HomeMy Public PortalAboutVision Planning Committee -- 2022-01-03 Minutes TOWN OF BREWSTER VISION PLANNING COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES BRE11 'ITFk Tiiblh CLLRI
Monday, January 3 , 2022, at 4PM - • • , .- �
•,c. 1 U rr
Virtual Meeting `
Hal Minis, Chair, convened the Brewster Vision Planning Committee via remote participation with members : Sharon
Tennstedt, Andi Gesner, Amanda Bebrin, Paul Wallace, Suzanne Kenney, and Patricia Hess were present . Fran Schofield
was absent . A quorum was determined .
Also present : Sharon Rooney and Vesna Maneva (Tighe & Bond ) , Kari Hoffmann , Honey Pivirotto . and Ellen Murphy .
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.
• Welcome New Member Suzanne Kenney
Hal introduced and welcomed Suzanne Kenney to the Vision Planning Committee . Suzanne provided some
background on her work experience, retiring in 2020 and volunteering at the Library and the Museum of Natural
History .
• Review and Approval of December 201h meeting minutes :
There being no changes to the December 201h meeting minutes, a roll call vote was taken to approve the
December 20th meeting minutes five in favor, Hal Minis and Suzanne Kenney being absent at the December 20th
meeting abstained .
• Discussion of public engagement strategy :
Hal turned the discussion over to Sharon to provide an update on the survey .
a ) Survey pre -test
Sharon informed the Committee that they are close to the end of the pre -test . She indicated that she was
unable to determine exactly how many pre -tests were completed but confirmed at least a dozen were
completed and approximately 22 were sent out . After the pre -test is completed , Sharon will provide a
hardcopy . Hal stated that Peter Lombardi the Town Administrator will be given a copy to provide a final j
review ensuring the Town is on board . Hal thanked Sharon for her hard work and effort putting the survey
together .
b) Update on Pop Ups, and focus groups — materials and staffing
Andi informed the Committee that given the recent discussions with Hal , Patricia , Amanda , and Fran , they
have revisited the approach and timeline to realistically align with the number of Committee members and
the latest Covid numbers . Amanda stepped through the outreach plan that was distributed . She
highlighted 3 areas : the survey, pop ups and focus groups . In reference to the survey, Amanda discussed
how to create awareness and the importance of community feedback from the survey, driving people
towards the survey . She then went on to the pop ups informing the Committee that a more realistic
approach is having a presence in one location over several days, looking for input from the Committee on
the best location . The focus group discussion led to a re- branding using the term " Community
Conversation" and providing visual and interaction capabilities . They felt the term focus group was too
narrow . Andi added that the key activity is time and energy to make the public aware of the importance of
the survey . Hal asked about data gathering . Amanda suggested data gathering would be interactive using
the example of the Town Centers . Hal asked about the script for the pop ups . He stated that it needs to be
engaging and uniform . He asked the Committee to think about how the comments/responses are gathered
and recorded . Andi explained the approach would be interactive requesting people to put a pin on the
map locating where they live and then a pin on where they think a Town Center should be . The approach
Page 1 of 2
a
for housing types and how to gather the data has not yet been determined . Amanda expressed a concern
with the housing types because that would require more time and complexity . It was suggested that
housing types may be best introduced with a smaller group . Amanda suggested a worksheet could be used
to assist in data gathering . Andi also suggested using the Zoom poll capability . Paul Wallace suggested to
have someone who could focus on recording the verbal comments . Sharon also asked the Committee to
think about once the data is captured , how will be data be analyzed . The Committee then discussed a single
location that would maximize activity such as Town Hall , Snowy Owl , Kitchen Cafe, Cafe Al fresco, Brewster
Market, JTs and the Brewster transfer station for the pop - ups . Sharon suggested the Committee be
sensitive to the chosen location , so it doesn' t look like the Committee is connected or supporting a
particular business . Andi discussed the community conversations using Powerpoint to walk thru the Vision
Plan background and the ask for feedback . She also discussed utilizing the poll capabilities in Zoom with a
Q&A session organizing and prioritizing the questions . Kari suggested the information for the community
conversations be included in the postcard . Hal expressed a concern that the community conversations may
not reach out to audiences that were not included in the past . The Committee discussed ways in which
those audiences could be included and the content .
c) Schedule of engagement activities
Hal talked about the flyer that was handed out at the Sea Camps Open House . He suggested an initial e"
blast sending out the flyer prior to the survey . Also, sending out a post card to all property owners . The
budget is a concern . Ellen is following up with Town Administration . Amanda suggested the timing of the
postcard and suggested the link be included in the postcard . Kari suggested the information for the
community conversations be included in the postcard . Vesna Halvorson from Tighe & Bond discussed the
possible sketches for banners and logos for the outreach materials . Vesna shared her screen walking thru
some options and the Committee suggested she send out for review and provide feedback at the next
meeting .
Hal summarized the activities that need to be done that should be included in the LCP targeted action plan
and next steps . He expressed a concern with the remaining work and if the Committee has the capacity .
The Committee discussed the data gathering and actions that need to be taken and the process . It was
decided to continue the discussion at the next meeting .
• Communication — Review Timeline and Action Plan :
Fran will be the contact person for the content and " look and feel " of the communication materials . An initial
communication was discussed that would announce the outreach activities ( Survey, Pop - ups ) . Patricia
expressed to the Committee that she needs a timeline finalizing what is needed and when . She asked for an
email list that includes committee chairs and other organizations in the community . Hal suggested a point l
person for each organization . The Committee went down the list and assigned members to reach out to each of
the contacts . Sharon indicated the Sea camps list of emails will be compiled and an email invitation for the
survey will be sent out . Kari informed the Committee that a communication goes on the town website and then
is pushed through to the town email list for notification .
• VPC representation on Sea Camps planning committees :
Hal informed the Committee the Select Board has allocated one VPC member slot for the Bayside Committee
and 6 general public open slots . For Long Pond there are 4 general public open slots for anyone interested .
Parties interested in the open slots or the Committee member slot should submit a letter of interest and fill out
i
the form on the Town website .
• Review Action Items from December 20th Meeting :
Outstanding : white paper on wastewater . Hal received the white paper this afternoon and he will distribute for
review through Ellen .
• Next Meeting : Tuesday, January 18th
• Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair : none
I
Amanda made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Paul second the motion, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 1
5 : 29 pm .
Page 2 of 2
i