At the September ABC Board Meeting, Brian Swett, Chief of Environment and Energy for the City of Boston, reported on some of the City's Climate Change initiatives, including work of the Green Ribbon Commission on energy saving and the proposed benchmarking program which will require disclosure of building performance for a range of building types.

 

Following the Treasurer's report and Report of the membership Committee, ABC President Rick Dimino invited all to attend the Norman B. Leventhal Awards for Excellence in City Building event on October 2 when Amos Hostetter, the Boston Red Sox, and Jane Garvey will be honored for their contributions to city building. U. S. Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood will be the keynote speaker. Mr. Dimino also reported on recent state legislation that addressed the FY 2013 deficit of the MBTA and legislation affecting the Greenway Conservancy and Business Improvement Districts. He described the expansion of the ABC Transportation Management Association to serve Allston, Brighton, Fenway, and Kenmore neighborhoods, and the ongoing work of the Challenge for Sustainability and the Commercial Real Estate Working Group of the Green Ribbon Commission.

 

Mike Cantalupa, Chair of the ABC Strategic Planning Committee, and Rick Dimino described the work of Phase I of the new ABC Strategic Plan, which included a survey of members and interviews with public sector stakeholders as well as an assessment of the competitive landscape and review of other similar organizations across the country. Key findings indicate a high level of member satisfaction with ABC, a desire to "stick to the knitting" while exploring opportunities in relevant research and member services, and a need to ensure that the organization provides good value for its members' investment.

 

Finally, Frank DePaola, Administrator of the Highway Division of MassDOT described the approach and projects of the Capital Management Program of the Metropolitan Highway System, the need for a comprehensive transportation finance solution, and the Longfellow Bridge Reconstruction which is expected to begin work on the design/build project early in 2013, and over a four year period rebuild the outbound portion of the bridge, followed by the inbound lanes, and conclude with 54 weekends of work reconstructing the MBTA Red Line reservation in the center of the bridge.