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Concord committee forms engagement subcommittee to boost Town Meeting turnout
Summary
Members formed a new engagement subcommittee to design outreach and awareness strategies for Town Meeting 2025; Chase Thompson will lead initial brainstorming and volunteers signed up for the public subcommittee meeting next week.
The Town Meeting Study Committee established an engagement subcommittee to develop outreach ideas aimed at increasing awareness and participation in Town Meeting. During a presentation, Chase Thompson framed the problem as a funnel—awareness, relevance, effort, complexity and experience—and said many residents are unaware Town Meeting exists: "I've lived here for 8 years. This was the first year I knew of Town Meeting," he told the committee.
Chase asked for a small, public subcommittee to brainstorm low‑cost, legally feasible ideas, such as short explainer videos, leveraging schools and PTOs, and using local business channels. The Chair announced a public meeting for the subcommittee a week from Tuesday and declared the subcommittee established; volunteers included Chase Thompson, Alice, Parashar Patel, Keith Bergman and others.
Members discussed subcommittee size and quorum considerations and agreed the initial session should generate many ideas with follow‑up work groups to test feasibility. The committee stressed the subcommittee will produce pros/cons, cost and legal notes for any proposals before recommending them to the full committee or Select Board.
Next steps: the subcommittee will meet publicly next week to inventory outreach options and assign follow‑up research on feasibility, legal constraints, and a short list of pilot activities.
