was their priority.
Fernando asked about the reporting of the results. Marian said the Board of Selectmen were expecting
a preliminary report by July, but it may be August when all of the analysis has been concluded with the
focus groups' data and compiling the entire report. Ginna said Fernando talked with Richard Canale
about how to merge the Comprehensive Plan with the survey. Ginna said the advisory group would be
formed over the summer. The survey data would be ready to use at the beginning of the
Comprehensive Plan process. Fernando said there are real needs from residents and this helps us be
able to respond to those needs. Marian said she would like the group to look at the questions proposed,
and get back to her so she can disseminate to facilitators. Marian said she would like the questions to
be finished for the facilitator's meeting on June 1St. Peter Lee said he would like to add a question about
how well people know their neighbors. Ginna said she agrees and understanding how residents stay
engaged. Joe said he didn't want to get rid of any of the questions and doesn't want to get rid of any of
the topics. Kathleen wondered about some of the school topics - Marian said she can add a probe about
school issues.
Fernando asked that a timeline be put together by the Working Group.
Adjourn: 9am
Next Meeting: Friday, June 23, 2017 7:45am in Parker Room, Town Office Building