Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
CantonMPSC_minutes_6-11-18_final
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Canton Master Plan Update Steering Committee Meeting June 11, 2018, 7-9 pm Canton Public Library 786 Washington St MINUTES Present: Horsley Witten Group: Nate Kelly, Krista Moravec, Craig Pereira; Camoin Associates: Tom Dworetsky; Master Plan Steering Committee: David McCarthy, Tom Theodore, Gerald Carmichael, Emilio Mauro, Meredith McCloughlin, Michael McMahon, and Sonja Grauds; Staff: Laura Smead, Town Planner Not present: John McSweeny, Tonja Mettlach Lead by Notes 1. Welcome & Introductions L. Smead 7:00-7:05 2. Review of Baseline Report Topic: Economics Camoin Associates 7:05-7:35 Tom Dworetsky presents overview of preliminary economics data report. Major points include that Canton has more jobs than people, and job growth has outpaced population growth. Noteworthy growth in healthcare sector. Some members surprised to learn that large share of Canton’s jobs are in construction sector. Review tax data and note that Canton has low residential tax burden thanks to strong commercial presence. Canton has higher tax levy than other surrounding towns and therefore less reliant on state aid. Review development trends and note that most real property development has been residential. Feedback from committee: Economic development areas of focus in plan should include 138 corridor, Plymouth Rubber, Draper, and canton junction station areas.
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Particular consideration should be given to how commercial and residential development interacts and the role of zoning and transportation/accessibility, especially along 138. Members would like more info/data on what job sectors are growing fastest for Boston MSA vs Canton to identify where opportunities may be. Also want to consider how Canton can attract life sciences employers and where potential sites for this type of development may be. 3. Review of Baseline Report Topic: Public Health HW 7:35-8:05 Craig Pereira reviews preliminary public health data collection including inventory of data sources and list of Canton town staff/boards/committees that are involved in public health issues. Major areas of review for potential inclusion in plan include the influence of land use and development on public health, housing quality, environmental factors of health, green space, and food access. HW will contact town staff/boards to arrange a focus group to learn what major issues the town faces in terms of public health. This may drive the development of a public survey on public health topics salient to the town. Goal is to identify public health gaps and needs and create work plan to address then to be included in master plan. Feedback from committee: Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse and Conservation Commission should be added to inventory of town boards/committees to be included in public health plan development. Mixed feelings on use of survey: may not reach most vulnerable groups, drug use questions may not produce truthful responses. HW
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suggests that current survey is just sample, can be changed and developed after feedback from town staff focus groups. Ensure that public health section of master plan includes connections to economic and physical development. For instance, green space conservation/use can impact public health. 4. Review of Baseline Report Topic: Demographics HW 8:05-8:35 Krista Moravec reviews preliminary demographic data report. This includes overview of Canton race, age, educational attainment, household size, and poverty distribution data and ACS estimates of how various populations will change. Note that non- white populations like Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and black are increasing as Canton becomes more diverse. Feedback from committee: Some surprise at share of school-age population; often conversations around town imply that number of students is growing so new schools are needed but data disputes that. Master plan section on demographics should include comparison data from Boston MSA and the state. 5. Review of Draft Material on Public Outreach and Communication HW 8:35-8:55 Krista Moravec reviews the key messages/ “elevator speech” to be used when discussing Master Plan with public, FAQ doc, and list of events where MSPC members can attend to raise awareness about the Master Plan and process. Also discuss the idea of doing a “letters to the editor” series on master plan topic areas and/or the process itself. Lastly, review of the two proposed logo styles: Viaduct and compass. Feedback from committee: Group approves of the three elevator speech messages and the FAQ doc; agrees that the FAQ
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doc can be left in public places like Library to raise awareness. There is interest in doing Letters to the Editor, but may be preferable to have a running series on the master plan topic areas or sites for development, like the existing series that already run in the Citizen. Could also consider doing blog posts on the master Plan project website. Group agrees that MSPC should have presence at town events; good opportunity to raise awareness and get contact info to start listserv of interested residents. HW will continue to identify which would be best with group’s input and also what items might be good to hand out at these events to raise public awareness. MSPC members should have t-shirts as official representatives of plan. Most members of group prefer the viaduct logo option, though there is also discussion that it may not do enough to indicate that the plan is about Canton’s future. Suggested edits include: Closing arches to make visual recognition easier Change text to read “Master Plan 2035”. Most agree this is good idea and helps emphasize the plan’s focus on the future. Making colored squares appear less like bricks and more like granite blocks. Could be accomplished by making them larger and/or changing color to blue. Consider adding train to top of viaduct. This may also help to address the issue that the logo doesn’t do enough to focus on progress/the future. Make “Master Plan 2035” text blue to improve readability.
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6. Vote to accept minutes, Closing Remarks D. McCarthy 8:55-9:00 Committee votes to accept the draft minutes from the prior meeting on 5/9/18.