HomeMy Public PortalAboutVision Planning Committee -- 2022-01-18 Minutes TOWN OF BREWSTER VISION PLANNING COMMITTEE , i. ti .},< .
MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 , at 4PM
Virtual Meeting
Hal Minis, Chair, convened the Brewster Vision Planning Committee via remote participation with members : Sharon
Tennstedt, Andi Gesner, Amanda Bebrin , Fran Schofield , Suzanne Kenney, and Patricia Hess were present . Paul Wallace
was absent . A quorum was determined .
Also present : Sharon Rooney (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 . govI
• Review and Approval of January 3rd meeting minutes :
One change to the minutes was made to Vesna Maneva' s last name . Fran made a motion to approve the
January 3rd meeting minutes as amended, Sharon second the motion, a roll call was taken , and the January 311
meeting minutes were approved unanimously .
• Discussion of public engagement strategy :
Hal turned the discussion over to Sharon to provide an update on the survey .
a ) Survey review and vote on final version
Sharon informed the Committee that the pre -test has been completed . She indicated that the pre -test
provided good comments along with comments from Town Administration . She stated the survey is in final
draft . Andi had questions regarding collecting data on gender and race ethnicity . The Committee was
informed that those items were not included in the survey questions that was done 4 years ago . She asked
the Committee if those questions should be included . Sharon suggested one reason the questions be
included would be that it reflects a representation of the Town . The Committee discussed what questions
should be included . Fran asked what questions were asked previously . Sharon read the questions from the
previous survey that was sent out 4 years ago . Amanda suggested they include the gender and race
ethnicity questions but add that it would be anonymous . Patricia brought up the 2020 census indicating the
questions concerning race are very detailed . Hal agreed the Committee should try to keep the question
aligned with the information they are trying to capture . Fran questioned best practices for gender . Amanda
suggested an open -ended text box stating any questions participants are not comfortable with can be
skipped . The Committee continued to discuss demographics and it was confirmed for gender the Town only
captures male/female . Hal stated that the original survey captured basic information not a full demographic
profile for Brewster . Patricia suggested the demographic questions be aligned with the questions Brewster
provides and Sharon stated that Brewster does not ask gender questions in the Town annual census . She
indicated that if they decide to collect the information, they need to use the US Census terms and questions .
If the Committee decides to use the US Census, then the data would have to be compared to the US Census
and not Brewster . Andi made a motion to include a question on gender and race ethnicity to the survey,
Amanda second the motion , a vote was taken and 64 in favor . Sharon will include the questions using the
US census categories .
Sharon sent out the survey link for review in order to finish the survey and make it live . She is asking for
final approval from the Committee . Amanda had one additional comment regarding Housing, and the
wording for " more multiple units" . It was decided to change the wording to " more apartments or multiple
units" . Amanda made a motion to approve with modifications, Andi second the motion , a vote was taken,
and the motion was approved unanimously .
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Sharon discussed the postcard design . She highlighted the past postcard and the proposed new design that
was included in the meeting packet as a comparison . She told the Committee that the postcard will be
mailed to all taxpayers from the Assessor' s database . The Committee reviewed the postcard design and
Suzanne suggested a phrase indicating taking the survey is "easy" . Andi suggested "We need your voice" .
The Committee agreed . Sharon will make the suggested changes to the postcard . The timeline for the
postcard mailing will be a day or two before the survey goes live . The survey will be available the month of
February . There will also be a live link for the survey in the email message .
b ) Update on Pop Ups, and focus groups design
Amanda reviewed the document in the meeting packet . She indicated that the location for the pop- ups
needs to be decided . A single location would be more desirable . She suggested times for both weekdays
and weekends . Andi brought up revising the Sea Camps flyer for outreach and distributing the around town .
Hal suggested it should include language similar to the postcard listing the live survey and pop- ups . Fran
suggested using the same branding on all of the communications . Fran will coordinate the flyer and send to
Ellen for printing . It will also be on the Town website, once approved by the Town Administrator , The
Committee decided to display posters as an exhibit at the door of the Town Hall and The Ladies Library . The
staffed pop- up locations would be at the Snowy Owl and Ferretti' s . Andi asked the Committee for
volunteers at the pop - ups . Ellen will reach out to the Committee with dates and availability .
The focus groups were tabled until the next meeting due to time constraints . Amanda made a motion to
investigate the Snowy Owl and Ferretti ' s as pop - up sites . A vote was taken and all were in favor . Ellen will
check the availability of easels that were purchased in the past .
c) Schedule of engagement activities
Sharon Rooney provided an update on the draft posters identifying where people live and 2 or 3 posters on
areas selected for a Town Center ( s ) . She also discussed a second map that would display critical natural
resources and areas for housing . This would not be interactive, more of a resource . Sharon Rooney will
have the maps available before the next meeting on February 7th . The maps will be on poster board and will
be displayed in several locations . Hal indicated that in addition to the maps he does not want people to
think the Committee is only concerned about the Town Center ( s ), it is important to highlight the map for
critical natural resources and housing . Andi suggested we need to align the language for Town Center( s ) .
She stressed it should be Town Center ( s ), not to identify just one Town Center . Sharon will update the
survey to reflect Town Center ( s ) .
• Communication — Review Timeline, action plan and outreach groups list .
Patricia reviewed the contact list that was included in the meeting packet . Hal suggested to include an
announcement in the Cape Codder and the Brewster Facebook page . Fran will draft a copy for publication . The
Cape Cod Times, Provincetown Independent, Cape Cod media , and Town Forums were all discussed . Patricia
will write a short article for the Cape Cod Times opinion page . The Select Board, Boards and Committees will
also make an announcement at their meetings .
• Update of LCP Roadmap and Tighe & Bond Status Report :
Hal reviewed the revised roadmap . This will be a living document . He referred to the status indicating the
progress made and who is responsible . This will be reviewed as a standing agenda item going forward . He
recommends that all of the Committee members review on a regular basis . Hal indicated that the LCP updated
summary papers are being requested for each of the building blocks . He stated that the summary papers are a
concise and meaningful statement of the status of the issues for each building block . He referred to the
document in the meeting packet that outlines who was the original author of the summary papers and a
suggestion of who could provide an update for each building block . Tighe & Bond will write the Land Use,
Climate Mitigation and Economy summary papers . Hal suggested the summary papers be completed by mid-
March .
Sharon Rooney also discussed the Housing summary, which is a required element for the LCP . She has started
reviewing the existing Housing Production Plan . She indicated that for the draft LCP, Tighe & Bond will provide a
summary of the existing Housing Production Plan .
• Review Action Items from January 3rd meeting :
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Patricia reported there are no action items outstanding
• Next Meeting : Monday, February 7 I
• Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair : none
Sharon made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Amanda second the motion, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at
5 : 31 pm .
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