Draft Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Update Committee
Meeting Summary

August 7, 2024, Meeting

1:30 PM–1:53 PM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform

Tom Bent, representing the Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne

Decisions

The MOU Update Committee agreed to the following:

• Approve the minutes of the meeting of May 3, 2024
• Vote to present the revised Operations Plan to the MPO board

Meeting Agenda

1.    Introductions

See attendance on page 5.

2.    Public Comments

There were none.

3.    Action Item: Approval of May 3, 2024, MOU Meeting Minutes

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    MOU Meeting Minutes of May 3, 2024 (pdf) (html)

Vote

A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of May 3, 2024, was made by the MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham) (Dennis Giombetti) and seconded by City of Boston (Jen Rowe). The motion carried.

4.     Action Item: Vote to Present the Proposed Operations Plan Updates to the MPO Board—Dave Hong, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    Operations Plan Redline Version (pdf) (html)

2.    Operations Plan Clean Version (pdf)

Erin Maguire, MPO staff, presented key changes to the proposed Operations Plan. The changes fell into the following categories:

·       Text relocated from MOU

·       Text clarifications

·       Board education

·       Agency information sharing processes

·       Editorial corrections

Sections that were relocated from the MOU into the Operations Plan were moved to allow for topics to be more regularly updated than they would be in the MOU. These changes also allowed MPO staff to outline processes with more detail than they would have had in the MOU. Sections that were relocated from the MOU to the Operations Plan included the following:

·       Section 3.3.III.C

o   Meeting location requirements

·       Section 8.2.IV–V

o   Transportation Improvement Program Universe of Projects

o   First-tier list of unfunded priority projects

·       Section 8.4.I.A–C

o   Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies funding distribution

o   Accelerated Bridge Program

o   Road and Bridge Program

E. Maguire stated that there were a few instances where text in the Operations Plan was revised for clarity and simplicity without changing the meaning of the text. Examples of text that were revised for clarity include the following:

·       References to previous MOU and Operations Plan

·       Reference to regional transit authority (RTA) board seat

·       Regional Transportation Advisory Council

E. Maguire stated that the next change is to details in Section 3.4, Board Member Education, which outlines opportunities such as webinars, online resources, presentations, peer exchanges, and conference attendance.

E. Maguire stated that MPO staff worked closely with MassDOT, MBTA, and RTA staff to identify appropriate language to outline project information-sharing processes for relevant projects. This update outlines process for MPO staff to obtain information for MassDOT, MBTA, and RTA projects.

Discussion

Josh Ostroff, MBTA, said that Section 5 of the Operations Plan states that the state requires an update not less than every five years and asked if committee members wanted to discuss the language during the meeting.

E. Maguire stated that MPO staff adjusted that section that morning, and that they would send the edits to J. Ostroff to confirm that the language is accurate.

Jen Rowe, City of Boston, asked to clarify if committee members can make suggestions to the revised Operations Plan after it goes through MPO staff’s editorial process, but before the MPO board meeting where it will be voted on.

E. Maguire responded that there will be time before the MPO board meeting for board members and committee members to make additional, non-major changes.

Tom Bent, Inner Core Committee (City of Framingham), asked if further changes to the proposed Operations Plan would impact the vote in today’s meeting.

D. Hong asked J. Rowe if there was a specific section that the City of Boston wished to revise, and J. Rowe responded that there were just editorial changes rather than changes to the meaning of the text.

T. Bent stated that editorial changes would not affect the vote in the committee meeting.

Derek Krevat, MassDOT, asked if MPO board members would be suggesting revisions to the text when they vote on it at the next meeting. D. Hong confirmed that board members, not on the MOU Update Committee, would have an opportunity to suggest revisions.

Vote

A motion to present a summary of the Operations Plan revisions to the MPO board in a future meeting for awareness, review, and input, was made by MassDOT (Derek Krevat) and seconded by the MBTA Advisory Board (Hanna Switlekowski). The motion carried.

5.    Looking Ahead—Work Planning— Dave Hong, MPO Staff 

D. Hong presented key dates in the draft 2024 MOU Work Plan, including the following:

·       August 15, 2024 (MPO Board meeting)

o Action Item: Vote to release MPO MOU Update for 21-day public comment period

·       September 11, 2024 (MOU Update Committee meeting)

o Address and respond to any public comments as relevant

·       September 19, 2024 (MPO Board meeting)

o Action Item: Vote to endorse MPO MOU

o Committee Chair Report: Please work with relevant parties to obtain signatures and approvals to the MOU from your organizations

·       October 2, 2024 (MOU Update Committee meeting)

o MPO staff will engage board members for signatures to the MOU

D. Hong stated that there would normally be a board meeting on September 5, 2024, but that it will likely be cancelled due to a lack of action items and the Labor Day holiday.

In addition, D. Hong stated that the 21-day public comment period for the MOU would end on September 6, 2024, and MPO staff will prepare and summarize public comments and bring the summary to the September 11, 2024, MOU Update Committee meeting.

6.    Members’ Items

There were none.

7.    Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by MassDOT (John Romano) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Lenard Diggins). The motion carried.

Attendance

Members	Representatives and Alternates
City of Boston	Jennifer Rowe
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville)	Tom Bent
Massachusetts Department of Transportation	John Romano
	Derek Krevat
MBTA	Josh Ostroff
MBTA Advisory Board	Hanna Switlekowski
MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham)	Dennis Giombetti
Regional Transportation Advisory Council	Lenard Diggins

 

Other Attendees	Affiliation
Tyler Terrasi	MetroWest Regional Transit Authority
Eddie Marques	Cape Ann Transportation Authority
Felicia Webb	Cape Ann Transportation Authority

 

MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff
Tegin Teich, Executive Director
Annette Demchur
Dave Hong
Erin Maguire
Ethan Lapointe
Lauren Magee