Weekly Check-in: April 6-10, 2020

Until we return to a more normal state, we will continue to use a weekly check-in to keep our members in the loop. Here are the key updates from the week of April 6 to April 10, 2020:

Meeting Schedules
  • Advisory Board Meeting for April 16 – Cancelled
  • MWRA Board of Director Meeting for April 15 – Cancelled
  • Meeting with EOEEA Secretary Theoharides regarding watershed staffing – Postponed
  • MWRA Public Hearing on the Proposed FY21 CEB for April 30 – Access details to come soon
Advisory Board Updates
  • The Executive Committee held their scheduled meeting on April 10. Seventeen members participated remotely. Also joining the meeting were Advisory Board staff and Fred Laskey, Ria Convery, Tom Durkin, Matt Horan, and Mike Cole of the MWRA.
  • Advisory Board staff introduced a proposal to mitigate total MWRA charges to communities (loan repayments for the I/I and LWSAP programs) with benefits in FY20 and FY21. The Executive Committee voted unanimously to send the proposal to the MWRA Board of Directors. Advisory Board staff are working closely with MWRA staff to develop this approach; more details to follow.
  • The Executive Committee also voted to waive restrictions on Quincy’s use of LWSAP for their the pipeline replacement program.
  • Advisory Board staff continue to meet remotely with MWRA staff for budget briefings. Meetings to date include finance, administration, Deer Island, FOD, operations, and capital improvement projects in engineering and construction. The spring revisit to further discuss adjustments as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the proposed budget will be scheduled soon.
May Advisory Board Meeting
  • It is our expectation to hold a remote Advisory Board meeting for May 21st. The lessons learned from our remote public hearing in March and the most recent remote Executive Committee meeting give us the confidence to hold a full meeting for all members in May.
  • Agenda items will include:
    • Presentation and vote on Advisory Board recommendations for the MWRA’s proposed FY21 budget, and
    • Presentation and vote on the Advisory Board budget.
  • Meeting packets along with details about accessing the remote meeting will be sent in May.
MWRA Updates
  • Executive Director Fred Laskey sent a detailed email to staff last week with updates on masks, COVID-19 cases, a biobot study on wastewater, and community water use trends.

Please remember to follow all federal and state requirements regarding social distancing, and stay safe.