Massachusetts’s legislators are holding hearings on a proposed ballot question that would let Bay State voters decide whether the state should have a second slots parlor.
The hearings are being held by the legislature’s Committee on Economic Development. The proposal would require that the casino be located near a racetrack, of which there are only two in the state: Suffolk Downs, in Boston and Plainridge Racecourse, in Plainville, where there is already a slots parlor.
The 2011 gaming expansion law authorized one slots parlor and three casino resorts in the state. So far, the Plainville casino is the only one that is built and operating. The others are in the planning and approval stages.
MGM Springfield
In anticipation of the MGM Springfield the city of Springfield has plans to hire 59 police officers this year, the largest such hiring in two decades. They will be earmarked for use in the downtown area as part of a special unit called the Metro Policing Area. The city hopes this will encourage more economic activity in the downtown area.
Mayor Domenic Sarno told WAMC “Having a strong police presence, not only in our downtown, but in our neighborhood areas brings that sense of investment and security.” The increased police presence is made possible by payments that MGM is already making to the city and from increased revenues from a growing tax base.
The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department would like to get some of that casino money and has requested $2 million from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Community Mitigation Fund to address impacts to its existing Western Massachusetts Correctional Addiction Center, which was required to move out of the casino’s 14.5 acre footprint.
“It is grossly unfair and unacceptable that this commonwealth’s model correctional substance abuse treatment center should be put out of existence to make room for a casino without appropriate mitigation,” wrote Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr. applying to the commission for the money. The money, said the letter, would address, “continuing and ongoing impacts” of the casino.
The building that housed the addiction center was sold to MGM for $4.45 million more than a year ago. The center was at that location for 29 years. At its new location it will pay a much higher rent.
Meanwhile MGM Springfield has announced that it is exceeding its commitments for diversity in construction contracts. MGM officials told the gaming commission last week that it has now hired 17-woman-owned businesses, 11 minority owned businesses and five businesses owned by veterans.
MGM had committed to 10 percent women owned businesses, and has achieved 12 percent. It committed to 5 percent minority owned businesses and has tripled that. It committed to 2 percent veteran owned businesses and is at 2.9 percent.
Jason Rosewell, executive director of design and construction for the developer told the commission that they are also meeting workforce diversity goals.
Commission Chairman Crosby called diversity goals a “very high priority,” adding, “Because of our law, we’re taking this probably more seriously than it’s ever been taken before in any construction project in the country, in the state certainly. It’s an important by-product.” Crosby said he hoped the results would inspire Wynn Resorts to try to beat those numbers.
Wynn Boston Harbor
Officials of Wynn Resorts last week told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission the company’s efforts to clean up the site of the $2 billion Wynn Boston Harbor in Everett as well as mitigate traffic congestion.
Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Everett, repeated his company’s assertion that the project will be the “largest private development” in the history of the Bay State.
The developer has so far completed nearly two dozen environmental and traffic plans that add up to more than 10,000 pages, DeSalvio said. They have been reviewed by dozens of state, municipal and local government entities over the past three years.
Wynn is spending $30 million in private money to remediate the land formerly occupied by a Monsanto chemical plant along the Mystic River. It projects it will spend $266 million to improve roads, add road infrastructure as well as another $1 billion in surrounding community and mitigation payments for the next dozen years and more.
DeSalvio told the commission, When you think about the commitment on behalf of Wynn Resorts for a project of this nature, it really is nothing short of incredible. We feel like we have done the most in depth due diligence environmental filings that any project has ever gone through that we’ve ever heard of.” He added, “For anyone that has any questions at all about our mitigation package and the effort that we put out, I think today’s presentation puts those arguments to bed.”
Wynn Consultant Chris Gordon described the riverfront mediation, which has nearly completed phase one. He called it “the worst of it” and added, “We’re within probably two or three weeks of having the site closed up from the remediation point of view.”
The commission is nearly at the point of determining “that all practicable and feasible means and measures have been taken to avoid or minimize potential damage to the environment from Wynn’s proposed category 1 gaming establishment” according to a draft.
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone continues to appeal to the Department of Environmental Protection to not issue a needed permit required for Wynn to begin building. This appeal has slowed down the process and provoked the developer to cancel job fairs and freeze the cleanup work until the appeal is resolved. The first hearing on the appeal will be held in June.
