Mortgage Relief

Utility Contractors Association of New England (UCANE) Interview:

Representative Garrett Bradley (D-Hingham)

By Matthew Boger for the Feb. 2008 issue of Construction Outlook Magazine

Representative Garrett Bradley was elected to the House in 2000. He represents the 3^rd Plymouth District which includes Hingham, Hull, Cohasset and North Scituate, and serves as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws.

As a former Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney, he served as the lead narcotics prosecutor in Brockton District Court, and was in charge of prosecuting all cases of domestic violence in Hingham District Court. He has also been involved in community projects such as volunteering as a member of Hingham's Capital Outlay Committee, working on the Hingham Community Playground Project, supporting Wellspring Multi-Service center in Hull, and coaching youth football.

Q.] Please give us some insight into your background and how you got into politics?

A.] I grew up in Hingham and have always been interested and involved in local issues and local politics. I graduated from Boston College High School, and got my Bachelors and Law Degree from Boston College. I always wanted to work for the District Attorney’s Office and specifically in Plymouth County, where I grew up. I was hired by then District Attorney Mike Sullivan, who now is the Director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

After working at the D.A.’s office for three years, I realized that the decisions that affect people on a daily basis, especially on the local level, were all made on Beacon Hill. At that point I had served on the Board of Hingham’s Capital Outlay Committee, which helped map out where the town was going to be in five years and what we needed to do to get there. Quite frankly, I think we should be doing more capital outlay here on Beacon Hill, and have a committee focused solely on that.

With that background at the D.A.’s office and the experience of working on the future plans of Hingham, I decided to run for the House, and have served in this capacity since 2000.

Q.] Mayors and Selectmen throughout the state have indicated that they are seeking increased local aid in the State Budget. Please talk about the importance of local aid?

A.] Local aid is always the most important portion of our annual state budget, representing roughly $6 Billion of our entire budget. Between local aid and Medicare, which usually is around $5-$5.5 Billion, those two items traditionally represent between 45-50% of the total budget.

Local aid represents the largest single allotment in the budget. In addition to that is assistance from the Lottery, Chapter 70, school assistance, other programs like the SRF program and Rate Relief that directly benefit municipalities.

It is up to us on Beacon Hill, to assure that communities are receiving their due share of state funds…whether they are grants or loans. For example, I fought for a Public Works Endowment Development (PWED) grant totaling $1.1 Million that had been languishing under Governor Romney for the revitalization and repair of downtown Hingham, for projects like repaving. I brought this to the attention of Governor Patrick, who really understands the importance of maintaining infrastructure, and he approved the grant last summer. That is an example of local aid that the town was not expecting, and it is important to fight for every dollar.

Q.] You represent the coastalcommunities of Hingham, Hull, Cohasset and North Scituate? What is the breakdown of sewer verses septic systems in your district?

A.] Without a doubt, one of my major concerns is the appropriate treatment of wastewater. Representing coastal communities, it is imperative that the beaches and waterways are as clean as they can be, not just because of the environmental and health benefits, but also because of quality of life and tourism. No one wants to go to a dirty beach, so it is important that combined sewer overflows (CSO) and other releases of wastewater do not occur. In fact, as part of the Greenbush project, we put in pipe extending from St. Paul’s Church in downtown Hingham to the Harbor for outflow. This underground work is equally as important as the above ground work, because it helps manage the water, and prevents flooding and contamination.

In my district about a third of Hingham is on sewer, 99% of Hull is on sewer, and in Cohasset I think there are about 100 homes on sewer. The rest are on septic, and the reason for that is explained in the Indian term for Cohasset which is Long Rocky Place. That area is all ledge, so it is very expensive and difficult to blast through and sewer several sections of the town.

Septic systems have their place and are fine in certain areas, but do we really want to store this waste underground and have it pumped out every two years. I have heard horror stories of people forgetting to pump their septic systems and having them overflow and back up into people’s homes. Sewer systems provide a safe and reliable network to appropriately move, treat, and dispose of wastewater, and I think that is something that each community has to take seriously to prevent contamination.

We have some very intelligent and proactive water boards, especially in Cohasset. They have been very protective of their aquifers to maintain water levels. Water is a valuable resource. I know water issues well. In fact, my former legislative aide Mike Sillano is the Sewer Commissioner in Hingham

Q.] As you know, themajority of Clean Water and Drinking Water projects are funded through the State Revolving Fund Loan Program (SRF). Over the years tens of million of dollars of SRF funds have been spent on water infrastructure projects in your district. How important has the SRF funding been to your district and the state?

A.] In Hingham, we are trying to sewer more and more of the town, but we cannot do it alone. Everyone from the local, state and federal levels is feeling the financial pinch, and pushing a multi-million water project is often not popular when you see all the other needs such as school, fire, police, and basic municipal maintenance. But, the SRF’s low interest 2% loans to help finance the projects helps alleviate some of the financial burden and provides the resources to get important projects done.

I am also very familiar with the SRF program as many years ago, prior to when the SRF program was in place, Hingham built a $40 Million water treatment plant. Although it cost a great deal of money it increased water quality dramatically…but it also increased water costs. About a year or two after the plant was constructed, the SRF program was created using state and federal funds. Hingham and a variety of other water districts, presented a case that they spent an enormous amount of money to be proactive and address the water quality. My predecessor, Representative Mary Jeanette Murray and Senator Robert Hedlund and a variety of other legislators were successful in getting a ten year allocation in the state budget called the Grandfathered Contact Assistance for the Water Pollution Abatement Trust. We are in the process of trying to continue that allocation now that the 10 years have expired, because if the project was done under the low interest loan, it would be eligible for twice as much reimbursement.

The SRF is a valuable program to my district and the state as a whole. We need to do everything we can to help municipalities address some of their most pressing issues, and water quality is definitely a pressing issue.

Q.] The CommonwealthSewer Rate Relief Fund [Line-item 1231-1000] is an important program in the state budget. These funds help to alleviate sewer rates for municipalities throughout the Commonwealth, not just the MWRA district. Several years ago this line-item was funded at $61 million, but was cut to $25 million in CY 2007, and funded at $23 Million last year. Hingham has received $93,019, Cohasset received $98,612, and Scituate has received $177,338 from this program. Can you discuss the importance of this program and the need to increase the funding for Rate Relief?

A.] As you note, my communities have benefited from Rate Relief and I am no stranger to issues of annual water increases. For a time, Hingham had one of the highest annual water bills in the nation. The Commonwealth Sewer Rate Relief program is an important program because the more we can help communities manage wastewater, the better the environment will be. The tough part is that pipes are leaking and decaying underground, but we don’t know about it because it is not visible like roads and bridge maintenance. I think maintenance and modernization of sewer infrastructures is critical, but that costs money.

I believe that it is the responsibility of state government to assist communities to provide a safe and modernized wastewater infrastructure, and the Rate Relief program is one of the ways we can do that. Given what the budget forecast is for FY 2009, Rate Relief’s past funding level of $61 Million is not in the cards, but I would support maintaining its current funding level, because this is an important program and should be continued. I know that Ways & Means Chairman Bob DeLeo is on top of this issue and is a major supporter of this program. He is a great advocate to have and I would give a lot of credit to him for maintaining it in the budget each year.

Q.] EconomicDevelopment often starts with the availability of the existing water infrastructure. Can you explain the importance of upgrading, improving, and enhancing city and town infrastructure to help stimulate growth and economic development?

A.] In my district we are dealing with this very issue in redeveloping the shipyard in Hingham. To assure the project is viable, daily water demands must be met. Aquarian Water, which provides drinking water to that area, was unable to meet the demand, so opposed to abandoning the project, a deal was reached to buy water from Cohasset and pump it in. I think what we need to do is approach communities that have sufficient aquifers and use a regional approach to how water can be used to benefit those communities in need of water. You can look at it as a viable business venture as water is a valuable commodity and communities will pay for it.

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