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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-11-12-2020-min2020 Vision Committee November 12, 2009 Selectmen's Meeting Room 7:45 a.m.- 9:00 a.m. In attendance: Jane Warren, Marian Cohen, Chuck Benson, Barry Orenstein, Bhumip Khasnabish, Fernando Quezada, Richard Canale, Alan Wrigley, Peter Lee, Candy McLaughlin, Brianna Olson Meeting began: 7:45 a.m. The minutes for the October 8, 2009 meeting were approved, with changes from Jane and Richard. Citizens' Academy: • There will be a graduation ceremony on November 23, pending the schedule of Town Meeting sessions. • All eight department sessions are done; the Lexington schools presentation was Tuesday, November 10. • There have been about 18 -20 people attending each session, indicating high retention. • There was a discussion of how to deliver feedback to the participants and keep them involved. They can be added to the Committee's e -mail list of citizens. • Photos will be taken at the graduation ceremony. They will be sent to participants. • We should report back through the means that we advertised- the Minuteman, the Town website, and possibly the Colonial Times. • Department heads will be formally thanked for their work on the Academy, and they will be invited to the November 23 graduation ceremony. • Participants will be asked to fill out an evaluation form. Candy, Brianna and Marian will work on developing the questions. The Committee suggested that the following topics be covered in the participant evaluation: demographics, why they signed up for the Academy, how they heard about the Academy, what they liked and didn't like, an evaluation of presenter's material, if they would be willing to participate in publicity for future Academies, and if there was information from the sessions that should be on the website • The evaluation will be e- mailed out earlier and participants will be asked to return it on November 23. • Presenters will also fill out an evaluation of their role in the Academy. Futures Panel Debrief: • The Futures Panel went very well. There was good attendance from a much broader audience than expected. The demographic information provided by the Demographic Change Task Force was helpful and informed a lot of the discussion. • Time was problematic for the presenters, and there was not enough time for discussion and interaction between speakers. It was suggested that at future panels there only be three presenters with multiple perspectives on one topic, and that the moderator also have experience in the topic. • Each presenter's PowerPoints are available online. It was suggested that this information be passed on to the TMMA list, the Lexington List, and LexMedia, if they will be rebroadcasting the panel. Fernando will send a follow -up letter to the Minuteman, debriefing on the panel and letting people know that the information is available. • It was discussed how the Committee could pick up on the information presented and continue the conversation to get people to connect global and local issues, and discuss the interaction between themselves, local policies, and global trends. Several suggestions were made: o Take the Futures Panel "on the road," as a small town looks down the road at its future. o Continue the discussion at Precinct meetings. o Continue the conversation online, through a discussion forum or something similar. o This will be further discussed at the next meeting. • Thank you letters and gifts have been sent to the speakers. The Committee should maintain contact with them over time. • Richard Canale suggests that the futures panel could be tied to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's (MAPC) regional plans, which looks at trends and discusses intervening steps to realize its 2030 goals. This will be further discussed at the next meeting. Demographic Change Task Force: • The Demographic Change Task Force would like some feedback from the 2020 Committee about their current work and what their next steps are. • Marian provided a brief update on what the Task Force has been doing: They met with all Town departments, and heard a very similar message. The population in Lexington is aging and becoming more diverse, particularly in the number of languages spoken in the schools. These clear trends will inform how Town departments allocate resources in the future as they respond to these trends. However, there is also very little concrete data that the Task Force can use for analysis. This will be further discussed at the next meeting. Old Business: • Precinct meetings and ways to increase transparency will be further discussed at the next meeting. Next Meeting: December 10, 2009; 7:45 a.m. -9:00 a.m.; Selectmen's Meeting Room Adjourn: 9:05 a.m.