HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-07-26-VISION2025-min Town of Lexington
Vision for Lexington Committee Meeting
July 26, 2024
Remote Meeting
7:45 a.m. —9:00 a.m.
Minutes
Members Present: Sara del Nido Bush, Marian Cohen, Margaret Coppe, Andrew Dixon, John
Giudice, Jill Hai (Select Board), Dan Joyner, Bhumip Khashnabish, Carol Marine, Bob Peters
(planning Board), Shannon Murtagh, Catherine Yan
Absent: Larry Freeman (School Committee), Ambilu Silvistri, Min Zhao
Guest: Jyotsna Kakullavarapu, Council on Aging
The meeting was called to order: 7:45 am
The Remote Meeting Script was read by Margaret Coppe
Roll Call Vote: Bush, Aye; Cohen, Aye; Coppe, Aye; Dixon, Aye; Giudice, Aye; Hai, Aye,
Joyner, Aye; Khasnabish, Aye; Marine, Aye; Peters, Aye; Murtagh, Aye; Yan, Aye
Minutes:
• The approval of minutes from June 28, 2024, was moved by John Giudice and seconded
by Jill Hai.
• Roll Call Vote: Bush, Aye; Cohen, Abstain; Coppe, Aye; Dixon, Aye; Giudice, Aye;
Hai, Aye, Joyner, Aye; Khasnabish, Aye; Marine, Aye; Peters, Aye; Murtagh, Aye; Yan,
Aye
The vote was unanimous.
Meeting Highlights:
New Member Introduction
Larry Freeman will be joining the committee as the School Committee representative.
The October 25, 2024 meeting will be in person in the Town Hall, followed by the committee
turning the 250'h Countdown Calendar
The VFL entry for the annual Town Report is due on September 12. Will review it at next
meeting.
VFL Website Report on Emails
No emails this month.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
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Jill Hai reported that in order to promote inclusiveness, the Select Board has voted to change one
policy and one practice.
The policy change is to ask participants at meetings to identify their preferred form of address.
The practice change is to identify holidays on which official meetings are not to be scheduled
and those that, while not official holidays, should be considered when scheduling official
meetings.
Update on Subcommittee on Voter Participation in Lexington
Marian Cohen has analyzed voting patterns by age group in the 2023 local election, with the
highest percentage of voters were in the 65+ group, and the fewest in the 18-29 group. She is
waiting on data from the Town Clerk on the age distributions on two debt exclusion elections for
school. The subcommittee has included voting reforms in Massachusetts over the past 20 years.
A question came up about voting by students who are recent high school graduates.
Future study on housing
John Guidice led the discussion on creating a comprehensive guide for Lexington residents on
housing issues. The team is aiming to avoid duplication by interviewing key committees and
organizations. Carol Marine brought up a comprehensive plan passed last year and a housing
production plan du in December. The group discussed the need for a regional approach to
address housing and economic challenges and the importance of understanding the town's long-
term vision and existing plans. Catherine Yan asked about the impact on schools with the interest
in more affordable housing. Jill Hai highlighted the need for a more accessible guide on
economic develop and housing processes, suggesting a cartoon-like guide similar to the one
produced by the Economic Development office. Margaret pointed out the current information is
not easily accessible as it is currently scattered across various locations on the town website. The
team agreed to continue working on this initiative with John inviting Catherine to join the group
if she is interested. Carol Marine volunteered to join the group.
Dan Joyner is going to copy the chat with the links provided and send to everyone.
Discussion followed on disparities in home buying and possible reparations. A group,
Reparations in Melrose in association with the NAACP has produced toolkit which helps to
analyze data on home buying, home equity loans, and remortgages. While primary mortgages are
secured at comparable rates by both black and white applicants, secondary loans are
disproportionately awarded to whites. Carol shared a link to a report by the Partnership for
Financial Equity showing progress in reducing racial disparities in lending across the
Commonwealth.
Jyotsna Kakullavarapu reported from the Council on Aging. The new director of Human
Services has been settling into her role and has been conducting presentations and meet and greet
events in the town, including one at a senior living facility at Brookhaven and another on aging
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in place in Belmont. She mentioned the availability of Sage Magazine. Discussions have been
held on the dangers of scams targeting the elderly.
Motion to adjourn:
Roll Call Vote: Bush, Aye; Cohen, Aye; Coppe, Aye; Dixon, Aye; Giudice, Aye; Hai, Aye,
Joyner, Aye; Khasnabish, Aye; Marine, Aye; Peters, Aye; Murtagh, Aye; Yan, Aye
The vote was unanimous.
Adjourn: 8:25am
Next Meeting: August 23, 2024, 7:45am by Zoom
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