The board of directors of MassDevelopment has voted to extend the contract of the agency’s CEO, Dan Rivera, for three more years, assuring that he will remain leader of the quasi-state agency overseeing development at Devens well into the first term of the incoming governor, Maura Healey.
Rivera’s reappointment denies Healey an opportunity to install her own leadership at the head of the agency. Members of the Harvard Select Board and the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee are concerned that Rivera’s reappointment will empower MassDevelopment to ignore the interests of the town and further delay negotiations regarding the future governance of the former Army base, home to more than 100 businesses and 800 residents in 255 households.
The current MassDevelopment board, however, is clearly pleased with Rivera’s work. The Dec. 7 vote to extend his contract was unanimous, according to a MassDevelopment spokesperson. The meeting was chaired by Sec. Mike Kennealy, outgoing head of the Department of Housing and Community Development, who signed Rivera’s new contract Dec. 12. And Rivera seems to have had the backing of outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker as well. A day after the extended contract was signed, the Globe reported that on a visit to Haverhill, Baker had praised Rivera, saying that his seven years as mayor of Lawrence had proved invaluable to MassDevelopment in its efforts to help small and midsized cities.
Rivera’s new contract extends his term until June 30, 2026; without the extension, it would have expired June 30, 2023. Rivera’s annual salary remains $235,000 per year, the amount set in his original Jan. 11, 2021, agreement. But the contract—a copy of which was provided to the Press by MassDevelopment—allows the board chair and compensation committee to recommend increases anytime during Rivera’s tenure.
In a statement to the Press, state Sen. Jamie Eldridge congratulated Rivera on the renewal of his contract. “As the state Senator for Devens, as well as Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley,” he wrote, “I look forward to working more closely with Dan on issues including a comprehensive study of the future of Devens, continued support of economic development there, building a new Devens public safety building, and how Devens can play a role in addressing the state’s housing crisis.”
The Press invited Rivera by email to comment on the contract extension and the future of Devens, but did not receive a response in time for this issue of the paper.
Town leaders react
Town leaders were less optimistic in their responses. In a brief email statement to the Press, Select Board Chair Rich Maiore reacted by saying he looked forward to working with Rivera “to improve the communication and collaboration between Harvard, Devens, and MassDevelopment.” He said that he and Ayer Select Board Chair Jannice Livingston had requested a meeting with Rivera and Meg Delorier, acting executive vice president for Devens, to discuss relations among the agency, the towns of Ayer, Shirley, and Harvard, and the residents of Devens. So far Rivera has not responded and no date has been set.
Victor Normand, chair of the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee, told the Press that his committee is concerned that under Rivera’s leadership, Mass-Development has not been responsive to the towns that abut Devens nor the residents who live there. “Now Rivera has even less reason to be concerned at all about what the residents of Devens or the three towns think or need or want,” Normand said in a phone interview. He said he had hoped that a new governor and a new MassDevelopment board chair might influence Rivera’s attitude. “But you add three years to the six months he’s got left [on his current contract] and he’s pretty much insulated from any influence that new board members or the governor may have.”
Normand believes it’s time to enlist the help of Harvard’s state delegation and the Healey administration in getting Rivera’s attention. In a Dec. 14 letter, the committee urged the Select Board to meet with Eldridge, state Rep. Dan Sena, and representatives of the Healey administration to discuss the town’s working relationship with MassDevelopment.
The letter, approved unanimously by the committee, which includes two Devens residents, cited instances in which MassDevelopment had snubbed the towns and Devens residents, including its refusal to participate in the work of the Devens Jurisdiction Framework Committee, created at the urging of a prior MassDevelopment administration to begin work on a plan for the future governance of Devens.
“A formal request by the Harvard Select Board, ideally in conjunction with the select boards of Ayer and Shirley, the local legislative delegation, and representatives of Devens residents, might make a significant positive difference with the MassDevelopment administration concerning matters relating to Devens,” the letter asserts.
‘We all know where Dan stands’
At this week’s Select Board meeting, members endorsed the Harvard committee’s request. “We all know where Dan stands,” said Select Board member Don Ludwig. “Now he’s renewed for three more years. The feeling is that if you can get the [Healey] administration and our legislators behind what the three towns are thinking, then we can get [MassDevelopment] back to the table.”
Board Chair Maiore agreed. “We need the new administration to understand what’s been going on and what our expectations are—not just for Harvard but for Ayer, Shirley, and Devens—because those expectations certainly have not been met by MassDevelopment.”
After a five-minute discussion, Ludwig said he and Normand would draft a letter for the Select Board to approve at its Jan. 3 meeting.
