Gov. Mitt Romney has made it clear that he does not plan to give up on the parklands. According to local published reports, Romney told federal highway officials he intends to take over control of the property. Jodi Charles, a spokesperson for the governor, tells GlobeSt.com that the parklands issue comes up every year when the weather turns warmer but she says, "Before it was just speculation." Now that the Big Dig is done the topic has suddenly turned serious.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which has overseen the Big Dig, contends that it has the legal right to control the parklands. "We are following the letter of the law," Doug Hanchett, director of media relations for the Turnpike Authority, tells GlobeSt.com. Hanchett adds that the 1997 legislation "clearly states that the park parcels are to be turned over to the Turnpike Authority."
But the governor's office sees things differently. "The parklands are owned by the state," Charles points out. She acknowledges that the Big Dig contract puts the Turnpike Authority in charge of the parklands until the Big Dig is completed, and requires that the Authority provides five years of maintenance on the property, but she says, "the state owns the land and will never give it up."
In a letter Romney sent to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, the Massachusetts General Court, Mayor Thomas Menino and Matthew Amorello, chairman of the Turnpike Authority, he emphasizes that the state's ownership of the Big Dig parklands will not change the fact that the Turnpike Authority will retain responsibility for the design and construction of the Greenway, the 30 acres of parkland in the city. Romney further explains in the letter that his office is exploring the retention of this property because, among other reasons, he does not want to see the parkland transferred to a "quasi-independent" agency. "The Commonwealth will always be here, 20, 40 and 100 years from now. The longevity and governance of the Turnpike is less certain," writes the governor.
This argument is sure to worsen a relationship that has already gone sour. Last year, Romney tried to get the legislature to fold the Turnpike Authority into the state's Highway Department, which would give the governor control over the authority. The proposal was not passed by the legislature, but Charles says that the bill was proposed again in this year's budget and, she adds, that the governor's office "will continue to do so."
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