MCV E-News: Jan. 25 Webinar, Federal Money Spending Challenge

The following email was sent to MCV members on January 19, 2022. To receive our e-newsletter, click here.

MCV E-News: Jan. 25 Webinar, Federal Money Spending Challenge

Dear MCV Member,

Thank you for your advocacy over the last year. Because of you, the Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) is in a much better position to effect positive change in our state parks in 2022. With that mission in mind, we will be joining a free Zoom webinar sponsored by the State House News Service on January 25 at 9:00 AM, and we ask you to join us there – click here for more info. 

Billed the Federal Money Spending Challenge, the webinar will feature a panel discussion on the best ways to help us move forward through the pandemic. In addition to the discussion, there will be a moderated question and answer period, as well as an opportunity to submit questions in advance via email. Representing the Legislature will be state Rep. Dan Hunt, chairman of the House Committee on Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight, a new committee tasked with working through the influx of federal dollars flowing into Massachusetts.

As you know, the Special Legislative Commission on the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has issued its final report. We encourage you to read it if you have not. The report paints an accurate picture of what DCR needs in order to deliver the first-class state park system we deserve and can afford, especially with the influx of federal dollars to the state. 

In summary, the biggest takeaway is the acknowledgment that DCR is woefully underfunded operationally. As hard as it is to believe, DCR’s FY22 parks and recreation operations account is about $4.0 million shy of the FY09 operations budget. The report also acknowledged that the agency has a $1.0 billion deferred maintenance backlog.   

There’s no doubt that our statewide parks and open spaces have offered us haven from the pandemic since its inception in 2019. As a result, all facilities, particularly in our environmental justice neighborhoods, have increased deferred maintenance needs. We understand that the critical work of climate resiliency is, perhaps, funding best left for the federal infrastructure money coming to the state. But DCR lands stayed open and free from the first-year onslaught of the pandemic. Surely, we have learned the importance, particularly in urban areas, of having first-rate open space available to our citizens for their mental and physical health.

If you’ve been following our work, you also know that we missed an opportunity to begin to pay down that maintenance backlog in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, the Legislature cut Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed $100 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for DCR to $15 million. But the good news is there are still about $2.3 billion in ARPA and state budget surplus funds yet to be appropriated, along with whatever Massachusetts will receive from the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill.

That’s why we’d like you to attend the virtual webinar and make our voices heard. Here is a link to the Zoom registration form and some additional information on the forum: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4516412517934/WN_XmRTiNK7T7KO2s412O30-Q.

As a member of MCV, if you could put that in the Organization field of the registration form, we would greatly appreciate it. If you have questions you want to submit ahead of time, you can submit them to SNH’s Dylan Rossiter at Dylan.Rossiter@StateHouseNews.com. This is the first of many opportunities to make our parks better this year. Let’s take full advantage of it. Remember, the park you save may be your own.

For more information about January 25, future opportunities to make your voice heard, and helpful talking points, please visit our website. We also encourage you to forward this email to family and friends, they can sign-up for our emails here.

Sincerely,

Doug Pizzi
Executive Director

PS: Supporting MCV is easy, just click here to make your recurring donation today!