MPO Meeting Minutes

Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting

June 1, 2023, Meeting

10:00 AM–10:50 AM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform

David Mohler, Chair, representing Gina Fiandaca, Secretary of Transportation and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

Decisions

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) agreed to the following:

• Approve the minutes of the April 20, 2023, MPO meeting
• Endorse the Federal Fiscal Years (FFYs) 2023–27 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendment Five
• Release the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight for its 21-day public review period
• Release the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine for its 21-day public review period
• Approve the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 Operating Budget

Meeting Agenda

1.    Introductions

See attendance on page 8.

2.    Chair’s Report—David Mohler, MassDOT

D. Mohler stated that the CTPS SFY 2024 Operating Budget agenda item will be moved to the end of the meeting agenda.

3.    Executive Director’s Report—Tegin Teich, Executive Director, CTPS

T. Teich stated that there are three open positions with CTPS: Principal Analyst/Travel Demand Modeler, Manager of Multimodal Planning and Design, and a Senior Transportation Planner in Multimodal Planning and Design with a freight focus.

T. Teich stated that on May 30, 2023, the MPO and MassDOT held a joint public meeting for the state’s draft 2024–28 Capital Investment Plan.

T. Teich stated that the next board meeting, on June 15, 2023, will be held as an in-person and hybrid meeting in the State Transportation Building Board Room at 10 Park Plaza in Boston, MA.

4.    Public Comments  

There were none.

5.    Committee Chairs’ Reports

Derek Krevat, MassDOT, stated that the next Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee meeting will be on June 8, 2023, at 1:00 PM to discuss the draft FFY 2024 UPWP.

6.    Regional Transportation Advisory Council Report—Lenard Diggins, Chair, Regional Transportation Advisory Council

L. Diggins stated that the next Advisory Council meeting will discuss the development of the Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan.

7.     Action Item: Approval of April 20, 2023, MPO Meeting Minutes

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    April 20, 2023, meeting minutes (pdf)

2.    April 20, 2023, meeting minutes (html)

Vote

A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 20, 2023, was made by the MBTA Advisory Board (Amira Patterson) and seconded by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (Eric Bourassa). The motion carried.

8.     Action Item: FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Five—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Five (pdf)

2.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Five (html)

E. Lapointe stated that the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Five proposed the following changes:

·       Cost increase to the Wilmington—Bridge Replacement, Butters Row over MBTA project

·       New design earmarks for Border to Boston Trail segments in Peabody and Salem

·       New design earmark for Wakefield—Broadway Commuter Rail Crossing project

·       Funding adjustments for three MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) projects

No public comments were received during the 21-day public review period.

Discussion

Amira Patterson, MBTA Advisory Board, asked what adjustments would be made to accommodate the Wilmington project’s cost increase. E. Lapointe stated that the State Highway Program, which facilitates the project implementation, has funding reserved for contingency, so the $30,000 cost increase does not trigger further cost or scope changes.

Vote

A motion to endorse the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Five was made by the MetroWest Regional Collaborative (Dennis Giombetti, City of Framingham) and seconded by the MAPC (E. Bourassa). The motion carried.

9.     Action Item: FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight (pdf)

2.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight (html)

E. Lapointe stated that the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight proposes a cost increase and delay for project #607342, Milton—Intersection Improvements at Route 28 (Randolph Avenue) and Chickatawbut Road, due to design delays from right-of-way issues. The current budget is $7,062,751 and the proposed new budget is $9,112,736.

Vote

A motion to release the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Eight for its 21-day public review period was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the MetroWest Regional Collaborative (D. Giombetti). The motion carried.

10. Walk-On Action Item: FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine (pdf)

2.    FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine (html)

E. Lapointe stated that the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine proposes project S12847, Cambridge—Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for Cambridge Residents. This project programs $1 million in federal Community Project Funding, matched with $250,000, to expand the publicly accessible electric vehicle charging network in Cambridge.

Vote

A motion to release the FFYs 2023–27 TIP Amendment Nine for its 21-day public review period was made by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (L. Diggins) and seconded by the MAPC (E. Bourassa). The motion carried.

11.  Action Item: FFYs 2024–28 TIP—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    FFYs 2024–28 TIP (pdf)

2.    FFYs 2024–28 TIP (html)

3.    FFYs 2024–28 TIP Appendices (html)

4.    Compiled Public Comments (pdf)

5.    Compiled Public Comments (html)

6.    Town of Natick Public Comment (pdf)

E. Lapointe reviewed the FFYs 2024–28 TIP development timeline and key dates when decisions were made by the board. The FFYs 2024–28 TIP contains $697 million of the MPO’s Regional Target funding. Of that amount, $150 million in funding was allocated to 21 new projects, including three new Transit Modernization projects, the introduction of a FFY 2025 Project Design Pilot, and the introduction of a Bikeshare Support Program. Eight projects were delayed. The FFYs 2024–28 TIP includes continued investment in major regional projects, including  project #606226: Boston—Reconstruction of Rutherford Avenue; #607981: Somerville—McGrath Boulevard Construction; and #609246: Lynn—Rehabilitation of Western Avenue. Investments sorted by MPO Investment Program can be found in Table 1. A summary of the Regional Target funding is in Table 2.

 

Table 1
FFYs 2024–28 TIP Target Funding by MPO Investment Program

MPO Investment Program	Number of Projects	Regional Target Dollars Programmed
Bicycle Network and Pedestrian Connections	6 (2 new)	$66,140,116
Community Connections (allocated to projects)	17 (10 new)	$11,529,796
Community Connections (not yet allocated to projects)	N/A	$8,334,827
Complete Streets	22 (4 new)	$328,884,130
Intersection Improvements	5 (2 new)	$44,424,588
Major Infrastructure—Roadway	3	$125,094,890
Transit Modernization (allocated to projects)	4 (3 new)	$65,600,000
Transit Modernization (not yet allocated to projects)	N/A	$21,500,000
Unprogrammed	N/A	$26,036,440
Total	57 (21 new)	$697,544,788

 

Table 2
Regional Target Program Funding Summary

Federal Fiscal Year	Regional Target Funding Available	Regional Target Funding Programmed	Remaining Unprogrammed Funds
2024	$130,647,095	$126,991,048	$3,656,047
2025	$128,427,689	$125,975,489	$2,452,200
2026	$125,285,687	$124,667,241	$618,446
2027	$155,132,142	$144,006,044	$11,126,098
2028	$158,052,175	$149,868,526	$8.183,649
Total	$697,544,788	$671,508,348	$26,036,440

 

 

E. Lapointe stated that the public review period for the TIP lasted from April 26 to May 17, 2023. Staff held two virtual open houses, posted on social media, and conducted direct stakeholder outreach. Eight comment letters were received during the public review period, specifically mentioning the following projects:

·       Belmont—Community Path (#609204)

·       Norwood—Intersection Improvements at Route 1 and University Avenue/Everett Street (#605857)

·       Swampscott—Swampscott Rail Trail Construction (#610666)

·       Weston—Reconstruction on Route 30 (#608954)

A petition was submitted in opposition of the Reconstruction on Route 30 project in Weston (#608954) with 111 signatures. There were also 119 other comments, a letter from the Regional Transportation Advisory Council, and letters of support from advocacy groups. Topics in the comments included the following:

·       TIP document

·       Expanding transportation equity investments

·       Greenhouse gas emissions and protecting air quality

·       MBTA expansion projects

·       MBTA bus facilities

·       MPO, MassDOT, and MBTA project selection methods

·       MBTA commuter rail electrification

·       Project selection and scoring process

E. Lapointe requested that the board to vote to endorse the TIP document and stated that final updates before posting will include the addition of endorsement pages and certification statements, updates to Appendix G and Table G-2, and minor adjustments throughout the document.

Vote

A motion to endorse the FFYs 2024–28 TIP was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (L. Diggins). The motion carried.

 

12. Action Item: CTPS SFY 2024 Operating Budget—Eric Bourassa, MAPC and Hiral Gandhi, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    SFY 2024 Operating Budget Memo (pdf)

2.    SFY 2024 Operating Budget Memo (html)

3.    Proposed SFY 2024 Operating Budget (pdf)

4.    Proposed SFY 2024 Operating Budget (html)

5.    SFY 2024 Revenue Projections (pdf)

6.    SFY 2024 Revenue Projections (html)

E. Bourassa stated that the MPO’s Administration and Finance Committee met prior to this meeting to discuss the proposed CTPS SFY 2024 Operating Budget and voted unanimously to send it to the full MPO board for approval.

The expected revenue for SFY 2024 is $7,850,000, a 13 percent increase from SFY 2023. This increase can be attributed to the addition of the federal discretionary Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. The revenue supports 61 positions; seven are administrative positions and eleven positions are currently vacant. The expected overhead rate for SFY 2024 is 120.3 percent.

Vote

A motion to approve the CTPS SFY 2024 Operating Budget was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the Inner Core Committee (Tom Bent, City of Somerville). The motion carried.

13. Members’ Items

D. Giombetti spoke in support of the upcoming in-person and hybrid board meeting on June 15, 2023.

14. Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (L. Diggins). The motion carried.

 

Attendance

Members	Representatives and Alternates
At-Large City (City of Everett)	Eric Molinari
At-Large City (City of Newton)	David Koses
At-Large Town (Town of Arlington)	John Alessi
At-Large Town (Town of Brookline)	Robert King
City of Boston (Boston Planning & Development Agency)	Jim Fitzgerald
City of Boston (Boston Transportation Department)	Matthew Moran
Federal Highway Administration	Joshua Barber
Federal Transit Administration
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville)	Tom Bent Brad Rawson
Massachusetts Department of Transportation	David Mohler John Bechard
MassDOT Highway Division	John Romano
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)	Jillian Linnell
Massachusetts Port Authority
MBTA Advisory Board	Amira Patterson
Metropolitan Area Planning Council	Eric Bourassa
MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham)	Dennis Giombetti
Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (Town of Acton)	Kristen Guichard
North Shore Task Force (City of Beverly)	Darlene Wynne
North Suburban Planning Council (Town of Burlington)
Regional Transportation Advisory Council	Lenard Diggins
South Shore Coalition (Town of Hull)
South West Advisory Planning Committee (Town of Medway)
Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce)	Tom O’Rourke Steve Olanoff

 

 

 

Other Attendees	Affiliation
Sarah Bradbury	MassDOT District 3
Miranda Briseño	MassDOT
Joy Glynn	MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA)
Michelle Ho	MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning (OTP)
Chris Klem	MassDOT
Josh Klingenstein	MBTA
Raissah Kouame	MassDOT
Jackie Laflam	Cape Ann Transportation Authority
Derek Krevat	MassDOT OTP
Lou Mercuri
Jim Nee	MWRTA
Jane Obbagy
Jon Rockwell	TEC, Inc
Michelle Scott	MassDOT OTP
Cheryll-Ann Senior	MassDOT District 5
Jon Seward
Tyler Terrasi	MWRTA
Jeremy Thompson
Andrew Wang	MassDOT

 

MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff
Tegin Teich, Executive Director
Logan Casey
Ethan Lapointe
Silva Ayvazyan
Annette Demchur
Hiral Gandhi
Stella Jordan
Erin Maguire
Marty Milkovits
Srilekha Murthy
Bradley Putnam
Judy Taylor
Sam Taylor