Draft Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Unified Planning Work Program Committee Meeting Summary

July 16, 2020, Meeting

9:00 AM–9:45 AM, Zoom videoconferencing platform

Benjamin Muller, Chair, representing Stephanie Pollack, Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

Decisions

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee agreed to the following:

Materials

Materials for this meeting included the following:

1.    Meeting Summary of the June 25, 2020, meeting

2.    Draft FFY 2021 UPWP

Meeting Agenda and Summary of Discussion

1.    Introductions

B. Muller read the accessibility statement and Matt Archer (MPO staff) called the roll.

2.    Public Comments

Jeremy Thompson, Manager of Policy and Planning at the 495/MetroWest Partnership, thanked the MPO for its leadership in these challenging times. He advocated on behalf of the Framingham Mobility Study, which had previously been included in the UPWP Universe but has been removed this cycle, noting the regional significance of Framingham as a transportation and employment center. He also noted that Framingham has seen significant transit-oriented development.

3.    Meeting Summary of June 25, 2020—Approval of this summary

A motion to approve the summary was made by Tom O’Rourke (Town of Norwood/Three Rivers Interlocal Council) and seconded by Tom Bent (City of Somerville/Inner Core Committee). The motion carried unanimously.

4.    Action Item: Approval of the FFY 2021 UPWP—Sandy Johnston, UPWP Manager

S. Johnston introduced the final draft FFY 2021 UPWP. The MPO had voted on May 28 to release the document for public comment, with the public comment period running concurrently with the month of June. The committee will vote to forward the document to the MPO for final endorsement. S. Johnston briefed the committee on some minor tweaks made to the document to reflect changes in project budgets, mostly due to impacts to MPO work from the COVID-19 emergency. He also reviewed the six comment letters received during the public comment period, all of which are documented in Appendix B of the UPWP. The comments are summarized below as follows:

S. Johnston explained that he has written responses to each of the commenters; the committee can write formal responses of its own if it would like, but that has not been the practice in the past.

B. Muller commented that it is good to see so many stakeholders watching carefully and reaching out, and that is one of the great things about the Boston Region MPO.

Lenard Diggins (Regional Transportation Advisory Council) made a motion to approve the UPWP and forward it to the MPO for endorsement. The motion was seconded by T. O’Rourke. The motion passed unanimously.

5.    Members Items

There were none.

6.    Next Meeting

The next meeting is planned for August 6, 2020. It will likely include approval of Amendment Two to the FFY 2020 UPWP, and a vote to send Amendment Three of the FFY 2020 UPWP to the MPO to release for public comment.

7.    Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by T. O’Rourke and seconded by T. Bent. Without objection, the meeting adjourned.


Attendance

Members

Representatives

and Alternates

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Office of Transportation Planning)

Ben Muller

Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Eric Bourassa

Regional Transportation Advisory Council

Lenard Diggins

At-Large City (City of Newton)

David Koses

At-Large Town (Town of Arlington)

Daniel Amstutz

City of Boston (Boston Transportation Department)

Tom Kadzis

Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville)

Tom Bent

MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham)

Erika Jerram

Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce)

Tom O’Rourke

Three Rivers Interlocal Council alternate (Town of Westwood)

Steve Olanoff

 

Other Attendees

Affiliation

Jeremy Thompson

495/MetroWest Partnership

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff

Tegin Teich, Executive Director

Annette Demchur, Director of Policy and Planning

Jonathan Church, Manager of MPO Activities

Sandy Johnston, UPWP Manager

Kate White, Public Outreach Coordinator

Matt Archer, Transportation Planner

 


 

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166.

The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background.

A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact

Title VI Specialist
Boston Region MPO
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116
civilrights@ctps.org
857.702.3700 (voice)
617.570.9193 (TTY)