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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-12-2020-min 2020 Vision Committee March 12, 2010 7:45 a.m. Selectmen’s Meeting Room In attendance: Janice Frascatore, Jane Warren, Alan Wrigley, Chuck Benson, Bhumip Khasnabish, Fernando Quezada, Marian Cohen, Candy McLaughlin, Brianna Olson Meeting Began: 7:45 a.m. The minutes from last month’s meeting were approved. Online Communication Tools: Brianna made a presentation about online communication tools st in the 21 century. The Committee discussed the potential uses of online communication tools in continuing with long-term conversations begun by the Futures Panel and the Demographic Change Task Force Report. Several issues were raised initially; there was a concern about the workload that could be incurred by staff in moderating and responding to inquiries, as well as a concern that one-issue discussions could sidetrack more broad discussions. Fernando felt the Committee should consider the overarching goals of future discussions, noting that both getting information out and receiving feedback and building constituencies are important objectives. He also commented that the Committee does have a 2020 e-mail list for anyone who has had involvement with the committee. Richard Canale added that another goal of future discussions could be to outreach to newcomers to Lexington. He also noted that LexMedia will soon begin indexing their shows so that individual segments of a show can be viewed. Chuck reiterated that one of the focuses of a discussion about continuing to engage the community should be on what the Committee would like to accomplish. Specifically, does the Committee want to develop something that is stand-alone, or something that is integrated into the Committee’s other materials on the Town’s website? He noted that the Committee had originally had a list of 26 goals; he suggested that it may be beneficial to revisit and reframe the list of goals and use the new list as a basis for a marketing push. Fernando agreed that as the Committee was at the midpoint of their original timeframe (2000- 2020), it would be beneficial to revisit their goals. Marian suggested that the Committee had two major charges; one was to provide outreach and education to the public, and the other was to provide information to the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen. Fernando suggested that the two goals were tied, as engagement often leads to policy. Marian suggested conducting a needs assessment survey for the public to determine what the Committee should focus on, in order to reach a broader group of participants. Janice suggested this would be a good way to get the Committee’s ideas out and about. Richard suggested that changing to ‘Vision 2030’ may help people look further into the future. He noted that there are so many concerns about the current economic situation, people have trouble looking forward. By focusing on a 2030 vision, the Committee can help provide context for the Town through which they can consider long-term planning. Fernando stated that the Committee does have several roles to consider, including educating the public, being stewards of the 2001 status report, establishing measures for tracking and reporting, identifying needs, and many more. He noted that with whom and what the Committee should be communicating would be an ongoing topic of discussion. Candy also noted that additional information on how municipalities are viewing opportunities for online engagement can be found in the following brief: http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/036A007536C14DF5BE74D8093F6B7B74/Municipal%20Officials%20Views %20on%20Public%20Engagement%202_FINAL.pdf Demographic Change Task Force: Candy stated that there had been no changes made to the report yet, but a concern had been raised about the tone of the report with regard to how the Asian population is referenced. The sense of the Committee was that the terminology used seemed neutral, and focused on the facts of the Report, which state that there is a growing subpopulation in Lexington whose primary language may not be English. It is important to make these facts available to the public, and the discussion and action items that occur because of the Report will be very beneficial to the Town. The Committee discussed a draft letter transmitting the report of the Demographic Change Task Force to the Board of Selectmen. This discussion will continue at the next meeting. With regard to the sequence, Candy stated that the Board of Selectmen will be presented with the report to accept; when they accept it, the 2020 Committee will issue the report and it will be posted on the Town’s website. The Board of Selectmen will be presented with the report after Town Meeting. MAPC: Richard will follow up from his presentation in January at a future meeting. He will discuss in-depth some of the MAPC’s data for Lexington. Adjourn: 9:10 a.m.