MASTER PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
June 7, 2012 - 7:00 PM
Conference Room B, 3rd Floor, Town Hall
Voting Members Present: Charlie Corley, Rodney Frias, Don Garcia, Justin Provencher, Sam Wong, Chris Yates
Ex Officio Members Present: Paul Blazar, Tony Marques
Others Present: Jennifer Burke, Kerin Shea, Ralph Wilmer, Jef Fasser
Members Not Present: Len Belli, Brian Choquette, Terrence Joyce, Lorraine Nelson, Julie Papazisis, Jim Quinn, Arthur Redding, Lynn Valcourt, John Blood, Dick Braga, Linda Ghiloni, Dave Stephens
Hand-Outs: Schedule, Community Immersion Day tabulations, DRAFT Public Kick-Off Questions, DRAFT Public Kick-Off Agenda
Introductions
The contract with VHB was approved the Selectmen’s last meeting of 5/21/12. Ms. Burke introduced Ralph Wilmer & Jef Fasser from VHB. Mr. Wilmer is the project manager for Hudson’s Master Plan. Staff & members introduced themselves.
Overview & Roles
Mr. Wilmer gave a brief overview of the Master Plan process. The Plan is developed with a 10 – 15 year horizon. He explained the MGL requirements & VHB’s project approach.
The Master Plan Steering Committee (MPSC) should meet on an approximately monthly basis. It needs to give guidance & direction to VHB. Draft chapters will be rolled out to the Committee & staff in advance of the presentation to the public, for feedback & comments. Mr. Wilmer suggested that all comments be directed to Ms. Burke for compilation & transmittal as one document. The MPSC will make the final decisions on the recommendations at the end of each chapter, especially when issues are controversial in nature. The MPSC will serve as policy/decision makers as we move forward with each chapter. The MPSC should also offer input with additional public outreach by reaching out to stakeholders, explaining the process & inviting participation. Mr. Fasser reminded everyone that this
is an open process with 2-way communication.
Lastly, Mr. Wilmer explained the final step in the process. The Master Plan will be adopted as the core planning document by the Planning Board.
Community Immersion Day
VHB engaged itself in an intensive day-long data gathering session on 5/30/12. They took a 2 ½ hour tour of the Town, looking at commercial/residential areas, municipal facilities, schools, recreation facilities, churches, mills, and areas of historic/cultural significance. This tour gave VHB a sense of the lay of the land & a look at specific “hot spots”. They plan to do further in-depth tours as part of the regular data-collection process, as we get further into specific elements of the Master Plan.
In addition to the tour, VHB conducted 12-15 interviews with various Town departments & Boards. VHB interviewed representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Hudson Light & Power, Planning Board, Parks & Recreation, DPW, Conservation, Economic Development, School Department, Housing Authority, Board of Health, as well as Executive Assistant, Paul Blazar. Mr. Wilmer stated the interviews were very informative & that participants seemed happy to be included. VHB summarized responses to the questions, & highlighted anything that was mentioned more than once.
Public Kick-Off Meeting
The Public Kick-Off meeting will be held 6/11/12 at 7:00 in the Town Hall Auditorium. The MPSC chair should introduce VHB. Mr. Wilmer then went over the draft agenda for the meeting. No members had any concerns or changes at this time. He then went over the approach to the meeting & various participatory activities.
Residents would sign in & get a numbered name tag. A Live/Work board would have residents put different colored push-pins on a map. Parts of the presentation would ask for residents to name Hudson’s Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities & Threats. All answers would be transcribed & hung up around the room. Residents would then be able to put colored stickers next to those answers that were most important to them. Many multiple-choice questions would be asked using the Turning Point keypads. Answers would be anonymous & instantly tabulated.
Residents would then break-out to specific tables corresponding to the numbers on their nametag. Each table would have 3 questions on a specific topic. Town staff & VHB would monitor the discussions to keep people on track & to record answers. Then each table would report back to the group.
Public Outreach
Mr. Wilmer went over Town’s Citizen Participation Plan. He suggested doing a blog, a site which would offer residents the opportunity to have a dialogue about the Plan, specific chapters or issues. He also asked for ideas on how to get the word out to the Portuguese community. He also said that we should do additional targeted outreach for those residents that are not computer savvy.
Mr. Garcia asked if we could do a mailing? Mr. Wilmer said the census mailings would go out in January. We could also do an online survey using a tool such as SurveyMonkey. Outreach could be directed if there was a specific issue that the Committee was wrestling with. Mr. Garcia wanted to make sure that outreach efforts reached the business community, many of which do not live in Town. Outreach should be not just to property owners, but should be directed to individual businesses who may rent their location.
Mr. Marques said that the DPW mails out 10,000 Consumer Confidence Reports every June. It goes to every resident, every apartment, not just property owners. He would need something ASAP. Mr. Blazar mentioned that the water bills are sent out in August. Ms. Burke added that Hudson Light & Power Bills might be utilized.
Mr. Wilmer then went over the Master Plan website. All of the Town’s substantial planning documents are online. They will be used by VHB as part of their data collection efforts. Members were encouraged to review them or at least familiarize themselves with them, especially as we progress, as there is a lot of relevant information in them. VHB would like to see more content on the website & would also like to see it organized differently, with more graphics.
Schedule
VHB explained the anticipated schedule. He recognized that many Steering Committee members participate on other Boards that meet in the evenings. VHB is appreciative of members’ participation & would make the most their time. The Steering Committee will not be meeting over the summer. Meetings & public forums would resume in the fall.
Come fall, VHB & the MPSC will come up with a Vision Statement. We will set goals & objectives – many of which may come out of the Public Kick-Off meeting. The statement is dynamic & fluid. It can adapt & change as new issues are raised, problems are solved or other items come to light.
The first Public Forum will be on Land Use, as this helps lay out & inform all of the other chapters of the document. The recommendations at the end of the Land Use chapter may change as other chapters are completed. VHB will also do an Implementation Matrix which will include the recommendations from all chapters, identify priorities, responsibilities, funding streams & accountability.
The Plan should be easy to read & understand. Data, charts, graphs & maps would be included in appendices, as to make the document easier to read.
No members had any other questions or concerns at this time.
Don Garcia, seconded by Rodney Frias, made a motion to approve the minutes of May 7, 2012, as written.
Vote: 6-0-0, unanimous
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM.
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