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Home My WebLink About2019-08-23-2020-min Town of Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee Meeting August 23,2019 Parker Room,Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 7:45 a.m.—9:00 a.m. Members Present: Fernando Quezada, Dan Krupka, Bhumip Khasnabish, Robert Peters,Andrew Dixon, Mark Manasas, Margaret Coppe Members Absent: Carroll Ann Bottino, Kathleen Lenihan, Peter Lee,Alan Wrigley,Joe Pato, Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti, Peter Enrich Visitor: Marian Cohen Professional Staff Present: Katharine Labrecque, Sean Dugan The meeting was called to order: 7:49am Minutes The minutes from the June 28 and July 26 meeting were approved. Suggestions for future meeting minutes: • Using the full name of individuals referenced outside of the committee • Establish firm deadlines and assign a committee member to action items Action Items: • Fernando will draft a letter to the Town Manager and Superintendent of Schools requesting a meeting to discuss the charge and purpose of the Lexington Diversity Advisory Task Force by the September meeting. • Mark will work with his wife, Sarah Felton,to schedule a meeting between Fernando and the Assistant Town Manager, Carol Kowalski,to notify her of the Futures Panel event and make sure it does not duplicate the planning efforts of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) by the September meeting. • The committee will consider what should be included in the Annual Town Report by the September meeting. Meeting Highlights Enhancing Communications in Lexington (ECiL)Sub-Committee Mark discussed the Municipal Communications Best Practices Survey that the ECiL subcommittee and Sean are working to put together to send out to municipalities.The goal or purpose of the survey is to identify best practices of municipal communication. Seventeen to eighteen 1 municipalities' communications techniques would be collected and vetted.This would allow the committee to get a sense of what communication methods are working and not working for municipalities. Mark sent the survey out to the 20/20 Vision Committee members and others to look for glitches. Marian Cohen suggested that a cover letter should accompany the survey. Fernando asks how we will discern from towns that do or do not have a viable communication plan in place. In addition, some communities may not have the data we request available. Margaret suggested we go after towns who value communication and who actively disseminate information to residents,to answer this survey. A concern is expressed that the ECil's survey is stepping on people's toes. Mark said that Town staff, specifically the Town Manager's Office,will be involved in the process. Sean Dugan, the Public Information Officer,will be sending it out to communities. It was suggested that the software program used by the Hanscom Airport Advisory Committee for their membership application process is interesting and may be worth looking at for future surveys. This discussion brought up some larger or more innate issues around communication. Margaret noted that there is a lack of effective communication in Town—from striping bike lanes to paving residential roads. Marian responded that just because info is out there, it doesn't mean people are reading it. Providing constant project updates is just one method we can use to continuously communicate with the public. Reflections on the Advisory Task Force of Diversity Panel Discussion A community conversation, "Diversity in Lexington:Who We Are,"was held at the Cary Memorial Library on August 8, 2019. The event was held concurrently with a conservative "Defend the Constitution Rally" in Depot Square.The featured speakers were Town Manager,Jim Malloy, and Diversity& Inclusion Expert,JJ Jackson. Discussion about the future of the Task Force Dan explained that the committee is very new and has not had a chance to evolve yet.The body was originally established in 2017 by former Town Manager, Carl Valente, and former School Superintendent, Mary Czajkowski,to advise the Town Manager and Superintendent of Schools on ways the schools and Town can promote a culture that embraces the richness of Lexington's ethnic diversity.Julie and Jim were not with the Town at this working group's formation. Dan expressed concern that the task force does not conform to the suggestions in the Report of the Subcommittee on Asian Communities. It has evolved into a group that simply tackles issues of diversity, rather than advising the Town Manager and School Superintendent. As a result of the discussion, Fernando suggested setting up a meeting to inform the Town Manager,Jim Malloy, and the School Superintendent, Dr.Julie Hackett, about the original charge of this working group. Concern about the membership of the working group is also brought up. Dan explains the original membership criteria and qualifications, and suggests that the current membership may no longer be consistent with that. Rather, membership seems to be based on "diversity' characteristics. He suggests using the committee and aligning it with its original charge or dissolve it altogether. Dan also offers a brief history of the diversity initiatives executed under the 20/20 Vision Committee,which include the Demographic Change Task Force,the Subcommittee on Demographic Change, and the Subcommittee on Asian Communities. Moreover, Dan suggests that looking forward,we consider and tackle certain facets of diversity separately. 2 Revisiting plans for review of community trends in socio-economic composition Fernando commented that in his discussions with Marian Cohen, she suggested renewal of discussions on a social diversity task force. Such a task force would review any ongoing changes to the Town's demographic composition resulting from economic pressures and housing turnover. Fernando asked for group consensus on forming a working group for this purpose involving Marian Cohen. Margaret recommended that Andrew serve on this group given his background knowledge on housing trends. Andrew responded that he is willing, but that his knowledge is limited in this area. Future Forum Announcement Fernando announced that the location and date for the Future Forum has been reserved. He asked the committee if we should start making the announcement now. Dan suggested targeting different audiences in segments, such as boards and committees, Board of Selectmen, and school department staff. Mark suggests Sean Dugan will be helpful to get the word out to specific groups through various communication channels. Sean Dugan asked how this event differs from the Lexington Next forums held by the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee,who hold a variety of forums intended to elicit community feedback in order to plan the future physical development of Lexington. Margaret suggests scheduling a meeting with the Assistant Town Manager for Development, Carol Kowalski. Mark said that he can connect with her through his wife to schedule a meeting. Title of Event There was discussion about the title of the event;forum or panel?There is a lack of consensus among the committee members. Dan expressed concern about the title and would like to have one before we make an announcement. Sean Dugan recommended that the committee wait to send out a save the date requests. Bhumip disagreed, and suggested that we get the word out as soon as possible. Fernando suggested an action item that the committee make a decision by the September 27th Meeting. Update on Speakers There is concern about the tentative speaker,Joi Ito,from the MIT Media Lab and his outspoken criticism for the university's acceptance of financial gifts from the late Jeffrey Epstein. Others think it would be advantageous to have him regardless of the media hype. However, Peter is looking at recruiting a younger person from Northeastern to speak about the third topic. Input for Town Annual Report Fernando handed out the Lexington Town Report Instructions for the Annual Town Report. Katharine said that she will be writing this with the committee's input. Fernando requested that the committee think about what content should be included by the next meeting. Next Meeting Date 3 ■ Friday, September 27, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room Subsequent Meetings ■ Friday, October 25, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room ■ Friday, November 29, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room ■ Friday, December 27, 7:45 a.m. in the Parker Room Meeting ended at 8:58 a.m. Minutes submitted by Management Fellow, Katharine Labrecque 4