Meeting Minutes 2003

MINUTES OF THE NEWMARKET BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

The meeting was called to order at 8:05 am by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. There was a presentation by Bob Walsh about the National Bio-containment Laboratory to be developed on the Boston City Hospital/Boston University Biosquare site. There was a brief presentation by Bill Moy of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project about the opening of Interstate 93. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote. There was a quick business meeting where committee chairs reported on news. There was a brief presentation about Boston Career Links located at Goodwill Industries.

Please contact Joseph Cefalo, Susan Sullivan, or the chairman of a committee if you are interested in joining that committee. Committee chairs for the coming year will be:

Mason School:
Two extremely generous Newmarket Business Association members have issued a challenge to the rest of the membership: They will match up to $1,000 in donations to the Mason School Fund of the Newmarket Business Associaton.

All are invited to attend the sing-a-long at the Mason School on December 23^rd. Thank you to R&R Sales for generously donating 350 T-shirts; the students can be seen wearing this gift in the article in the South End News. During the recent snowstorm, the City of Boston only plowed half the area necessary. The Mason School is seeking a local business to assist by plowing the other half. The Mason School and Junior Achievement are having a training session today to be held at Slade Gorton. Twelve to fifteen volunteers are needed to teach business and enterprise to students. Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

Budget & Finance:
The Newmarket Business Association is solvent. Please pay your dues for the upcoming year.

Contributions:
No new donations were made during the past month. The annual fundraiser for Newmarket Business Association charitable contributions will take place on March 24, 2004. This fundraiser will take place at Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries and will be in honor of Charlie and Nick Georgenes. The cash and toy donations collected at this December meeting will go to the Toys for Tots program of Saint Patrick’s School. Thank you for your continued generosity!

Website:
No new report at this meeting. Please take a moment to check out the site at www.newmarketboston.org.

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee had a meeting to welcome new members to the committee and to begin planning next year’s events. The charity fundraiser will take place on March 24^th at Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. It will be in honor of Charlie and Nick Georgenes. The Public Affairs committee will increase the publicity for this event.

Issues:
The Issues Committee is pursuing the need for a comprehensive traffic study and improvement plan for the area. Given the large number of new developments under construction and planned, together with the already clogged status quo, a comprehensive traffic study is urgently needed.

The Newmarket Triangle development proposals are going through the process with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has promised Sue Sullivan that there will be no neighborhood oversight of the business district in the Roxbury Master Plan.

To accomplish safe operations near a school, Lara Valentine of the Boston Redevelopment Authority has negotiated an agreement with First Student that includes restrictions on their license to operate the bus maintenance facility on Shirley Street.

DCAM is drafting the RFP for the incinerator site. It will closely follow the language of the legislation which accommodates business use of the site.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority, Fleet Bank, and ICA Group are co-sponsoring a free, 3 hour seminar on succession planning for your business. If you are interested in attending the January session of this seminar. Please contact Lara Valentine at the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Please invite your neighbors and business associates to join the Newmarket Business Association. Contact Susan Sullivan if you need an information packet to give them. Guest and prospective members are welcome to attend our meetings to learn more about the Newmarket Business Associaton.

Membership Meeting held on November 12, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 8:05 am by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote. There was a brief presentation by Captain Cunningham of the Boston Police Department. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. There were brief presentations about courses available to Newmarket Business Association members.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Please contact Joseph Cefalo, Susan Sullivan, or the chairman of a committee if you are interested in joining that committee. Committee chairs for the coming year will be:

Issues:	John Marston
Community Outreach:	Charles Georgenes
Public Affairs:	Herb Clifford & Ben Goldfarb
Mason School:	Chuck Levin and Carl Lizio
Contributions:	Brian Maloney & Charles Killian
Safety:	Susan Sullivan & Joseph Cefalo
Membership:	all active members
Grants & Funding:	John Francis
Government Relations:	Executive Committee

Mason School:
The Mason School has been named the winner of a national award for student achievement for African-American children! This prestigious award will be presented by the National Association of Black School Educators to Principal Janet Palmer-Owens in Reno before three thousand people. Special thanks to Newmarket Business Association Vice President John Marston who brought 130 people from Citizens Bank to spend the day at the Mason School to celebrate Halloween with the students. Special thanks to Bob Raimondi, from R&R Sales, who donated $1,000 to the Mason School fund of the Newmarket Business Association. Principal Janet Palmer-Owens also thanked Captain Cunningham and the Boston Police Department for their help with the security and theft issues plaguing the school. She is putting together a “wish list” of items that the school needs. First on the list is a camcorder to replace the one that was stolen recently. Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

Budget & Finance:
New treasurer James Stauffer reported on the organization’s financial situation. We are expecting to receive a $5,000 grant from the City of Boston. If you or anyone in your organization has an idea about grants or how to raise funds for the organization, please share it with Joe Cefalo and Susan Sullivan.

Contributions:
Three new donations were made during the past month. Place of Promise received $300 from the Newmarket Business Association. Julie’s Family Learning Program received $600. The New Boston Pilot Middle School received $300 to purchase audio/visual equipment to improve the science program. The annual fundraiser for Newmarket Business Association charitable contributions will take place on March 24, 2004. Please share with us your ideas to make the fundraiser a success. The cash and toy donations collected at our upcoming December meeting will go to the Toys for Tots program of Saint Patrick’s School. Please remember to bring a check, cash, or toys to the December meeting. Thank you for your continued generosity!

Safety:
Captain Cunningham gave a detailed presentation at this meeting about the crime reported in our neighborhood. The Newmarket Business Association is grateful for the positive relationship with all three Police districts and encourages members to report any incidents immediately and work with the Police to reduce crime in our area.

Website:
The past two months, our Newmarket website has had 1087 and 1043 new unique “hits”. This represents a new high level of activity on our superb website. The members page with its links to member businesses is the most active part of the website. Please take a moment to check out the site at www.newmarketboston.org.

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee had a meeting to begin planning next year’s events. The charity fundraiser will take place on March 24^th in a new location. The Public Affairs committee will increase the publicity for this event. Interested members are encouraged to join this committee that plans the social events and coordinates the public relations for the NBA. The next meeting will take place on November 18^th at 8:30 am at the Victoria.

Issues:
In December, the developers of the level 4 biological research laboratory will make a presentation to Newmarket members.

The Victoria Restaurant is under agreement to be sold to a new owner. Many, many thanks to the Charles and Nick Georgenes who have been so active and generous to the Newmarket Business Association for so long!! Members will be given more information on an open house to wish them well.

The proponents of a redevelopment of 23 Bradston Street have deferred their application. The Issues Committee communicated to the BRA questions about parking, scale, and traffic impacts.

The Issues Committee is pursuing the need for a comprehensive traffic study and improvement plan for the area. Given the large number of new developments under construction and planned, together with the already clogged status quo, a comprehensive traffic study is urgently needed.

The Chiang family who owns the “Newmarket Triangle” parcel made a presentation to the Issues Committee of several possible options for the site. Their preferred option includes “New Area Parkers” which means satellite parking from outside the Newmarket area. There is also a discrepancy between the number of spaces assumed by the abutting easement holders and the number of spaces set aside by the Chiangs for the easement holders.

First Student has been operating at a reduced level on the Shirley Street bus maintenance site. If you have any comments about the school bus service and its effect on the neighborhood, please tell Joseph Cefalo.

There was no new report on the Request For Proposal (RFP) by the State for the incinerator site.

The latest draft of the Roxbury Master plan was reviewed by a sub-committee of the Issues Committee and major concerns are being communicated to representatives of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Membership Meeting held on October 8, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 8:05 am by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. Joe Cefalo requested that members fill out the survey from the UMASS Small Business Development Center and return it to Margaret Somer. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote, except for correcting a mistake: Newmarket Night at Pops has not been scheduled this year. Joe Cefalo gave the membership a short report on the Board of Directors meeting and invited all members to take an active role in the Association by joining one of the standing committees. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. There was a presentation by Bill Annino from Junior Achievement. Then, Margaret Somer spoke about the course “Listening to Your Business” available from the UMASS Boston Small Business Development Center. Lara Valentine and Andrew Weaver described the free seminar on Succession Planning being co-sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the ICA Group and Fleet Bank. Finally, Joseph Cefalo and Susan Sullivan introduced the new member-to-neighbor plan for increasing membership in the Newmarket Business Association.

The Mason School is a semi-finalist for a national award for student achievement for African-American children! The recent spate of break-ins have ceased. Principal Janet Palmer-Owens met with the Police Captains and Newmarket Business Association representatives and came up with a plan to deal with the recent vandalism and theft problems. Paul Revere assisted the school with a bus for the students’ apple picking excursion. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations.

Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

New treasurer James Stauffer reported on the organization’s financial situation. We are expecting to receive a $5,000 grant from the City of Boston. If you or anyone in your organization has an idea about grants or how to raise funds for the organization, please share it with Joe Cefalo and Susan Sullivan.

There was no new report at this meeting. Thank you for all of your past generosity and continuing support!

There was an excellent meeting with the Captains of precincts B-2, B-4, and B-6. This meeting led to a separate meeting at the Mason School to solve the recent vandalism and theft problems. Captain Cunningham will be sending a representative to attend our monthly meetings and report incidents. Please post NO TRESPASSING signs so that the police will have the right of arrest.

There was no new report on our Newmarket website. Please take a moment to check out the site at www.newmarketboston.org.

The Public Affairs committee corrected an error in last month’s minutes. Newmarket Night at the Boston Pops has not been scheduled for this year. Please volunteer to join this committee and help out in planning for the upcoming year’s events.

The owners of 23 Bradston Street met with the Issues Committee and described their plans to add a 17,000 square foot addition. They plan to redevelop the wholesale grocery into a retail grocery on the first floor, a 405 seat restaurant on the second floor and offices on the third floor. There is a meeting with the Zoning Board of Appeals scheduled for October 21. Prior to that date, they will provide the Issues Committee with more information about traffic impacts and parking requirements.

The Boston University/City Hospital level 4 biocontainment laboratory has been announced by the Federal government. The developers of the Biosquare site and representatives from the Hospital will come back to the Newmarket Business Association in November with more information and details about this projects (especially regarding risks, traffic, density, access, etc.).

The Chiang family who owns the “Newmarket Triangle” parcel will attend the November Issues committee meeting to update us on that project.

There will be a meeting in November to develop a Request For Proposal (RFP) by the State for the incinerator site.

The MBTA bus maintenance facility on Southampton Street has started fueling service. Verizon will be replacing the telephone lines and tearing up Moore Street again. The MBTA will be meeting with representatives of adjacent businesses to review the safety and evacuation plans for this facility.

The latest draft of the Roxbury Master plan was reviewed by a sub-committee of the Issues Committee and major concerns are being communicated to representatives of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Captain Cunningham introduced himself as well as representatives from other districts because the Newmarket neighborhood includes portions of district C-6, D-4, and B-2. Captain Cunningham brought a slideshow presentation that shows the Boston Police Department Office of Research and Evaluation records of incidents that have taken place in the Newmarket neighborhood. The Boston Police department tracks incidents that are reported and can overlay the record of arrests that have taken place for various types of criminal activity. For example, they showed us drug related incidents reported and arrests along Massachusetts Avenue during a two month period. PLEASE REPORT ALL INCIDENTS so they make it into the Police records. Also, if an incident is taking place, call 617-343-4911 to report the crime. This telephone number goes to the Boston Police. Calling 911 works, but it goes to the State Police first. Also, post “NO TRESPASSING – POLICE TAKE NOTICE” signs on your property. These signs allow the Police to come on your property to make arrests. Newmarket members also had a chance to ask Captain Cunningham questions about how to “harden up” sites to help prevent crimes. The Boston Police department will be providing an updated incident report at future monthly member meetings.

Junior Achievement started in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts and grew to be a nationwide program which encourages youngsters to learn about business. Over the years the program has evolved so that they now have a curriculum taught in many schools from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. We hope that the Mason School will be able to offer the “Project Achievement” program to its students this year. We will be looking for volunteers from Newmarket area businesses to go into the classrooms during one class period for five weeks. Junior Achievement also created the middle school “Go Figure” program, web-based programs for High Schools and a nationwide competition for high school students who create their own businesses. Among other valuable lessons, Junior Achievement teaches students the economics of staying in school! Junior Achievement is 100% funded by the support of the local community, not by the government. Bill Annino also provided information sheets with more specifics about the curriculum and a volunteer sign-up sheet.

*MARGARET SOMER – UMASS BOSTON SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER: “Listening to Your Business”

At the Holiday Inn Express, on Wednesday, December 3, 2003, UMass will be offering a strategic planning workshop entitled, “Listening to Your Business” taught by Mickey Grames a consultant. The course is $55 for Newmarket Business Association members, $65 for non-members and takes four hours. The course includes modules on assessment, determination, planning and transition tactics. It is appropriate for owners and managers who can take a few hours to step back from quotidian tasks to plot a course for future growth.

ANDREW WEAVER – ICA GROUP: “Business Successions”
The Boston Redevelopment Authority, Fleet Bank, and ICA Group are co-sponsoring a free, 3 hour seminar on succession planning for your business. The seminar will be offered on November 12 at Roxbury Community College (2-5 pm); on November 13 at the Knights of Columbus in Charlestown (2-5 pm); and on November 18 at the Victoria in Newmarket (8-11 pm). Please let Lara Valentine know if you are interested in attending this seminar.

Joseph Cefalo described the new approach to boosting membership in the Newmarket Business Association. Each existing member is encouraged to invite a neighboring business to join. Susan Sullivan prepared a chart with the names of several area businesses that are not currently members, so that existing members could sign up to invite prospective members to attend a meeting. Sue Sullivan also distributed packets of information for prospective members so they can get a sense of all the great reasons to join us. Please take a few moments at future meetings to look over the list of prospective members and sign up to introduce one to our organization.

Membership Meeting held on September 10, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 8:00 am by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. Joe Cefalo announced that there will be a meeting of the Association’s Board of Directors on September 18^th at 8 am at the Victoria. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. There was a presentation by Antonia Fernandez of Transitions of Boston. Then, guest speakers from the Boston Redevelopment Authority Economic Development group presented their plans for improvements to the Newmarket area.

Mason School:
The Mason School several troubling vandalism incidents including the theft of five computers and the camcorder with the film of the students’ trip to the farm in Vermont. Drug needles have been found on the school grounds. The situation is worsened by the budget cuts which mean that there is now no custodian for the Mason School. No cleaning is in the budget. The Mason School will be presenting a list of needs to the Issues Committee and thanks the Newmarket Business Association for helping out at this difficult time.

Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

New treasurer James Stauffer reported on the organization’s financial situation. We have sufficient funds to end the year in the black! Please send in your payment if you have not already sent in your dues.

There was no new report at this meeting. Thank you for all of your past generosity and continuing support!

There is a meeting schedule with Captain Cunningham and a representative from B-2. The police will be providing Newmarket Business Association with a report of area incidents. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

The Newmarket website had 866 visitors last month! Webmaster Bob Patcha keeps the website updated and he can add links to your own website since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. For your convenience, Bob has added a button at the bottom of our website, Newmarketboston.com, so our members can easily download the Microsoft patch and avoid the risk of the dreaded worm or viruses. He has also added a link to a list of guidelines on how to avoid computer “spam” and viruses. This article is posted on the CERT® Coordination Center website. The CERT® Coordination Center is part of the Software Engineering Institute. The Software Engineering Institute is operated by Carnegie Mellon University for the Department of Defense.

The Public Affairs committee invites all members and their guests to Newmarket Night at the Boston Pops. This event will take place on Thursday, December 18^th. We will reserve block of tickets and you may buy yours in advance. This event features a pre-concert reception at the Victoria and a bus to and from Symphony Hall so parking is no problem.

Christine Sullivan, a representative of the owners have been contacting Newmarket members by telephone and mail about their plans to redevelop the triangle site. If you have questions, concerns or comments, please notify a the Issues Committee so we can get a response from the developers. To date, the owners have no proposal for this site; the presentation before the membership meeting included no specific proposal.

Mayor Menino presented a check to Katsiroubas Bros. for their bond financing under the “Backstreets” program. Congratulations to this member company on your expansion plans and successful cooperation with the City of Boston!

The Boston EDIC group of the BRA met with representatives from Newmarket Business Association to review the final plans for area improvements such as sidewalks, signage, roadwork, etc. They are making a presentation of these plan at this members meeting.

On August 27^th there was a hearing for First Student to obtain a garage license. First Student is the company that has the contract to provide bus service to the Boston Schools. At this public safety hearing, Newmarket Business Association members raised objections to First Student’s plan to use the Shirley Street site to service the buses. As a result of the objections raised, the public safety board realized that there is a City ordinance prohibiting that use too close to a public school (the Mason School). Therefore, First Student was granted a 60 day temporary permit to operate with limitations. A meeting with Michael Kinneavy (of the Mayor’s office), First Student, and Newmarket business representatives was set up by Lara Valentine of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The outcome of this meeting will be a specific written agreement setting out the permanent limitations for using the Shirley Street site. Newmarket Members want to recognize and thank Lara Valentine and Michael Kinneavy for their efforts to mitigate this situation and for assisting the area businesses and the Mason School.

Bill Moy reported on the status of the Central Artery. The southbound tunnel will be open by year end. The interim viaduct over Albany Street has been removed. The Massachusetts Avenue connector is finished. The Dewey Square tunnel will be open at the beginning of 2004. Bill Moy graciously listened to complaints about the inadequate signage on the new Big Dig routes and the difficulty of reaching destinations, especially Albany Street, using the new routes. In the past Bill Moy had been asked about plantings and beautification of the Mass Ave connector, and Newmarket Business Association was supposed to see designs. The update on beautification was, “there is no money left”.

The Issues Committee will be hearing a presentation about plans to change the use of 23 Bradston Street from warehouse to a market with live entertainment.

A subcommittee of the Issues Committee will be meeting with representatives of the MBTA on Tuesday, September 16^th to review the status and plans for the Maintenance facility on Southampton Street.

The latest draft of the Roxbury Master plan was reviewed by a sub-committee of the Issues Committee and major concerns are being communicated to representatives of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

On Thursday, August 21 at the Boston University School of Medicine, The Boston Area Health Education Center “Youth to Health Careers” Program hosted a ceremony where keynote speaker Mayor Menino acknowledged a generous gift from the Newmarket Business Association. Members attended and our organization was recognized for its support of this innovative program.

Margaret Somers from UMass Boston announced the Fall schedule of courses that may be of interest to Association members. The Small Business Development Center at UMass is also willing to custom design a course for your employees. Contact Margaret Somers if you are interested.

Antonia Fernandez gave members some information about Transitions of Boston, a vocational rehabilitation program funded by the Dept of Public Health. Transitions is looking for part-time, entry-level positions for high functioning individuals who need to get back to work. Typically, the employees work 15-20 hours per week. The program supplies employees, supervises them, and there is no cost to the hiring company. In fact, hiring these individuals makes the company eligible for a work tax credit opportunity of $2,400 (400 hours/year). The Transitions staff checks in with the employer and provides back up staff if the employee is not available.

Guest speakers Larry Mimoli and Joe Mulligan presented the improvements to the Newmarket area that are the work product of the $125,000 planning grant from the Mayor’s office. They began the project with a controlled survey of the area with foot by foot mapping analysis. They developed a plan to achieve a viable, financially feasible, enhanced connection to the expressway near the prison and incinerator sites. They came up with a unified program of physical improvements and signage to make the neighborhood work better and be recognizable as an industrial engine for the City of Boston. The signage program includes Newmarket trailblazer signs, monument signs, signs on the railroad bridges, and a map pamphlet that can include information about member’s businesses. The planners negotiated with the MBTA and got a letter of understanding to remove obsolete tracks. Sidewalk improvements will improve pedestrian safety and sidewalks and curb cuts have been designed with truck movements in mind. The next step of this program is to create the contract documents suitable for bidding. This is a well thought out, well-coordinated, practical and feasible project that is now ready to go. Larry Mimoli, Joe Mulligan, and their teams together with the consulting firm, HDR Engineering, came up with superb solutions and Newmarket Business Association applauds their efforts and creativity!! The plans will be implemented over future years as funding is made available.

Membership Meeting held on August 13, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 8:00 am by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote. There was a special presentation by the new MBTA Police Chief, Joseph Carter. The monthly membership meeting took place, with representatives from standing committees giving their reports. Representatives from First Student gave an update on their plans and proposals for sites in the Newmarket area to fulfill their new contract for bus service with the Boston Public Schools.

*SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: JOSEPH CARTER, MBTA POLICE CHIEF
Chief Carter spent twenty-one years on the Boston Police Department. For the past five years he has served as the Chief of Police on the Martha’s Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs where he turned around the problems he encountered when he arrived; he left with the Oak Bluffs Police department accredited and functioning well. His plan for the MBTA Police department mirrors his actions in Oak Bluffs – he has set plans in place to restore the confidence and trust of the communities served by the MBTA, to achieve accreditation for the department, and to modernize the department. The MBTA Police has responsibility for the entire system which spans 178 cities and towns. There are 240 police officers and they work for the million-plus riders per day who use the MBTA. Chief Carter is trying to concentrate the efforts of the officers in five districts, transit police service areas, and he is trying to work in partnership with more far-flung localities, such as Haverhill and Providence, to police the incidents that take place in their jurisdictions. Contract negotiations are underway with the three unions representing the police officers, sergeants, and superior officers.

Chief Carter took questions from the membership. He was asked about the new MBTA bus maintenance facility in Newmarket. He answered that he shared many of our concerns about getting trucks and buses in an out, safety, etc. If you have any concerns, he recommends that you call the duty supervisor or the Community Services Officer Herman Wheeler at (617) 222-1212.

Mason School:
The Mason School has been designated a pilot school as of September 2004 and plans are proceeding to organize the conversion. The Mason School has gotten grant money from the Boston Foundation to assist in the conversion. The Mason School will have a Board of Advisors and will set up a foundation to help with future costs.

Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

Budget & Finance:
New treasurer James Stauffer reports that the organization is solvent. He will have more information at future meetings. Please send in your payment if you have not already sent in your dues.

Contributions:
Donations went to the Children’s Foundation daycare center and the DSNI multicultureal event planned for September 6^th. All of the donations are paid from funds collected at our Spring auction fundraiser. Thank you for all of your generosity and continuing support!

Safety:
Starting in September, police District C will be providing Newmarket Business Association with a report of area incidents. Vehicle break ins continue to be a problem as evidenced by all the broken glass along Shirley Street. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Website:
The Newmarket website had 918 visitors last month! Webmaster Bob Patcha keeps the website updated and he can add links to your own website since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. For your convenience, Bob has added a button at the bottom of our website, Newmarketboston.com, so our members can easily download the Microsoft patch and avoid the risk of the dreaded worm or viruses.

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee invites all members and their guests to Newmarket Night at the Boston Pops. This event will take place on either Thursday, December 11^th or 18^th. We will reserve block of tickets and you may buy yours in advance. This event features a pre-concert reception at the Victoria and a bus to and from Symphony Hall so parking is no problem! Unfortunately, our Boston Harbor cruise was cancelled because not enough members booked in advance.

Issues:
The representatives of the Chiangs have been contacting Newmarket members by telephone and mail about their plans to redevelop the triangle site.

Today, the Mayor will be presenting a check to Katsiroubas Bros. for their bond financing under the “Backstreets” program. Congratulations to this member company on your expansion plans and successful cooperation with the City of Boston!

At noon today, the Boston EDIC and BRA and representatives from Newmarket Business Association will be meeting to review the final plans for area improvements such as sidewalks, signage, roadwork, etc.

Representatives from First Student gave the membership an update on their plans for the former-Agar site and another site located at 61 Shirley Street where they plan to do servicing, maintenance and repairs on the buses. The number of buses to be parked at the Agar site is 160 buses with 15 extras instead of the 100 buses they originally proposed. The original proposal did not include a bus servicing facility on Shirley Street. All ingress to and egress from the Agar site will take place on Mass Ave. The intersection is being repainted and the traffic light signals altered. Consultant Paul Herbert was hired to redesign the intersection and these changes have the approval of the Boston Transportation Department.

First Student has a two-year commitment to the Agar site. They have signed a five year lease on the 61 Shirley Street site.

On August 27^th there is a hearing for First Student to obtain a garage license. On September 3^rd school starts in Boston. The school buses will actually start operating from the Agar site next week.

Members of the Newmarket Business Association chastised the representatives from First Student for providing inaccurate and misleading information to the Association; for not communicating in any way their plans for 61 Shirley Street, their changes to the traffic pattern dumping all the traffic onto Mass Ave, and raising the number of buses from a total of 100 to a total of 175. This is especially galling because Newmarket Business Association members provided valuable advice, support and assistance to First Student.

The Newmarket Business Association voted unanimously to send two letters in response to the plans by First Student: First, a complaint to be filed with the Inspectional Services Department stating that the intended use of 61 Shirley Street as a bus servicing garage is beyond the scope of the permitted use. Second, a letter to Mayor Menino asking him to use all available powers to restrict travel of buses to and from 61 Shirley Street to a maximum of two round trips per hour, effective immediately.

On Thursday, August 21 at the Boston University School of Medicine, The Boston Area Health Education Center “Youth to Health Careers” Program will host a ceremony where keynote speaker Mayor Menino will acknowledge a generous gift from the Newmarket Business Association. Members are welcome to attend.

The Upham’s Corner Festival will take place on Saturday, August 16^th from 10am to 6pm. All Newmarket Business Association members are welcome to attend.

Membership Meeting held on July 16th, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm by President Joseph Cefalo. He welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted by unanimous vote. The monthly membership meeting took place, with representatives from standing committees giving their reports. There was a special presentation from Mr. Bernard F. Shadrawy, Jr. an attorney for Newmarket Square Realty Trust about their plans to redevelop the triangular site in the center of Newmarket Square.

Mason School:
The Mason School has been designated a pilot school. During the next year, the Mason School will be receiving a grant from the Boston Foundation to assist in making the transition to a pilot school. Once again, Charles and Evelyn Georgenes treated the graduating 5^th grade class from the Mason School to a lovely graduation dinner at the Victoria Restaurant. Principal Janet Palmer Owens arranged for the 5^th grade class from the Mason School to participate in a special program for a week at Spring Brook Farm in Vermont. This program was begun by James Hagedon, the CEO of the Scotts Company (maker of lawn and garden products), and is called “Farms for City Kids”. Janet Palmer Owens heard about the program and arranged for the Mason students to participate. The Boston Globe published an article about their experience. Janet Palmer Owens thanks the members of the Newmarket Business Association, and especially Charlie and Evelyn Georgenes for their generosity!
Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

Contributions:
Donations went to four charitable programs this month. The Newmarket Business Association donated $1,200 to the Mayor’s summer jobs program. This donation will receive matching funds from the City of Boston. Newmarket Business Association also donated to the Neighborhood Crime Watch; to the Healing and Arts Studio to assist victims of child abuse; and to Mass Families for Kids. All of the donations are paid from funds collected at our Spring auction fundraiser. Thank you for all of your generosity and continuing support!

Safety:
There was no new report from the safety committee, but Joe Cefalo took the opportunity to thank several members of the Boston Police Department attending this meeting for their assistance in the past and on our ongoing safety concerns. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Website:
Tthe Newmarket website had 936 visitors last month! Webmaster Bob Patcha keeps the website updated and he can add links to your own website since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business.

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee invites all members and their guests to our Boston Harbor cruise on July 23^rd. Parking at the Umass Boston lot is free and the cruise will depart from the UMass boat dock at 5:15. Please let Sue Sullivan know how many tickets ($40 each) you will need so she can give the steamboat operators the right count, and order the right amount of food for dinner onboard the ship.

Issues:
The developers of the Holiday Inn Express gave a presentation to the Issues committee about their plans to build a Marriott Courtyard and restaurant on an adjacent site. The Newmarket Business Association voted unanimously to send a letter in support of this project.

OLD BUSINESS:
The Dancing Deer Baking Company has been working with UMass Boston to put together a course for training line supervisors. This class still has room for additional students. It will meet at UMass for 4 hours on 5 consecutive Fridays in August. The cost is $295 per student. UMass is also willing to provide other courses needed by your business. Please call Jack Hughes if you are interested. They will be offering English as a Second Language courses in the Fall.

NEW BUSINESS:
Four new members were unanimously voted into the Newmarket Business Association at this meeting: Prime Poultry Corp; Union Office Interiors; Gem Management Co; Steven Westling Architects.

Attorney Bernard Shadrawy described the plans of Newmarket Square Realty Trust to redevelop the triangular site. He introduced professionals from Hybrid Parking Solutions, Inc. who specialize in constructing pre-fabricated parking structures, and Vanasse & Associates, Inc. who specialize in traffic and engineering studies. This group had met in May with the easement holders who have rights to use the site.

The project has not yet been defined. There were few facts presented: 1) that the priority is to satisfy the easement holders and 2) that the easement holders currently park 127 cars on the site at peak times. If the site were restriped efficiently, it could hold spaces for 203 cars. The proposed changes to the site anticipate providing permits to easement holders for 200 cars at no charge with 24 hour, 7 day a week access.

The project currently brings in no income to the owner, who has been paying expenses, taxes, and insurance on the site for sixteen years.

A proposal could possibly include a surface lot for 100 cars and a 6 level parking structure for 600 cars with the ground floor structure high enough to allow trucks to park on that level.

The owners have observed the need for additional parking in the neighborhood, especially by people who have business to transact at 1010 Mass Ave. They anticipate that there could be contract parking in the new structure to eliminate illegal parking on the triangle site and on neighboring streets. They anticipate that the surface lot and ground floor of the structure could handle the needs of the easement holders.

The owners are well aware of Newmarket Business Association’s longstanding opposition to satellite parking in our neighborhood. They are also aware of traffic concerns and work that the Newmarket Business Association initiated with the Boston Transportation Department to study and improve traffic in the area. They also plan to dovetail their development with the plans in place by EDIC for drainage and sidewalk improvements, etc.

The speakers did not answer questions about how many parking spaces are needed to make this project break even or about how many trucks vs. cars could park on the site.

The owners would like members of the Newmarket Business Association to provide input and ask questions. Please direct inquiries and comments to the Project Director, Christine Sullivan at (617) 646-1013.

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 am by President Joseph Cefalo, who welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted. The Annual Meeting took place, with election of officers and Board of Directors for the coming year as well as a vote taken on revisions to the organization’s By-Laws. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. The group congratulated Hal Cohen on the Boston Globe feature article that appeared on May 29^th.

The July 2003- June 2004 slate of officers and board of directors were unanimously elected. President – Joseph Cefalo
Vice President – John Marston
Vice President – Brian Maloney
Secretary – Bonnie Gossels
Treasurer – James Stauffer
Administrator – Susan Sullivan
Chairman of Board of Directors – Carl Lizio

Directors – Mary Alibrandi, Patrick Cibotti, Alan Saks, John Kinneally, John Sullivan, Brenda Colgan, Chuck Levin, Dave McGillicuddy, John Francis, Herb Clifford, Gail Hobin, Darlene Jeter, John Curley, Marlowe Sigal, Bob Raimondi, Catherine D’Amato, Wally Stevens, Ben Goldfarb, Phil Lewis, Robert Walsh, Bill Jacobson, Joel Miller, Edgar Rothschild, Simone Williamson.

Advisory Council - Charles Georgenes, Ed Downs, Charles Killian, HaroldMasterman

The Board of Directors will be reviewing the organization’s committees and attempting to make some changes in an effort to draw in more membership and involve more existing members in running the Newmarket Business Association.

Mason School:
The Mason School has received the Vanguard Award for math achievement given by Mass Insight. The Mason was cited as a model school, with a visionary approach to whole school reform marked by peer collaboration in a challenged school population. The Mason School is featured on Boston’s channel 22 with a program on teacher apprenticeship, which offers “hands on” experience for one year. The School thanks Newmarket for its past support and is actively seeking new donations from Newmarket members, especially books and craft supplies (pens, erasers, paper, stickers, etc.) to the Mason School. Due to budget cuts, the summer program serving 200 children will not take place. The school would like to send books and craft supplies home with the students for the summer.
Newmarket Business Association members are always welcome to visit the Mason school.

Budget & Finance:
Special thanks to Mary Alibrandi for her years of service as Treasurer! 72% of the dues have been received to date. Please send in your payment if you have not already sent in your dues.

Contributions:
Chairman Brian Maloney reports that donations went out to three charitable organizations. The Newmarket Business Association donated $1,500 to the Lena Park Summer Camp, $1,500 to the Boston area Health and Education Center summer program, and $500 to Dorchester High School’s 151^st and last graduation. The membership voted unanimously to approve these donations by the Newmarket Business Association. Thank you for all of your support!

Safety:
There were break ins reported at R&R sales two weekends ago. The police were notified. The drag races have resumed adjacent to Western Roundhouse Suites. The Police were informed and are working on the problem. Prostitution activity has increased in the daytime. There have also been several carjackings recently. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Website:
Webmaster Bob Patcha reports that the Newmarket website had a record number of 1,005 visitors last month! Bob keeps the website updated and he can add news that you would like to share with other members. He has also been adding more links to members’ own websites since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. Don’t forget to take a few minutes to check out the website between meetings!

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee is focusing on expanding the Newmarket Business Association membership. The upcoming Boston Harbor cruise is a perfect occasion to invite friends and family as well as neighboring businesses who may wish to join. The cruise will depart from the dock next to the Kennedy Library and will take place on July 10th. Invitations will go out in the next few weeks.

Issues:
The Changs have a proposal to build a parking garage on the Newmarket triangle. They will be invited to make a presentation at the next monthly members meeting. The group planning to develop a Marriott Courtyard hotel will be making a presentation at the next Issues Committee meeting. Lum Fat Produce Company has received approval from the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals to expand. The Newmarket Business Association had sent a letter endorsing the expansion plan.

Notices about the Central Artery construction are available showing the schedule for removing the temporary elevated road over Albany Street. Work is scheduled for this coming weekend, beginning at 10am Friday and continuing through 5am Monday.

Anyone interested in offering products and services for the Democratic National Convention may find out about the process at the DNC website: www.boston04.com.

OLD BUSINESS:
The Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation wishes to thank the members of Newmarket Business Association for its support. The Newmarket donation to the Gala is much appreciated as well as the assistance with including students from the Mason School.

Applications are still available for access to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Call Susan Sullivan if you are interested in an application.

NEW BUSINESS:
Chris Cassidy, the head of business development education at UMass Boston is arranging several courses that Dancing Deer Bakery has requested. There is room for about five more students in each of the classes, and the cost is extremely reasonable (approximately $300). There will be a course in English as a Second Language, and a course in Management Training for employees who are making the difficult transition from working on the line to the first level of line management. The courses will probably take place on Friday mornings beginning July 11^th through August 5^th in a classroom on the UMass campus. This is a great opportunity to develop skills in your existing workforce! Some grant money is also available to defray the costs. UMass will also be offering courses in Microsoft office software and other computer skills in the fall.

Dave Quealy from New Ecology, a non-profit established to foster sustainable development will be surveying our members to understand the components of our waste stream and then they will suggest ways to eliminate disposal costs and improve recycling by our members.

The meeting was called to order at 8:05 am by President Joseph Cefalo, who welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. Guest speakers from the Central Artery/Tunnel Project then gave a short presentation and answered questions.

The Mason School thanks Newmarket for its past support and is actively seeking new donations from Newmarket members. Please donate books and craft supplies to the Mason School. Due to budget cuts, the summer program serving 200 children will not take place. The school would like to send books and craft supplies home with the students for the summer. The students are taking the MCAS exams. 85% of the faculty has voted to apply for Pilot School status. The Newmarket Business Association sent a letter of support for the Mason School’s application for Pilot School status. The Mason School is being presented the Vanguard Award for excellence in the Mathematics MCAS. On Thursday, May 15^th, there is a press conference scheduled at the Mason School to introduce a special teacher preparation program. Watch for the Mason School in the news and please recommend the program to anyone interested in a career as a teacher or principal.

A special thank you to Joe Cefalo’s wife who donated tickets to the Big Apple Circus. Also, thank you for the tickets to the Dorchester Bay “Reach for the Stars” event which was attended by six Mason School students and their parents.

All Newmarket Business Association members are welcome to visit the Mason school.

Approximately 70% of the dues have been received to date. Please send in your payment if you have not already sent in your dues.

Chairman Brian Maloney reports that donations went out to three charitable organizations. The Newmarket Business Association donated $300 to the Dorchester Bay “Reaching for the Stars” event, $500 for conservation at the Shirley-Eustis House, and $500 to the Pine Street Inn. Thank you for all of your support!

The MBTA Police were informed and are working on the problem with buses in front of 1010 Mass Ave. Cars parked in the bus stop are causing traffic to back up. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Webmaster Bob Patcha reports that the Newmarket website had 450 visitors last month. Bob has updated the website and would appreciate any news that you would like to share with other members. He has also been adding more links to members’ own websites since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. Don’t forget to take a few minutes to check out the website between meetings!

The Public Affairs committee wishes to join the Contributions Committee in thanking everyone who helped to make the Spring Training Fundraiser such a great success. A Boston harbor cruise is being scheduled as the next big event for early summer.

There will be a meeting tomorrow morning at the Victoria at 9:00 am to review the engineering plans for the City of Boston improvements to the Newmarket neighborhood.

Please attend if you are interested in reviewing the plans. Completion is scheduled for June 30^th.

Representing the Newmarket Business Association, Carl Lizio attended a meeting where the Changs, the owners of the triangle, met with the easement holders about a proposal for a parking garage for 600 cars leased to MASCO. They will be invited to make a presentation at the June or July membership meeting.

The educational programs offered by UMass Boston have been postponed until the end of summer.

Anyone interested in offering products and services for the Democratic National Convention may find out about the process at the DNC website: www.boston04.com.

GUEST SPEAKERS: CENTRAL ARTERY/TUNNEL PROJECT REPRESENTATIVES: BILL MOY & GLEN BERKOWITZ

Bill Moy and Glen Berkowitz explained to the membership what is happening with the “Big Dig” project today and future milestones for the Newmarket area. (While our meeting was taking place, long commuter delays resulting from the first major truck accident in the new tunnel were also taking place. The truck had been going at least twice the posted speed limit.) Most of the “Big Dig” highways have been completed and are now in use: I90 westbound, I90 eastbound, and I93 westbound. The southbound shift of the old I93 has been completed. The new southbound tunnel will be opening in one more year.

The Bypass Road is limited to commercial vehicles and has resulted in a rapid route between Newmarket and the airport. A new exit to Frontage Road southbound is being considered; it will necessitate a stoplight that could cause delays on “feeder” roads. There will be another on ramp opening up to I93 southbound near the Boston Herald – this should improve traffic backups currently being experience further down the highway.

An HOV lane is planned near South Bay shopping mall. There is a possibility that exit 16 would not be reopened; members pleaded for the reopening of this critical exit.

There were several questions about signs on the new highways and why the names of major thoroughfares and destinations were omitted. The answer is that the federal guidelines limit the lines of text on the signs. As drivers get used to driving on the new highways, they have rapidly adjusted to the new exits. (Many members indicated that they are learning the new routes the hard way, by taking wrong turns, backtracking, etc.) Most members were unaware that it is necessary to take Frontage Road to get to I90 westbound as well as the exits for our neighborhood.

The rebuilding of the Melnea Cass and Massachusetts Avenue intersection is complete. The City of Boston decided on the design, with two left turn lanes, in an attempt to cope with the huge volume of traffic at this intersection. Even before the Crosstown Center development adjacent to this intersection opens, this intersection is overwhelmed.

Applications are still available for access to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Call Susan Sullivan if you are interested in an application.

Lara Valentine announced the Mayor’s clean up Boston day. If your business would like to participate, please call the Mayor’s community hotline or access by e-mail through our website, www.newmarketboston.org/internet_links.htm

Marlowe Sigal announced a concert at the Shirley-Eustis House to take place on Sunday afternoon, May 18^th. The Shirley-Eustis House, a national historic landmark, is located on Shirley Street, and has superb acoustics. Please try to attend this lovely concert at 2:00 pm.

The South Boston Chamber of Commerce invites Newmarket Members to attend their meetings. Newmarket Business Association is a member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; their meeting schedule can be reach from website, www.newmarketboston.org/internet_links.htm. Members are welcome to attend a meeting at the Swissotel on May 21^st at 8:00 pm where Larry Lukins will be the speaker (There is a $40 charge).

The meeting was called to order at 8:10 am by President Joseph Cefalo, who welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. The minutes from the last meeting were distributed and accepted with the correction of Brian Maloney’s name on the Meeting Attendees list. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. Guest speakers from NSTAR Electric then gave a short presentation and answered questions.

Mason School:
The Mason School thanks Newmarket for its past support and is actively seeking new donations from Newmarket members. Due to budget cuts, the school has no materials budget and has had to send layoff notices to 50% of the staff. If you have supplies like pens, pencils, paper, tape, etc. that your business can donate, it will be very much appreciated. Thank you very much for the cookies from the fund-raising event. They really lifted the spirits of the children and teachers at a difficult time for the school! The South End News will be featuring the Mason School students’ essays about the Iraq War in tomorrow’s newspaper. All Newmarket Business Association members are invited to visit the school.

Budget & Finance:
Approximately 60% of the dues have been received to date. Please send in your payment if you have not already sent in your dues.

Contributions:
The Spring Training fundraiser auction and party held at Citizens Bank was a great success and a very fun evening. Newmarket Business Association thanks everyone who helped to make the fund raising event such a success! Together we raised $10,170 which will be used to assist area charities. Recent donations were $500 to the South Boston Neighborhood House Advocacy Center and $500 to the Metro-Boston Alive Education & Recovery Center. If you know of a group in the area that needs our help, please tell them to call Sue Sullivan. Contributions up to $500 are made to fund specific projects for neighborhood charities. Thank you for all of your support!

Safety:
The MBTA Police were informed about the problem with buses in front of 1010 Mass Ave. Cars parked in the bus stop are causing traffic to back up. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Website:
Webmaster Bob Patcha reports that the Newmarket website had 620 visitors last month. Bob has updated the website with photographs from the Spring Training fundraising event and news about Newmarket area companies. He has also been adding more links to members’ own websites since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. Don’t forget to take a few minutes to check out the website between meetings!

Public Affairs:
The Public Affairs committee wishes to join the Contributions Committee in thanking everyone who helped to make the Spring Training Fundraiser such a great success. A Boston harbor cruise has been proposed as the next big social event for the early summer.

Issues:
The Boston Redevelopment Authority and the City Department of Neighborhood Development have submitted a Request For Proposals for 700-731 Harrison Avenue. Newmarket Business Association has submitted a request to be appointed to the Impact Advisory Group for this project.

An organization named “First Student”, which is a subsidiary of Ryder Leasing, was the low bidder for the Boston Public Schools’ bus contract for the next five years, beginning in July of 2003. The low bid will result in the City of Boston saving $10 million per year for the next five years. They are planning to lease the former Agar site to park 100+ buses and bus drivers’ vehicles. The use of the former Agar site for bus parking could be considered a quid pro quo because Laidlaw, the current provider of school bus services to the City of Boston, has an existing parking lot for approximately 250 buses in the Newmarket neighborhood near the Water & Sewer Commission building (near Melnea Cass and Harrison Avenue). The City of Boston owns the school buses, so these same vehicles would be moved to the lot that the new bidder leases. The First Student group agreed that they would not use both the Agar site and the Laidlaw site. Expect to see the bus routes begin operating in June of 2003.

The proposed Marriott Courtyard project next door to the Holiday Inn Express beside South Bay Center presented their project impact report at a meeting attended by Joe Cefalo. Joe distributed an information sheet about this project to interested NBA members. In response to resident concerns, the developers, Jiten Hotel Management, are working out an agreement to route traffic to this Marriott Courtyard through the South Bay Center and Shell gas station parking lots and access roads in order to keep traffic off the residential streets, Boston Street and West Howell Street.

Anyone interested in offering products and services for the Democratic National Convention may find out about the process at the DNC website: www.boston04.com.

GUEST SPEAKERS: NSTAR ELECTRIC REPRESENTATIVES: WALTER SALVI, MARC LUCAS, CRAIG HALLSTROM, AND DAVID BROOKS

Walter Salvi (telephone: 617-541-7015) explained to the group that all of NSTAR’s administrative functions are located in Westwood. Nine hundred operations executives and staff have been consolidated at 1165 Mass Ave. Recently several senior executives have been hired in the operations area to improve the reliability and restoration of service. They use an “exception report” that focuses on power outage that last over four hours. There are also positions available to hire experienced line workers.

The NSTAR representatives answered questions about the myriad problems experienced by Newmarket members. These ranged from incorrect billing, “momentary” outages that wreak havoc with refrigeration and other equipment, inadequate notification of “planned” outages, incorrect drawing and schematics of manholes that slow down repair work, and the long-term substation plans to relieve the load on the Andrews Square substation (#106) that serves the bulk of the Newmarket area. The speakers all agreed that this meeting was a first step in improving the dialogue between NSTAR and an important cluster of business customers. They plan to send a representative to attend future meetings and promised open channels of communications with the Newmarket Business Association.

Applications are still available for access to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Call Susan Sullivan if you are interested in an application.

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation invited Newmarket members to attend their fundraiser, “Reaching for the Stars”. This event will take place on May 13^th at the Copley Marriott. The keynote speaker will be astronaut Dr. Jamison. Tickets are $85 each, $850/table. Donations are tax deductible. The event will also feature a silent auction and the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation thanks Newmarket members for any and all donations to the silent auction. You can visit their website at dbedc.com

There will be a meeting of the Newmarket Business Association’s Board of Directors on May 7^th at 7:00 am to be held at Slade Gorton. If you are on the Board, please plan to attend.

The meeting was called to order at 8:10 am by President Joseph Cefalo, who welcomed everyone present. Members present introduced themselves. Our newest member, Kren Drummey from Computer Warehouse, distributed Valentines Day gifts to the members. The minutes from the January meeting were distributed and accepted with the addition of John Francis to the Meeting Attendees list. Representatives from standing committees gave their reports. Guest speaker Andrea Cabral, the new Suffolk County Sheriff then gave a short presentation and answered questions.

The Mason School thanks Newmarket for its past support and is actively seeking new donations from Newmarket members. Due to budget cuts, the school has no materials budget and has lost three teachers and five para-professionals. If you have supplies like pens, pencils, paper, tape, etc. that your business can donate, it will be very much appreciated. The school has been accepted as a potential pilot school - that is a professional development school. They are working on writing a grant due in June. The safety issues have improved, except that the school has requested a crossing light for the kids crossing Norfolk to get to school and the playground.

Newmarket Business Association made a donation to “Kids Can Cook” an urban culinary program located on Magazine Street that teaches practical life and work skills. The funds for our organization’s donations to neighborhood charities throughout the year are raised in a single night at our annual March event. This year the theme is Spring Training. Please plan to attend this event, invite guests and potential new members! It is always very fun. There will be live and silent auctions, so please let Sue Sullivan know what your business will be donating. Thank you for all of your support!

The Spring Training fundraiser auction and party will take place on March 26^th at Citizens Bank in Newmarket Square from 5:30pm to 7:30 pm. Please save the date, invite friends, and donate generously.

John Kinnealy reported a problem with buses in front of 1010 Mass Ave. Cars parked in the bus stop are causing traffic to back up. Please report any new safety concerns to Sue Sullivan.

Webmaster Bob Patcha reports that the Newmarket website had 773 visitors last month. This is a new record! He has also been adding more links to members’ own websites since the Newmarket website is a valuable marketing tool for your business. The Newmarket website is constantly renewed with new feature stories, so please take a few minutes to check out the website between meetings!

The Newmarket Spring Training Fundraiser is the next big event for Public Affairs. Tickets will be $25. This is a great opportunity to introduce new members to the organization.

Paul Revere Transportation Company has applied for permits for a 5000 gallon above-ground storage tank to refuel buses with low sulpher diesel fuel. The Newmarket Business Association unanimously voted to send a letter of support to the Board of Appeals.

The Boston Medical Center has submitted its bid to the federal government to locate a level 4 biosafety laboratory in its Biosquare Development. The federal government will not announce the winning bids until November of 2003. Construction of this containment facility would be a multi-year process, and not be operable until 2008-9. If the Boston Medical Center bid is successful, the Newmarket Business Association will arrange for the developers to do a presentation and answer questions at a future meeting.

The Newmarket Business Association notified the BRA that it has no objection to a food trailer to be located at 46 Newmarket Square.

A proposal for “Albany Fellows Place”, redeveloping the former Branch Electric building at 801 Albany Street has been submitted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The initial proposal called for a mixed use development with residential, office, retail and light industrial uses totaling approximately 450,000 square feet, then the proposal was revised to approximately 300,000 square feet with only retail and residential uses. The BRA responded that light industrial use should go back into the plans. This project is in the “Scoping” phase of development. More details will follow at future meetings.

An organization named “First Student”, which is a subsidiary of Ryder Leasing, was the low bidder for the Boston Public Schools’ bus contract for the next five years, beginning in July of 2003. The low bid will result in the City of Boston saving $10 million per year for the next five years. They are planning to lease the former Agar site to park 100+ buses and bus drivers’ vehicles. The use of the former Agar site for bus parking could be considered a quid pro quo because Laidlaw, the current provider of school bus services to the City of Boston, has an existing parking lot for approximately 250 buses in the Newmarket neighborhood near the Water & Sewer Commission building (near Melnea Cass and Harrison Avenue). The City of Boston owns the school buses, so these same vehicles would be moved to the lot that the new bidder leases. The First Student group agreed that they would not use both the Agar site and the Laidlaw site.

At Newmarket Business Association’s recommendation, they discussed their plans with the Boston Transportation Department, who is comfortable with the proposal. The Issues Committee members made it clear that the Association’s consistent policy is that the Newmarket neighborhood is NOT A SATELLITE PARKING LOT for other neighborhoods of Boston.

There was a meeting to discuss the Roxbury Master Plan with Keiros Chen, a planner from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. A good dialogue has been established and he is now aware of Newmarket concerns, especially with the community enforcement provisions.

The Newmarket area capital improvements under the $125,000 EDIC grant are in engineering and will be done by the June 30^th deadline.

On February 4^th, Michael Grace hosted a program where an attorney explained tax savings to twenty-six businesspeople from the Newmarket Business Association. This excellent seminar will result in bottom line savings for area businesses. If you missed the event, please call Susan Sullivan for information.

Carl Lizio reported on the progress of the Crosstown development. The soils are clean and pile work is in progress. No retail or restaurant has been signed. There has been a donation from the family that started H & R Block to pay for a cancer survivors park as part of the Crosstown development.