Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) Reports Few Complaints as Hanscom Completes Repaving

October 14, 2017

By Ron Green

The September 28 HATS (Hanscom Area Towns Committee) meeting ended on a positive note.  Amber Goodspeed, Project Management Team Manager, reported that the entire repaving project had been completed with few complaints from neighboring towns. A hotline had been set up for the purpose of fielding any issues. In total, approximately 50 calls were recorded during the project.

Massachusetts continues to seek additional uses for the infrastructure and assets of Hanscom Field, according to John Beatty, Executive Director, Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force. The task force identifies opportunities where companies, municipalities, and other nonprofit and educational organizations can access new federal business.

Hanscom’s future is an ongoing question. Beatty reported that there is no current plan to study the closure of military installations. Previously such studies have been funded by Congress and typically call for the creation of a nonpartisan group to select which installations, if any, should be eliminated. No study is currently funded nor in the legislative pipeline.

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The task force explores ways in which the unique assets of military installations such as Hanscom, Westover, and Natick Soldier Systems Laboratory may be used to protect and expand missions, jobs, and economic investments. As an example of planning, all Massachusetts military installations are discovering ways in which electricity use can be reduced. Another goal is developing sources of energy on site so that it can be of better use for both the installation and for locations outside the boundaries.

One of the major successes of the task force is the Innovation Bridge.  The Innovation Bridge is a creation of a partnership with the Commonwealth and The MITRE Corporation. The Bridge connects local businesses, nonprofits, and academic institutions with federal opportunities. Through the Bridge, federal agencies will create new relationships with innovative academic institutions, thought leaders, established companies, and with companies that previously did not work with the federal government. Together, they will discover innovative ideas, products, and services to enhance federal agency missions. The new collaborative workspace will also give Massachusetts companies, higher education institutions, and nonprofits access to new federal business opportunities.

As an on-going aspect of the HATS process, members of the core group explore issues that are not specifically related to Hanscom. At the September 28 meeting, the group discussed a variety of issues such as plans to better manage traffic, programs to support a reduction of carbon emissions, and general safety.

Attending the meeting were Selectmen Steven Ng, Concord; Jon Dwyer, Lincoln; and Suzanne Barry. Other HATS members attending included Robert Easton, Concord Planning Board; Jacinda Barbehenn, Bedford Planning Board, and Margaret Coppe, Lexington.

[Editor’s note: On September 20, 2017, the Bedford Selectmen wrote a letter to Thomas P. Glynn, CEO Massachusetts Port Authority, to express their concerns about poor communication around the repaving project. https://www.bedfordma.gov/sites/bedfordma/files/news/selectmen_letter_to_massport_ceo.pdf]

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