May 6, 2002
Rep. John H. Rogers
Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
Room 138
State House
Boston, MA 02113
via email
Dear Chairman Rogers and members of the House Ways and Means Committee:
The Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods (ABN), a confederation of neighborhood associations in Boston, is deeply concerned about proposed budget amendments that would transfer the Commonwealth's scenic parkways from the purview of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) to that of the Massachusetts Highway Department, and privatize certain recreational facilities.
In the past year, there were numerous hearings about such transfers and privatization, at which the ABN and many other groups testified. The result, we thought, was Legislative rejection of these proposals. Yet, we learn that they are back in another form, buried in arcane language among many other proposed amendments.
These amendments are an affront to the democratic process, arrogantly placing the will of a few elected officials over the will of the public. Their belated introduction into the budget is an obvious attempt to evade thorough public discussion. They ignore the public's clear message that the parkways, parklands and recreational facilities should remain fully public in the MDC's jurisdiction, and that funding should be appropriated to assure this goal. If, despite this public message, it is the will of any Legislator that the Metropolitan Park system be placed under the control of the Highway Department and/or privatized, then these Legislators must honor their public trust and propose this through a process that offers full transparency and ample time for public response.
We urge you to soundly reject House budget amendments 1135, 1138, 1139, 1142, 1144, 1145, 1146 1147, 1148, 1149, 1150, 1151, 1152, and 1153 . The MDC should be fully funded so that it can preserve and protect the environmental legacy left to us through the foresight of previous generations.
Sincerely,
Daniel Cushing, President
Shirley Kressel, Vice President
Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods
cc: Acting Governor Jane Swift
Speaker Thomas Finneran
President Thomas Birmingham
Bob Durand, Secretary, EOEA
Boston Globe
Boston Herald
Metropolitan Park Council
Charles River Watershed Association
Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation