Sen. Spilka's Business Summit

On June 11th at 7:30am, Senator Spilka is hosting a business forum entitled Capitalizing Your Businesss Opportunities at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center.

The forum will include a panel discussion and the opportunity to meet with representatives from chambers of commerce and local business organizations. Attendees will be provided with further information on available assistance for business owners and state initiatives from the panelists:

• Chuck Grigsby, President of the MA Growth Capital Corp.;
• April Anderson Lamoreux, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development; and
  
• Paul Matthews, Executive Director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership.

This forum is free, but registration is required; to register, go online to http://senatorspilka2012businessforum.eventbrite.com/, and for further information, contact Puja Mehta in Senator Spilka’s office at [email protected] or (617) 722-1640.

The 495/MetroWest Senate delegation, led by State Senator Karen Spilka, secured expanded state funding for regional economic development in the Senate budget. 

This success was due to the leadership and commitment of Senator Spilka and her amendment cosponsors Senators James Eldridge, Michael Moore, and eight others from across the Commonwealth.  The final Senate budget increased the funding from the current level of $850,000 for the statewide competitive grants for the new Regional Economic Development Organization Program to $1 Milllion for the next fiscal year.

The state budget deliberations now move to a conference committee process to craft a consensus state budget for FY2013.

The Commonwealth’s Economic Development plan, Choosing to Compete in the 21st Century, includes a goal of increasing internship placements as part of a strategy to attract and retain talented workers. 

To further this work, there is an online survey to collect information on existing internships and to solicit employers’ feedback on how the state can help employers with their internship programs.  To participate in this effort, go online to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6VZDQH.

Partnership Assisting Employers

As part of the Partnership's focus on the 495/MetroWest economy, we provide employers with technical assistance on navigating public programs, as well as work on employer attraction, location, and expansion initiatives.

Through these initiatives, the Partnership works with a wide range of public agencies such as the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and the Office of Business Development; quasi-public agencies like MassDevelopment;nonprofits including MassEcon; as well as municipal staff. 

Frequently such requests for assistance are confidential, such as MassEcon's Prospect Inquiry Bulletins which solicit relevant properties that meet varying requirements, but also have short turn-around times.

Anyone who would like to be kept aware of and/or involved in such efforts - particularly from real estate, land development, or economic development  - please contact the Partnership at [email protected] .

Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray address the annual conference.

On June 1, nearly 200 attendees at the Partnership's annual conference heard firsthand from Lieutenant Governor Murray, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki, and Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey on the state's ongoing initiatives on behalf of the 495/MetroWest region.

These updates included:

• Lt. Governor Murray thanked the Partnership for our work supporting the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, and welcomed the Partnership as a subcommittee member for the state's Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force.  This initiative is intended to demonstrate the economic impact of our military facilities, while advocating on their behalf as the federal government considers cutbacks to military facilities. 
  
• Secretary Bialecki provided a presentation on the state's development initiatives, while focusing on the recently released 495/MetroWest Development Compact Plan and its implementation on regional and state levels.
• Secretary Davey discussed the economic importance of our transportation network, and the need to restore financial stability to our transit system as well as to our roadways.

In addition, Mayor Arthur Vigeant welcomed attendees to Marlborough and Partnership Executive Director Paul Matthews presented the organization's annual report, which was released at the conference. 

The Partnership would like to offer our thanks and appreciation to Cathy Mogavero and Sue Leeber of the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce for their assistance, as well to the sponsors of our annual conference:  Beals + Thomas; Bowditch and Dewey; Carruth Capital LLC; Day Pitney; Dean College; Marlborough Courtyard by Marriott; Mirick O'Connell; Northeast Utilities / NSTAR; and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB).

The Partnership's Water Resource Committee will be holding two upcoming meetings on issues important to the 495/MetroWest region:

On Wednesday, June 20, the Committee will discuss the issue of state primacy for  NPDES permitting, since Massachusetts is one of only a few states in the country where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has delegated authority over the NPDES permit program, rather than the MA Department of Environmental Protection.  Recently the state's Water Infrastructure Finance Commission's report rasied the possibility of changing that framework in order for the Commonwealth to assume primary authority.

As a result, the meeting will focus on the issue of State Primacy,  US EPA NPDES Delegated Authority to Massachusetts DEP, presented by Tom Tilas, VP of AECOM, and Tom Walsh, Retired Executive Director of Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District. 

On Wednesday, July 18, the discussion will focus on the Water Infrastructure Finance Commission report, since that document is guiding public and policymaker discussions on how to best address the state's water infrastructure challenges.

Attendees will hear directly from the Commission's Chair, Senator James Eldridge, and Commission member State Representative Carolyn Dykema, both of whom are members of the Partnership's Advisory Council.

Both sessions will be held at 8:30am in the second floor conference center at the Partnership's office building in Westborough.  While both are open and free, if you are interested in attending either briefing, please email [email protected] .

The Partnership has spoken out on behalf of our communities and employers through:

• Providing written commentary on the region's needs to the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Organization on the Transportation Improvement Plan and the Unified Planning Work Program;
  
• Briefing the Greater Boston Real Estate Board on the 495/MetroWest Development Compact at a meeting in Medway;
• Participating in Lieutenant Governor Murray's tour of Fort Devens and the forward operating base used by Natick Soldier Research, Development, Engineering Center to test technologies;
  
• Assisting the Town of Littleton with their Littleton at a Crossroads initiative examining the infrastructure and regulatory needs of the area by the I-495 and Route 2 interchange;
• Supporting the Acton MinuteVan Shuttle;
  
• Addressing Representative Kate Hogan's Transportation Summit for municipalities considering means of coordinating and improving transit services;
• Discussing with economic development agencies the implementation of the 495/MetroWest Development Compact Plan;
  
• Participating in a meeting of the Natick Soldier Research Development Engineering Center's Science and Technology Board;
• Working with municipal officials, legislators, and state officials on the potential reuse of Westborough State Hospital;
• Participating in MetroWest Regional Collaborative's forum on their Route 9 MetroWest Smart Growth Plan;
  

Thanks to our Bronze Investors:

Avidia Bank

Beals+Thomas

Building Initiatives LLC

Capaccio Environmental Engineering

Clarke Distribution Corp.

Comcast Corp.

Community Newspaper Co.

GZA GeoEnvironmental

The Gutierrez Company

HNTB

J.M. Coull Inc.

Serlin Haley LLP

Kleinfelder / SEA Consultants

Marlborough Hospital

MetroWest Regional Transit Authority

Milford Regional Medical Ctr.

Mirick O'Connell

National Development

Patridge Snow & Hahn, LLP

Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, LLC

St. Mary's Credit Union

Woodard & Curran

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Verizon

Special Thanks to Our Platinum Investors:

Bose Corp.                    Bowditch & Dewey LLP

Carruth Capital LLC                               IBM

Special Thanks to Our Gold Investors:

Cisco Systems           Fidelity Investments

Day Pitney LLP                        Genzyme Corp.

EMC Corp.                                          NSTAR

Special Thanks to Our Silver Investors:

Alexander, Aronson, Finning, & Co. PC

Fallon Community Health Plan   

Framingham State University     

  Middlesex Savings Bank

NAIOP Massachusetts              Patriot Place

Sam Park & Co. Ltd.

Staples                                          Sunovion

   TJX Companies         TransAction Associates

495/MetroWest Partnership

Private Sector CoChair                            Rob Nagi, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin

Public Sector CoChair                             Glenn Trindade, Town of Medway

Private Sector ViceChair                         Scott Weiss, The Gutierrez Company

Public Sector ViceChair                           Joseph Nolan, Town of Wayland

Treasurer                                                  Marc Verreault, Carruth Capital

Clerk                                                         Peter Martin, Bowditch & Dewey

Paul Matthews, Executive Director

Jessica Strunkin, Deputy Director for Public Policy and Public Affairs