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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-16-2020-min 2020 Vision Committee December 16, 2010 7:45 a.m.-9:00 a.m. Selectmen’s Meeting Room Members present: Fernando Quezada, Chair; Alan Wrigley, Anne Redmon, Barry Orenstein, Bhumip Khasnabish, Chuck Benson, Dan Krupka, George Burnell, Jane Warren, Janice Frascatore, Margaret Coppe, Marian Cohen, Peter Enrich, Staff: Candy McLaughlin Action Items: Committee members will review the draft Town Report narrative and send any edits to Candy  by next Monday, December 20. Janice will type up the input from Tuesday’s focus group and send to Candy. We will compile  all results and send a summary out to all focus group participants after the last one is held. Members designated to follow up with specific groups will try to schedule focus groups in  January or February. While the Learning Center at the Library works well, it is frequently booked, and classrooms at the High School could also be used. Marian will look for the 2000 youth stress report and send it out to the Committee.  Meeting Began: 7:50 a.m. The minutes from last month’s meeting were approved. Focus Groups: Chuck, Janice and Alan reported on the focus group held Tuesday evening with graduates of last year’s Citizens’ Academy. There were only four participants, but it was a good dry run for the process. Topics touched on included the value of top-notch schools, positive impressions of Town employees, desire for increased community diversity, need for a community center, and the importance of commercial development to generate tax revenue. Observations about the process: The transition from Q1 (positive - what do you value about Lexington) toQ2 (negative -  what don’t you like about Lexington today) and back to Q3 (positive - discussion of overall vision) was difficult. Chuck suggested improving the flow of the meeting by not introducing the Vision statement; this would also give more time for voting on the goals. Participants suggested sending out the materials ahead of time (the questions to be  discussed, and the list of goals) because it was difficult to vote on an unfamiliar list of goals. Suggestions for follow-up questions to stimulate ongoing discussion would be helpful;  Janice said this would help the facilitator/recorders stay neutral and not get engaged in the conversation. Ideal group size would be 8-10; if 15 or more people participate they should break into two  separate focus groups. Four was too small – one or two people can dominate the discussion. One facilitator and two recorders worked well. Fernando suggested a target to book additional focus groups in January and February. Preliminary contact has been made with the following organizations: Interfaith Clergy – Fernando will attend their meeting at 1 p.m. on February 2 and use the  limited time on the agenda (10-minute presentation and 5-10 minutes for questions) to describe the current 2020 Vision project to obtain community input, and ‘pitch’ the idea of a future focus group. Rotary – Alan spoke with David Brother, who will bring the idea to the next Rotary  meeting in a few weeks. Chamber of Commerce – Janice will follow up with Mary Jo Bohart.  Indian Americans of Lexington – Bhumip asked Candy to identify a few possible dates  toward the end of January, and he will work on scheduling a focus group when Puran Dang returns from India. GWAC – Margaret will follow up.  CAAL – Peter Lee is the contact person; at a previous meeting Peter Enrich, Dan Krupka,  and Jane Warren had volunteered to facilitate and record the focus group when it is scheduled. Town Report Picture: Photographer David Tabeling took a photo of the Committee for the 2010 Annual Town Report. Candy distributed a draft narrative for review. Youth Stress: Discussion continued on this topic introduced by Ann at the last meeting. After Ann reviewed the current evolution of this issue, Marian provided an historical perspective from a major stress survey at Lexington High School in the year 2000. There was agreement that this is an important ongoing community issue which is difficult to focus because there is both‘good’ and ‘bad’ stress. Numerous anecdotes were shared which illustrated the complex interactions of parents, youth, schools, and community. For now, the question of what value 2020 Vision might add to the discussion was deferred until we have input collected from all the focus groups and see what issues rise to the top. Meeting Adjourned: 9:00 a.m. Next meeting scheduled for Friday, January 21 at 7:45 a.m. in Room 207 of the Town Office Building.