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Annual Conference features Gubernatorial Candidates & MBTA General Manager
The five leading Gubernatorial candidates await their turns to address the Partnership's annual conference.
MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott addresses the Partnership's annual conference.
On the morning of June 20th, over two hundred regional leaders attended the Partnership's annual conference, Grow in 495/MetroWest, and heard from the five major Gubernatoral candidates and the MBTA General Manager, Dr. Beverly Scott, while receiving our annual report.
The candidates each recognized the importance of the 495/MetroWest region, and provided an overview of their vision for the Commonwealth. While there were a wide range of priorities among the candidates, their participation in the conference was much appreciated, demonstrating their attention to our concerns, and building a foundation with the Commonwealth's next Governor.
Dr. Beverly Scott, General Manager of the MBTA, gave a passionate and informative overview of the challenges facing transit, while focusing on the commuter lines serving 495/MetroWest. She pointed out that the MBTA's commuter rail is the fifth busiest in the nation, the recent commuter rail contract was the biggest in the nation, and the rail equipment is the fourth oldest in the nation. Recent initatives to improve service include awarding the commuter rail contract to a new operator, Keolis, who took over on July 1; recent expansions to the Worcester Framingham line schedule; and adding rolling stock - seventy-five new bi-level passenger cars and forty new locomotives. While transit services are impacted by politcial deliberations, she pointed out that "There is no red or blue in transportation, only purple... issues of mobility should be nonpartisan."
The Partnership would like to thank all who attended the conference, as well as Dr. Scott for serving as keynote speaker, and Gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker, Don Berwick, Martha Coakley, Mark Fisher, and Steve Grossman for their participation. Special thanks to our event sponsors; without their support, this event would not have happened - AECOM, Beals + Thomas, Carruth Capital, Dean College, Green International Affiliates, HNTB, Mirick O'Connell, NSTAR a Northeast Utitlities Company, Sheraton Framingham, and VHB.
FY15 State Budget includes focus on Regional Development
On July 11, 2014, Governor Deval Patrick signed the Fiscal Year 2015 state budget into law as Chapter 165 of the Acts of 2014. While the $36.5 Billion annual budget impacts every area of state operations, it includes two regional development initiatives that address the 495/MetroWest region.
The budget establishes the 495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Community Commission, with a broad range of members examining the "development challenges being experienced by edge communities... to ensure that edge communities participate in state development initiatives and benefit from state resources." This Commission was created in the budget's outside section 233, originating from a successful House amendment filed by State Representative Kate Hogan, and cosponsored by State Representatives Cory Atkins, Jay Barrows, Matt Beaton, Jennifer Benson, Tom Conroy, Shawn Dooley, Carolyn Dykema, John Fernandes, Danielle Gregoire, Kay Khan, David Linsky, George Peterson, Tom Sannicandro, and Chris Walsh, supported by a Senate amendment proposed by Senator Karen Spilka with Senators Eileen Donoghue, Jamie Eldridge, and Michael Moore.To provide further background on this Commission's membership, mission, and timeline, the Partnership has prepared a downloadable Issue Brief.
Another development initiative in the budget with implications for the 495/MetroWest region is continued state funding for the state's Regional Economic Development Organization (REDO) program. This initiative is a competitive grant program, first championed by Senator Karen Spilka and our delegation in the 2010 economic development law, that offers funding for the work of fourteen organizations statewide, including the MetroWest & 495 Alliance for Regional Economic Development, a joint initiative of the Partnership and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce. The Partnership would like to thank Rep. John Fernandes for being the lead sponsor on a statewide House amendment for the REDO program, as well as his regional cosponsors - Representatives Roy, Dykema, Linsky, Kuros, Sannicandro, Walsh, Benson, Gregoire, Beaton, Barrows, Peterson, Hogan, Conroy, Arcerio, and Peisch. After our Senate delegation secured continued funding in the Senate Ways and Means budget proposal, the final state budget for FY2015 included this important program, but at a reduced level.
We thank all of our state legislators who fought so hard for the REDO program, especially lead supporters Representative John Fernandes and Senator Karen Spilka, as well as legislative leadership for its inclusion in the conference committee report, and Governor Deval Patrick, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki, and Office of Business Development Director Michael Hunter for including the program in the FY15 budget.
Not Following the Partnership Yet? Why Not??
Stay up-to-date on the Partnership’s work and events by following us on social media. The Partnership has a Twitter account, LinkedIn Group and a Facebook page for you to follow, join or friend as a way to keep up with our various activities on behalf of the 495/MetroWest region. No longer will you have to wait for our e-newsletter for the latest updates on the Partnership’s efforts; connect to one or all of our social media outlets today!
  
Special thanks to our state legislators for securing state funding for regional economic development, and the Office of Business Development for their support.
Special Thanks to Our Platinum Investors:
Bowditch & Dewey LLP
Carruth Capital LLC | EMC² | IBM
Special Thanks to Our Gold Investors:
Alexander, Aronson, Finning & Co. PC
Bose Corporation | Cisco Systems
Day Pitney LLP | Genzyme, a Sanofi Company
NSTAR, a Northeast Utilities Company
Special Thanks to Our Silver Investors:
Framingham State University
NAIOP Massachusetts | Patriot Place
Sam Park & Co. Ltd.
Staples | Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc
TJX Companies | TransAction Associates
495/MetroWest Partnership
Private Sector CoChair: Scott Weiss, The Gutierrez Company
Public Sector CoChair: Joseph Nolan, Town of Wayland
Private Sector ViceChair: Kathleen Freeman, Northeast Utilities
Public Sector ViceChair: Henry Fitzgerald, Town of Shrewsbury
Treasurer: Marc Verreault, Carruth Capital
Clerk: Peter Martin, Bowditch & Dewey
Paul Matthews, Executive Director
Jessica Strunkin, Deputy Director
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