MINUTES
MassDOT BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 20, 2015
At the call of the Chair, a Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Massachusetts
Department
of
Transportation
was
held
at
the
State
Transportation Building, MassDOT Boardroom, Suite 3830, Boston, MA.
Those present were:
Messrs. Jenkins, DePaola, Bonfiglio, Blue, and
Misses Loux, being a quorum of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts
Department of Transportation.
Also present were Celia Blue, Registrar of Motor Vehicles; Dr. Beverly
Scott, General Manager, Chris Willenborg, Aeronautics Administrator, Faye
Boardman, MassDOT Chief of Staff, Jon Davis, Chief Financial Officer-MBTA;
Dana Levenson, Chief Financial Officer-MassDOT; Paige Scott Reed, General
Counsel, Owen Kane, Senior Counsel to the Board, Joe Pesaturo, Michael
Verseckes and Paula Fallon.
The Chairman, Mr. Jenkins, presided.
Chairman Jenkins called the Open Meeting to Order and presented the
order of business.
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Chairman Jenkins opened up public comment period.
The first speaker was Marilyn MacNab. Ms. MacNab would like the
timeline for the RIDE pilot program to be moved up if possible.
Chairman Jenkins closed public comment period.
Next was approval of the minutes for December 11, 2014. The Board
discussed the wording of the vote for the General Counsel. Director Loux
corrected the minutes to delete the words “and appoint” to the vote.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was with Chairman Jenkins
opposed;
VOTED: to approve the minutes of December 11, 2014 as amended.
Next was approval of the minutes for December 16, 2014.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was;
VOTED: to approve the minutes of December 16, 2014.
The next item on the agenda was item 7, MassDOT’s Fiscal Year 14
Financial Statements presented by Shawn Warren from KPMG. Mr. Warren went
through the highlights of the audited financial statements. The Board discussed
the debt of MassDOT. They asked for a detailed list of toll operations of
MassDOT specifically how much in the Western Turnpike. Susan Bristol stated
they would get them the number. The Board asked Mr. Warren if there were any
issues they should worry about. Mr. Warren responded that succession planning
is an important issue that MassDOT and the MBTA need to worry about.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was voted;
VOTED: to approve MassDOT’s FY14 Audited Financial Statements.
Next Acting Secretary DePaola gave his report. The Acting Secretary
reported that new Secretary Pollack will start on February 2, 2015 and gave a
brief description of her background. He also reported on the State’s budget
shortfall reported by the Governor’s office of $765 million. He noted they will be
back in February with a budget to help the state budget. Director Loux thanked
Mr. DePaola for his work stepping in as Acting Secretary.
Next Chris Willenborg gave his report on the Aeronautics Division. Mr.
Willenborg gave another update on the Statewide Airport Administration Building
project. The FAA Reauthorization Bill is set to expire this year. They will be
working closely with FAA on this matter. Key points he talked about were
modernizing air traffic control and financing of airport projects.
Next Registrar Blue gave her report. Registrar Blue went through the wait
times at the branches and online. Statewide at the branches were 22 minutes
and for the phone the wait times were 12 minutes. Next she updated the Board
on the rollout of the Driver License Procurement. The contract is up in January
2016. They hope to have the apparent bidder by the end of January. She ended
with the update of the AAA partnership rollouts.
Next Rail and Transit Administrator/General Manager gave her report. The
GM updated the Board on the Chief of Police hire. Mr. Frederick Ryan accepted
the offer and will start at the end of February. Dr. Scott thanked Kenneth Green
for stepping in and running the Transit Police. She announced that statewide and
RTA ridership numbers have been up. She discussed the late night service
noting they would have a report in February for the Board on the status of the
pilot program and next steps. She announced that they held a workshop with
front line workers on safety and preparedness. She ended talking about the
importance of succession planning which also came up in the MBTA Financial
Statements. The Board asked about penalties for Keolis. She stated that they do
expect more penalties for the company.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was;
VOTED: To adjourn.
Documents used for this reports
Minutes for December 11 and December 16, 2014
MassDOT FY14 Audited Financial Statements