Gov. Charlie Baker Appoints North Andover Lawyer to University of Massachusetts Building Authority

Photo Credit: University of Massachusetts Buiding Authority/Lowell/More than 150 members of the UMass Lowell community gathered in 2014 to celebrate the opening of University Suites

John Smolak of North Andover was recently appointed by Governor Charlie Baker as a member of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority. He was appointed to a six-year term.

The UMass Building Authority is a public authority established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1960 for the purpose of building facilities on each of the five University of Massachusetts campuses.

In recent years the Authority has expanded its role and now builds academic buildings, laboratories, athletic facilities, heating plants, and other facilities, as well as providing funding for the repair and renovation of existing campus facilities/

In order to construct facilities, the Authority borrows funds by issuing tax-exempt bonds. The University has pledged to pay the principal and interest on the bonds issued by the Authority over the life of the bonds, according to the Authority’s website. The Authority is also responsible for the construction of these facilities and hires architects, engineers and construction firms to design and build them. After the facilities are completed, they are used and maintained by the University while the Authority maintains ownership of the buildings.

The Authority has eleven members, appointed by the Governor, who oversee the activities of the Authority, including five of these members who are also Trustees of the University of Massachusetts, and two of the six non-trustee members must be graduates of the University.

Smolak is a partner with the law firm of Smolak & Vaughan LLP, and earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, received his M.P.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and J.D. from Boston College Law School.