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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-08-13-2020-min2020 Vision Committee Meeting Thursday, August 13, 2009 BOS Meeting Room In attendance: Candy McLaughlin, Carl Valente, George Burnell, Fernando Quezada, Peter Enrich, Peter Lee, Marian Cohen, Jane Warren, Chuck Benson, Alan Wrigley, Ann Redmon, Bhumip Khasnabish Meeting Convened: 7:50 a.m. Lexington Citizen's Academy: Several different areas of publicity for the Citizen's Academy were discussed. • The course has been posted in the Lexington Community Education materials. The listing does not currently have a contact phone number, and Marian is listed as the contact person. Candy will have the contact information changed to the phone number and e -mail address for Brianna in the Town Manager's Office. • Information on the Citizen's Academy will be posted in the Minuteman as soon as the Lexington Community Ed Bulletin comes out. There is still some difficulty in contacting the Colonial Times; Marian was expecting an e -mail from them, but has not received it yet. It was agreed that the announcement for the Academy should go out in both publications, since they reach slightly different audiences. • In terms of having cable announcements, Peter Lee will check with Harry Forsdick of LexMedia. Announcements are usually only made a week in advance, which may not fit with the rest of the time frame for publicizing the Academy. • George will announce the Academy at the next Board of Selectmen's meeting, so the information will reach the television audience. • Candy will put the announcement on the Town's website. She will also post the announcement on the Lexington list serve, probably multiple times. • There will be flyers and a sandwich board; ideally, the sandwich board will have a pocket for flyers so that interested residents can take the information with them. The Town has a sandwich board that can be used. These will be available at places where Lexington residents congregate, such as the Farmer's Market. • Members of the committee should advertise the Academy to their friends, family, etc. • It was suggested that the Newcomers' Club might be another way to advertise. • Ann will contact the PTA presidents group, and request that the announcement be sent out on each school's list serve. • It is likely that interest in the Academy will peak after Labor Day as people return from vacation. Publicity will also ramp up after Labor Day, but if interest is still low: o Fernando will write a letter to the editor at the Minuteman o The announcement will be sent to the TMMA list serve, in the hopes they will advertise it to residents that are not Town Meeting residents Carl, Candy and Brianna have been working on the content for the Citizen's Academy. • Candy, Carl and Brianna have begun outlining what content should be presented at each session, the kind of information that could be available on a handout, and what facilities, equipment, etc. people should see. • At the end of each session, students will be asked to write down one question about the next week's department (or topic) that they would like answered. This will help direct planning for future sessions. • The venues and personnel are almost all set. We are still waiting to hear which members from the School Department will be participating. Fernando will contact Margaret Coppe about the Academy, and will also encourage someone from the School Committee or Department to attend the 2020 Vision Committee meetings. Futures Panel: The date has been confirmed, since Nariman Behravesh has committed to present the Economics perspective. The panel will be held on October 29, 2009. The rest of the discussion focused on identifying speakers for the categories. It was decided to pursue all four remaining topics with the intent to have three additional speakers plus a moderator. Peter Enrich pointed out that no matter how the specific topics mesh together, good speakers and a good moderator will result in a good discussion. • Environment: Jim McCarthy, Bill Moomaw, Tim Weisskopf and Daniel Schrag were all suggested. Peter Enrich commented that the environment was really a key perspective to include on the panel, even if the impact on Lexington will be secondary. The Committee suggested that Jeanne Krieger be asked to secure a speaker. • Education: A suggestion of Jeff Young, the former Superintendent of Schools in Lexington, for the panel raised some concern about existing baggage, or creating baggage. The role of the education panelist was also discussed, and the consensus seemed to be that the focus should be broader than pre -K to 12th grade education; for example, the panelist could discuss how education models are changing and how Lexington can adapt to these newer models to remain competitive. George noted the benefit of having an education panelist participate, regardless of what their exact focus is, since the Town faces several issues about the Schools: a future override to expand the high school, capital projects rebuilding three of the schools, and potential redistricting. Marion will talk to Pat Plummer about additional names, and a member of the Committee will talk to Paul Ash for additional panelist suggestions. • Healthcare: Healthcare is hard to include, since so much discussion is occurring already and the environment is changing so quickly; by the same token, it is hard not to exclude it. The healthcare panelist could talk about healthcare as a cost driver in Lexington, its role as one of the largest sectors of employment in New England, and the impact of the healthcare system on the quality of life in Lexington. Marian will check with her husband Bruce for more ideas, as the suggestion of Matt Fishman could draw a negative reaction since he is the CEO of a large health insurance firm. • Technology: Since Tim Berners -Lee has not responded to the invitation, George will work on identifying a panelist. However, since technology is an integral part of all the other topics, it may be reasonable to drop this topic if the other panelists discuss the role of technology in their field. • Moderator: George will talk to Bill Dailey about being the moderator. • Other topics: Bhumip mentioned that a speaker on biotechnology and /or the life sciences might be another perspective to pursue, since the field has a very large impact, especially in Lexington. Meeting Adjourned: 9:05 a.m.