HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-09-2020-min2020 Vision Committee Meeting
Thursday, April 9, 2009
7:45 - 9:00 a.m. in Selectmen's Meeting Room
In attendance: Fernando Quezada, Ann Redmon, Marian Cohen, Barry Orenstein, Peter Lee,
Chuck Benson, Peter Enrich, George Burnell, Carl Valente, Candy McLaughlin, Gavin Bates
The meeting was called to order at 7:50 a.m.
The minutes from the March 13 meeting were approved.
Citizen Academy:
There was consensus that the implementation of a Citizen Academy would be very beneficial to
the Town and that the Committee should move forward with the idea. Carl noted the problem of
the same people being on many committees and that a major benefit of the academy would be
encouraging involvement from previously unengaged citizens. The program might also have a
two -way benefit, in that staff would get insight into public understanding of Town government.
Peter Enrich reminded the Committee that it would be a net gain for the Town if even two or three
citizens decided to run for Town Meeting or become otherwise involved in Lexington
government. Candy mentioned that the Police Department has run a similar academy and
experienced very good results. Barry mentioned that people seem to get involved because a
particular issue interests or affects them, such as when a parent gets involved once his children
become part of a program or a resident becomes active when her neighborhood will be affected by
development. He suggested using a case study to show how an issue plays out and how decisions
get made, in order to attract new people and promote involvement.
George asked whether a class size as large as 80 people would be workable in order to maximize
the investment of staff time in developing the academy program. Peter E. replied that, in his
experience, there is a value in keeping class sizes down to around 25 people and that this would
also allow the group to move around Town more easily. Candy added that a smaller size might
encourage camaraderie and a feeling of group accountability for completing the entire program.
Fernando asked the Committee if they could tentatively plan for an annual academy with a rough
size of 25 that could be adjusted depending on demand. The Committee agreed.
There was discussion that a condensed series of classes, from September through November,
would be better than a monthly class stretched over a longer length of time. Peter L. added that
this timing would allow participants to get involved and possibly run for Town Meeting. Other
committee members noted that advertising would need to begin in May or June in order to
effectively communicate with the community and build interest in the Citizens Academy project.
The Committee discussed what Town Departments or program should be highlighted for this
project. Carl and George both suggested that the Committee would have more trouble narrowing
the scope of the academy than finding information to fill it with. Peter E. stated that he saw value
in including the smaller regulatory departments, like Conservation and Planning, that were rarely
well understand and did a lot of work to improve the lives of the Town's citizens. Barry
responded that he viewed practical issues, such as how an override was passed or other similar
procedures, as being more important for educating participants about what they can do. Carl
recommended that the Academy give participants opportunities to see and touch things, such as
climbing into an ambulance or touring a command center. Peter E. added that the academy should
talk about the various committees in Town and how they work, which could also serve to increase
recruitment to those committees. Carl stated that it might help to guide the process if, at the
beginning of the Academy, participants were asked for a single question they would like answered
by the end of the process.
The Committee then discussed the issue of the age of the Academy's target audience. Ann replied
that, at first, the Academy should simply accept anyone who shows up. Carl replied that he also
saw particular value in recruiting high school age students. There might be value in having an
"attendance certificate" or some type of similar recognition for all participants. Filming one of the
final sessions, particularly asking participants what they took away from the process, could
provide useful promotional material for the future.
Futures Panel:
George stated that it is time to re- identify the issues facing the Town for the next 20-30 years. The
Committee agreed that, practically, it would be hard to organize a formal Futures Panel before
September or October. Carl and George told the group that the Town government needs to start
moving on these issues well before that, but these internal efforts could feed into a later Futures
Panel. George outlined plans to assemble a Task Force to tackle the issues in May and June of
this year, and distributed a proposed charge for the Committee to review. The Task Force's report
would be released in September, dealing specifically with issues likely to come up in the next
three to five years, potential challenges and priorities for the Town's tasks and responsibilities.
George told the Committee the proposal would probably go to the Selectmen on the coming
Monday so that more people could be brought on board and the group could begin work at the end
of Town Meeting. George stated that he believed the challenge would be to produce good
projections and that the process would have to involve discussions with many individuals on the
state level in order to get a good overall picture so that the Town could identify its choices and
priorities. George stated that this would be a more compact and less comprehensive effort than
the Selectmen's last fiscal committee, and that he would appreciate any input from the Vision
2020 group. The Committee offered its opinion on various potential candidates to serve on the
Task Force and endorsed the effort enthusiastically.
The Futures Panel in the fall would provide an update on these issues as well as identify
challenges further down the road. Peter E. stated that he felt the issues of climate change and state
/ local relationships (particularly fiscal) were of increasing importance and should be featured
prominently. The Committee then discussed what contribution the Demographic Change Task
Force could provide to the Panel. Carl stated that he believed medical technology,
pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology were all major and important issues. The Committee agreed
that there were many issues, both economic and medical, surrounding these topics that should be
featured. The Committee discussed potential candidates to recruit as speakers for the panel.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m.
Future Meetings. Thursday, May 14
Friday, June 12