495/9/90 Working Group

With the release of the I-495/Route 9 Interchange Improvement Study,  MassDOT asked the Partnership to convene a 495/9/90 Working Group of public and private stakeholders. This group met for the first time on May 8th, and were briefed by MassDOT's Regional Administrator and District Operations Engineer on progress regarding improvements to that part of Route 9, as well as to the I-495/Route 9 interchange and to the I-495/I-90 interchange.  The resulting discussion also focused on the implications of the state's plans for all-electronic tolling on the I-495 / I-90 interchange, as well as the state's commitment of $12.5 Million for improvements to the affected part of Route 9.  Following the meeting, the Partnership sent a letter to MassDOT's Secretary Richard Davey expressing the region's thanks for the working group and the commitment of funds, and for the next step in selecting a team to design the potential Route 9 improvements.

Special thanks to Congressman James McGovern for securing federal funding for the completed interchange study; Governor Patrick and Secretary Davey (as well as former Secretary Mullan) for their leadership on these improvements and for committing $12.5 Million for the affected section of Route 9; and Regional Administrator Jonathan Gulliver for asking the Partnership to form the Working Group.

Institute for Local Issues 

The Partnership continues to hold Institute for Local Issues (ILI) forums through our Committee work.  At the end of April, our Water Resources Committee heard from representatives of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on their Sustainable Water Management Initiative (SWMI).  The presentation can be viewed from the ILI webpage for Water.  Attendees were provided with a detailed overview of the regulation revisions and engaged in a vibrant discussion with the DEP representatives.  Comments are due to DEP by July 10, 2014, click here for details on the proposed regulations.

In early May, the Partnership's Transportation Committee hosted Gerald Francis, Acting General Manager for Keolis Commuter Services.  Keolis was awarded the MBTA commuter rail contract in January 2014, and will begin operating the service on July 1st.  Representative from 495/MetroWest communities hosting commuter rail stations along with private sector leaders engaged in a great discussion with the new operator.  Francis noted that Keolis is eager to continue communications and dialogue with the region.  Be sure to check out the Transportation Committee page for updates on our various meetings.

Thanks to our Bronze Investors:

Atlantic Management

Avidia Bank

Beals+Thomas

BJ's Wholesale Club

Capaccio Environmental Engineering

Capital Group Properties

Clarke Distribution Corp.

Commerce Bank

Commonwealth Creative Associates

Customers Bank

Dean College

GateHouse Media

Green International Affiliates, Inc.

GZA GeoEnvironmental

The Gutierrez Company

Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare

HNTB

J.M. Coull Inc.

Marlborough Hospital

MassBay Community College

MetroWest Regional Transit Authority

Middlesex Savings Bank

Milford Regional Medical Ctr.

Mirick O'Connell

National Development

Oxbow Partners

Patridge Snow & Hahn, LLP

Red Hat

Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, LLC

St. Mary's Credit Union

Serlin Haley LLP

Small Water Systems Services, LLC

Tetra Tech, Inc.

Woodard & Curran

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Verizon

Woodard & Curran

2014 Annual Conference 

We hope you can join us for an exciting line-up at the Partnership's 2014 Annual Conference on June 20th, with keynote speaker Dr. Beverly Scott, General Manager of the MBTA. View the Invitation and register today!

This event will also include the big reveal of the 495/MetroWest region's Top Ten Transportation Nightmares.  Check out the web page with links to articles by our project partner, MetroWest Daily News, but you must attend the event to hear the top ten list.  Finally, we have five gubernatorial candidates confirmed to address attendees of the conference - Charlie Baker, Martha Coakley, Mark Fisher, Steve Grossman, and Juliette Kayyem.  We hope to see you on the 20th!   

State Budget could include 495/MetroWest Priorities 

The proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2015 has passed the House and Senate, and is now being considered by a conference committee, who will develop a consensus version for final approval by the Legislature before going to the Governor to be signed into law.

The conference committee is considering two items particularly important to the 495/MetroWest region.

The first is the House budget's inclusion of establishing a 495/MetroWest Edge Suburban Community Commission, which would have a broad range of members charged with examining the "development challenges being experienced by edge communities" and "develop policy responses and recommendations to ensure that edge communities participate in state development initiatives and benefit from state resources."  The Partnership would like to thank State Rep. Kate Hogan for authoring the amendment on the Commission, as well as her cosponsors - Representatives Gregoire, Dooley, Linsky, Barrows, Dykema, Benson, Sannicandro, Fernandes, Walsh, Peterson, Conroy, Beaton, and Atkins.

The second is continued funding for the state's Regional Economic Development Organization (REDO) program, which is a competitive grant program that offers limited state funding for the work of fourteen organizations statewide.  This program was championed by Senator Karen Spilka in the passage of the 2010 economic development reform law, and our delegation have since been steadfast supporters. While the funding was not included in the House budget proposal, the Partnership would like to thank Rep. John Fernandes for being the lead sponsor on a statewide amendment to restore funding, as well as his cosponsors from this region - Representatives Roy, Dykema, Linsky, Kuros, Sannicandro, Walsh, Benson, Gregoire, Beaton, Barrows, Peterson, Hogan, Conroy, Arcerio, and Peisch.  Fortunately, our Senate delegation was able to secure continued funding in the Senate Ways and Means budget proposal, so we'd like to thank our Senators for their success. 

As a result, the conference committee members are now considering both proposals, and the Partnership has asked those legislators, members of leadership, and our 495/MetroWest delegation for their support to include both items in the final FY2015 state budget that goes to Governor Patrick.

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 Corp.

NSTAR, a Northeast Utilities Company

Special Thanks to Our Silver Investors:

Framingham State University

NAIOP Massachusetts  |  Patriot Place

Sam Park & Co. Ltd.

Staples  |  Sunovion

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