Reports: Executive Director’s Reports

April 11, 2005

  1. Declaration of Trust - Although we are waiting for final confirmation, it appears that the Mayor will sponsor a technical correction of the purpose section of the D of T to be approved by the City Council. This would incorporate those changes that the trustees cannot make in the document. The trustees would adopt those other changes that have been previously discussed to change the makeup of the board and quorum requirements and update other sections of the document. We should be in a position to make these changes at the May meeting.
  2. Tax Status - The City has agreed that we should have a separate 501(c)3 approval and tax ID. We are now in the process of working with Bruce Wickersham, our pro bono attorney, to prepare the application. The City is writing the IRS to clarify our tax status prior to this fiscal year. We will have to file our own tax return this year, due four months after the end of our fiscal year on June 30. I am awaiting a quote from Raphael and Raphael for that and for the audit that we will need for the US EPA this year.
  3. Budget Request - The Mayor is to submit his budget request to the City Council this week. We don't yet know what will be included for the Trust. I have been assured by Mike Ross's office that they will be prepared to push to overcome any shortfall in funding proposed by the Mayor.
  4. Current Fiscal Year Funding - The City has mailed out the check for the final $36,500 in operating funds for this year. The Boston Water and Sewer Commission has voted to approve a $25,000 one time donation to the Trust; the check should be received this month.
  5. Existing Construction Contract - All permits are in place for construction to start next week. Christian has gotten the first of the parking permits, and the procedure set up last year with BTD, implemented with the assistance of Bo Holland, seems to be operating smoothly. There are 59 wells remaining on this contract.
  6. 114 Well Contract - We have been straightening out the language on this contract. I'm hopeful that we can send it out to New Hampshire Boring for their signature this week. Construction on this contract will, if all goes well, start at the beginning of June.
  7. 180 Well Contract - We hope to go out for bid on this contract in May, with construction to start in August. In line with the concerns raised by the trustees at the meeting of the Committee of the Whole, we will proceed in East Boston in such a way that we can evaluate the results of early wells to determine the value of completing the whole network in that area.
  8. Meeting with Boston Legislative Delegation - Gary, Tim, and I met with the delegation at a meeting arranged by Reps. Byron Rushing and Marty Walz. Over half the delegation either attended or sent staff. We had a very good opportunity to explain the issue to members for whom it has not been high on their priority list and to tell why it was of concern for the whole city and the state. Sen. Diane Wilkerson was very vocal in her concerns about the issue. The meeting gave us a leg up on potential legislative solutions.
  9. Groundwater Educational Forum - The Forum, sponsored by 22 concerned groups, was an overwhelming success. The crowd overflowed the Rabb Lecture Hall at the Boston Public Library, with at least 100 people turned away. The presentations were solid, the interest in the room stayed high through the event, and both the press and public officials appeared to be favorably impressed. Virtually all of the information that we brought to our pre-event table was taken by the public. Over 40 people have signed up for our mailing list either at or since the event. This is a major step in building momentum toward solutions. The groups that sponsored the forum will be forming into a formal groundwater coalition to supersede the Groundwater Emergency taskforce with a wider geographic focus.
  10. Press - There has been substantial coverage in the press on groundwater issues including several articles in the Boston Globe, major articles in the Boston Courant and the Beacon Hill Times, and a front page feature article in the Back Bay Station. All of the articles are posted to our website.
  11. Website - Interest in the website is at its highest level ever. March was either the top or one of the top months in all categories of interest, but April to date exceeds anything that I've seen so far. We have gotten a proposal to improve the site by integrating database well information into the map to ease the current two page method. We will get the proposal refined and hopefully launch the project within the next month or two.
  12. BRA Reviews - We've received Project Notification Forms for an expansion of the Children's Museum and for a new project at 1330 Boylston Street in the Fenway. Both projects are in areas of groundwater concern, and I'll be commenting on them.
  13. Columbus Center - We have been asked to approve ten monitoring well locations for the Columbus Center project, including four wells to be located on Turnpike property adjacent to the MBTA railbed. We have returned our comments, which have included some relatively minor adjustments in location. The Columbus Center development team would also like the chance to present to the trustees on their plans for a recharge system, as described in the recent Boston Globe article. I would hope to have them at one of our upcoming meetings.
  14. Vacation - I'll be on vacation April 19-22 and also April 29. During that time, I can be reached on my cell phone (617-686-8469) or via message left at the office, which I'll check periodically.