HomeMy Public PortalAboutVision Planning Committee -- 2021-03-15 Minutes TOWN OF BREWSTER VISION PLANNING COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES - - -
Tuesday, March 15, 2021 at 4PM
Virtual Meeting
Hal Minis, Chairman, convened the Brewster Vision Planning Committee via remote participation with members :
Patricia Hess, Andi Genser, Fran Schofield , Sue Searles, and Sharon Tennstedt and Kari Hoffmann , and Garran Peterson .
Paul Wallace was absent . A quorum was determined .
Also present : Honey Pivirotto ( FinCom Liaison ) , Ryan Bennett (Town Planner) , and Ellen Murphy ( Department Assistant ) .
The Chair read the Recording or Taping Notification : This meeting will be conducted by remote participation pursuant to
Governor Baker' s March 2020 orders suspending certain Open Meeting Law provisions and imposing limits on public
gatherings . No in - person meeting attendance will be permitted . If the Town is unable to live broadcast this meeting, a record
of the proceedings will be provided on the Town website as soon as possible . The Town has established specific email
addresses for each board and committee so the public can submit comments either before or during the meeting . To submit
public comment or questions to the Vision Planning Committee, please email : brewplan@brewster- ma . gov .
• Review and Approval of March 1, 2021 meeting minutes :
Hal asked the Committee if they had any comments on the March 15t meeting minutes . There being no
comments, Andi Genser made a motion to approve the minutes, Sue Searles second the motion, Hal took a
roll call and the minutes were approved unanimously .
• Vision Plan Implementation Task :
a ) Hal stated that he would like to review the Stakeholder interviews, discuss lessons learned and provide
any additional information to guide the interviews . Overall the Committee experienced positive and
impressive interviews . Fran Schofield stated the interviews she was involved in , Brewster Conservation
Trust and Department of Natural Resources were very informative, and prepared . She commented that
the Department of Natural Resources had a good understanding of multiple diverse issues . They
discussed the interconnection with other town departments and how they are working together . Sue
Searles agreed that the groups freely shared information and were knowledgeable of the Vision Plan ,
stating specific goals and providing examples . Andi Genser stated that it was a very positive experience
and although the discussion , was scheduled for 20 minutes it turned into an hour discussion . She
brought to the attention of the Committee that the time allocated may need to be extended . Sue
commented that because there was so much material that was generated from the questions we may
want to record the discussions going forward . The Committee discussed the possibility of recording and
the best approach . It was decided that the Zoom host has the capability to record but in any case you
should always inform the participants . The easiest way is to record to your personal computer . Kari
suggested if there are several groups contacting the same Stakeholders it would be helpful to have one
contact reach out to the Stakeholders . Sue shared with the Committee that when more than one
Building Block meets with Stakeholders it helped to discuss one question at a time . She also informed
the Committee that . during her discussions she found best practice was to move the Climate Change
question to the beginning of the discussion and provide an introduction stating the importance of
Climate Change as an overarching issue . Fran discussed the Select Board mandate that all departments
incorporate net zero climate emergency issues in all aspects of their planning and decision making . Fran
referenced the Select Board resolution on climate change/ net zero emissions document . She will send it
to Ellen to distribute . Andi suggested the mandate be included in the introduction and ask the
Stakeholders to consider Climate Change as they begin to answer the questions . The Committee then
went on to discuss upcoming meetings that are scheduled and timeline . It was decided that the
Stakeholder meetings wrap up by mid to late April . Hal discussed the amount of information received
during the Stakeholder meetings . He suggested the Committee focus on the vital information that will
go into the annual report . Ryan stated the focus should be to report on the specific goals that were
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outlined in the Vison Plan . Fran suggested a written survey to Stakeholders as a follow up from the
discussion . Hal suggested to target the discussion to ensure the appropriate information for the Annual
report is obtained .
• Communication Update :
a ) Newsletter Discussion
Hal turned the meeting over to Fran to discuss the newsletter. Fran suggested the first newsletter be light
and introduce the Brewster Vision Committee members, how the Committee was formed , mission and an
opportunity for the residents to form Brewster' s future . She indicated it should also include a recap of the
process that took place two years ago . The Committee discussed the best way to publicize the newsletter,
including links to signup and access to the Vison Plan . It was suggested to use the email list that was
previously used for the Brewster Vision Advisory Group . Ryan will follow up with Lynn on how the list was
created and if it can be used . The Committee discussed ways to reach out to the community with the
newsletter . Andi suggested that all Stakeholders receive the newsletter and request they include it in their
own newsletters and community organizations . The Committee discussed having pictures of people
included in the newsletter, possibly using pictures that were taken previously . Patricia suggested printing
the newsletter in hardcopy for the residents that prefer a physical copy and making it available in the library
or at the COA . Sharon suggested the newsletter could be included with the hardcopy COA newsletter that is
available .
Hal then discussed the annual report of the Vision Plan implementation progress . He referred to the Tisbury
Vision Plan annual report . He discussed the format and outline of the report with each of the goals and
what has been achieved . The Committee agreed that a bulleted format was easy to read and provided a
simple and concise approach . Hal reminded the Committee as they write up their feedback from the
Stakeholder meetings to think about the annual report and how we report against the goals . Andi suggested
that the Committee ensure the annual report and the newsletter align . Patricia asked about the budget for
publications and events . Ryan to follow up .
• Climate Change and Energy Discussion :
Hal reminded the Committee the importance of Climate Change and the discussion earlier moving the
Climate Change question to the beginning of the Stakeholder discussion as well as setting the stage in the
introduction with the Stakeholders on the Town' s Climate Change focus . Hal asked the Committee how to
educate Committee members and how to incorporate Climate Change into the LCP . The Committee
discussed the goals of the Vision Plan and how Climate Change is a factor in each one of the goals . They
discussed Climate Change as an overarching issue and how it should be approached during the Stakeholder
meetings . It was decided that the Committee would reach out to Ned Chatelain the Select Board Liaison for
additional background information , also Tighe & Bond for the Cape Cod Policy Plan and how other towns
have approached this issue in their. LCP' s
• Review Action Items from March 15t Meeting :
Patricia provided an update on the action items from the March 15t meeting . She indicated that the
Committee covered all of the items .
• Next Meeting :
Monday, April 5, 2021 with Tighe & Bond
• Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair :
Sue commented on the Brewster Community Network ( BCN ) and their important role of bringing up " hot
topics" of interest . She suggested getting on the agenda for their forums . Sue will reach out to the BCN and
report back at the next meeting .
A motion was made by Sue Searles to adjourn the meeting, Kari Hoffmann second the motion, a roll call vote was taken
and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 5 : 25 pm . Vote : 7 -0-0 .
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