President 2025 – 2026

MHA President – Roby Whitehouse

Happy New Year MHA membership!

Between staffing shortages, Mother Nature dropping a bit more weather on most communities desired, so far 2026 has been an experience.

Hope you enjoyed the MHA Winter Meeting, on February 5, 2026, where you experienced a packed and diverse agenda, led by C. N. Woods, Katherine Boshar, who kept the event on schedule.  

Thanks to the speakers State Procurement Officer, Mark Fine, Assistant Secretary, for the Commonwealth of MA, Operations Services Division; Patricia Leavenworth, District 2 Highway Director, MA DOT; Colby Cousens, CIO and Angelica Medina, Business Manager, Danvers; Moderator: Chris Cronin APEX, Panel: Michael Hale Gloucester, John Borghesi North Andover, Kevin Cafferty Scituate, Sean Divoll Worcester

Connect 351

MHA Workshop: From Hired to Higher: Public Works Recruitment, Retention, and Succession Planning

We thank you panelists who presented how they and their communities are finding new ways to recruit new employees.  It was a pleasure meeting and working with Jen Breaker, Assistant Town Manager and Communications Direct in Danvers; Ricardo Moralas, Commissioner of Public Works in Pittsfield; and Andrew O’Malley, Deputy Chief of Police. 

Have you heard that MHA now has a Membership Committee? 

The Board of Director’s have voted for this new committee, so enable our membership to have an avenue to create surveys and encourage member engagement, the committee chair is Brenda Codella, who can be reached at bcodella@yahoo.com 

Chapter 90 / Transportation Bond Bill Hearing The Joint Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing on the transportation bond bill, which includes Chapter 90 funding, on March 3. The MMA will testify in support of the legislation, and 2nd Vice President, Jeff Colby joined the MMA panel representing MHA.

Please mark your calendar for the upcoming MHA Annual Meeting on May 7th, the program committee has been busy building an action-packed program.  

Thank You

Roby Whitehouse

President

President, Massachusetts Highway Association

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Chapter 90 Bond Bill

The Massachusetts Highway Association expresses its sincere appreciation to the Healey-Driscoll administration for its collaboration on the Chapter 90 Bond Bill. This legislation represents a significant victory for local communities, providing a historic increase of 50% in annual funding for municipal road and bridge improvements. The administration’s dedication to working with local municipalities and its understanding of the critical need for increased investment in local infrastructure is commendable.

This partnership ensures that cities and towns across the Commonwealth have the resources to address crucial projects, enhancing safety and economic vitality for all residents. This is a model for effective governance and collaboration.

The Massachusetts Highway Association has always recognized the importance of the “Chapter 90” program especially for the smaller rural communities. We will continue to work diligently to support and work with the current and future administrations to ensure that this essential funding source remains in place and provides the much-needed infrastructure funding to all cities and towns.

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