HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-26-2020-min Town of Lexington
20/20 Vision Committee Meeting
July 26,2019
Parker Room,Town Office Building
1625 Massachusetts Avenue 7:45 a.m.—9:00 a.m.
Members Present: Fernando Quezada,Joe Pato, Dan Krupka, Bhumip Khasnabish, Robert Peters,Alan
Wrigley
Members Absent: Peter Enrich, Carroll Ann Bottino, Kathleen Lenihan, Margaret Coppe,Andrew Dixon,
Mark Manasas, Peter Lee
Working Group Participants Present: Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti
Professional Staff Present: Katharine Labrecque
Call to Order: 7:48am
The meeting was not called to order due to not having quorum.
Minutes
The minutes for the June 28, 2019 meeting were not approved and will be voted on at the next meeting.
Action Items:
• Dan or Alan will check the committee mailbox to see if we received any correspondence from
residents. Katharine may need to contact IT if there is trouble logging in to the Outlook account.
• Ask Andrew if he would be willing to work with Dan on putting together some background
information on the Town and a history of the 2020 Vision Committee.
• The Futures Panel Working Group:
o Continue looking for and contacting potential speakers for the final topic.
o Work with Sean Dugan to identify potential opportunities and ways to get the
event/date out to the public and on resident's calendars.
o Connect with LexMedia to see if they would be willing to record the event.
Meeting Highlights
Introduction of Katharine Labrecque, Management Fellow
Katharine recently graduated from the University of New Hampshire with her MPA. She has worked
for the Town of Salem and the City of Dover, New Hampshire as an intern or fellow in the past.
Katharine is committed to working for the Town for one year,with a second year optional. She is
excited to have this opportunity and looks forward to working with the Committee members during
her time in Lexington.
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Enhancing Communications in Lexington (ECiL)Sub-Committee
No member was present from the sub-committee to offer any updates. However,to familiarize
Katharine with the purpose of the sub-committee, Fernando offered a brief overview of some
shared and ongoing concerns related to electronic communication in government, or the lack
thereof.The creation of this sub-committee is the result of an increased awareness of the variety of
cultures and subcultures that exist within the community and their intricate methods of
communication.These layers of communication makes getting information out inadvertently
complex. Consequently, one of the goals of this committee is to identify effective ways to get
information out to the public.
Update on the Board of Selectmen Annual Goal Setting Process.Selectmen Chair, Doug, sent a
follow-up email to Board and Committee Chairs to offer an update on the BOS goal setting process.
Joe said that on Monday,July 301h a facilitator from Novak Consulting Group will be leading the
retreat.The facilitator also held an earlier meeting with the Chairs of all the Town Boards and
Committees.Joe noted that this process is different from what they have done in previous years.
Nonetheless,this year the Board is trying to hone in on and identify more clear, short-term, and
actionable goals that align with the long-term vision of the Town.
Future Forum Planning Discussion
The location and date for the forum has been confirmed and will be taking place on April 2, 2020,
from 7-9:OOpm, at Cary Memorial Hall.The committee is looking to have three speakers for the
event but only two have been confirmed. Overall,the major topics or areas of interest include:
economic trends, the future of educational technology, Smart Cities or climate change. One
confirmed speaker, Nariman Behravesh,will be speaking about national, regional, and local
economic trends. Behravesh, is the chief economist at the consulting firm IHS Markit and esteemed
author. Speaking on educational technology will be Lexington Public Schools Superintendent,Julie
Hackett.The Futures Panel Working Group is looking for a third speaker.There is some interest in
getting Joi Ito from MIT Media Labs to speak about demographic changes and/or Smart Cities.
Fernando notes, more broadly about the purpose of the forum,what is the message the 20/20
Vision Committee wants to convey to residents? Fernando suggested conveying the direction or
the vision of the committee 5-15 years down the road, or even targeting 2040.
Fernando emphasized the importance of getting the word out and working to identify important
stakeholders. Fernando and Joe suggests working with Sean Dugan to create a marketing or
publicity campaign to advertise the event and get it on resident's calendars.The working group
agrees to continue to meet after the Committee meeting and more frequently as we get closer to
the Forum.
For future planning efforts regarding the Future Forum and other events in the future, Nancy
mentioned that the working group should seek input and representation from the Comprehensive
Plan Advisory Committee.Joe suggested talking to Carol Kowalski,the Assistant Town Manager for
Development for assistance.
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Next Meeting Date
■ Friday,August 23 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room
Subsequent Meetings
■ Friday, September 27, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room
■ Friday, October 25, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room
■ Friday, November 29, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room
Meeting ended at 8:51 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Management Fellow, Katharine Labrecque
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