HANSON – The Select Board on Tuesday, Jan. 31 reviewed the recent strategic planning session held at Camp Kiwanee with consultant Ann Donner of Ann Donner Consulting in West Newton.
A citizen’s survey had been conducted earlier last year to “lay the foundation” for the November session, according to Select Board chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. Donner has also interviewed the Select Board members, department heads and other stakeholders in town to gauge opinions on plan priorities.
“This is not a document, or even an effort that’s set in stone,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is a placeholder and then it’s an organic document, going forward. We’re constantly going to be updating this to reflect where we’re at, but we need to start somewhere.”
Donner was brought in to determine where that somewhere would be.
She focused on the key strategic areas developed as part of the November session and a possible framework through which those goals could be achieved through the draft document.
The five areas identified were: public facilities; public programming and recreation; economic development; citizen engagement and town administration.
“These strategic priorities are very reasonable,” Donner said. “This grew from … the citizens’ survey and out of the discussions with the Select Board, with the Department Heads and reflect a synthesis of what can we do in response to the priorities we heard that people value.”
There are high-level initiatives identified for each goal, for example, a five-year matrix for facilities to understand the state of facilities so the Select Board can convene a summit to identify and prioritize public facilities while improving internal and public communications about the projects and the outcomes envisioned.
“For every goal or priority there are stakeholders,” she said. “It’s like asking ourselves who needs to be involved … to make these things happen?”
Resources needed to achieve initiatives in each goal area are also listed.
The Economic Development goal aims to initiate and promote economic development as a way of mitigating tax increases while providing first-class services to Hanson residents.
Increasing traffic through MBTA use was one of the preferred outcomes.
Hanson has also wanted to involve more people in town government by filling volunteer positions and boosting Town Meeting attendance by developing and publicizing a table of board and commission openings, a mentorship program for new members and other suggestions among others.
“The thinking outside the box was really evident in this conversation,” Donner said.
An HR department and retaining town employees are key goals of improving town administration.
A reporting schedule for the rest of the year are designed to keep residents informed and to gauge what is working and what is not working.
“I’m looking at all the great work that has been done and I’m saying we’ve got to get on with it here,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. She said it was the first time in her six-year tenure that she saw a cross-section of town officials and departments gathering to discuss the town’s direction.
“We have made some progress,” she said of the hiring of Capital Strategic Solutions to improve communication with residents through the town website.
“We talk every meeting about tactical things we need to get done – and we get stuff done – but we’ve got to take it to the next level.”
Select Board member Ann Rein said a primary focus should be the table of board and committee vacancies.
Vice Chair Joe Weeks said that, once the town reaches 100-percent filled vacancies for boards and committees, they could look to making them more competitive and diverse in membership.
“Everyone here is on several different committees,” he said. “How do we diversify that and keep [membership] at 100 percent.”
Board member Ed Heal said it should be a line item on board agendas to keep the goals before the Selectmen.
FitzGerald-Kemmett asked Town Administrator Lisa Green to prioritize what she wanted to see as a next step.