Longmeadow and MGM Springfield continue to disagree over a surrounding communities agreement.
LONGMEADOW — The Longmeadow Select Board has cited a 29-page study released by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission as a reason for the town's request of $1 million in mitigation fees before MGM Resorts International even begins construction on the Springfield casino.
"While the town respects the fact that other communities have reached agreements that are in their best interests, Longmeadow has remained steadfast in its commitment to the process initiated many months ago by MGM and facilitated for the region by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission," said Longmeadow Town Manager Stephen Crane. "The results of this process are unambiguous and should inform negotiations and they have informed our counteroffer."
The results Crane refers to are from an independent traffic impact study done by Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. which was released on Dec. 20.
"The firm looked at eight communities which would potentially be affected by the traffic including Agawam, Ludlow, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Holyoke, Chicopee, Wilbraham and West Springfield," said Timothy Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, which hired GPI to conduct the third-party study.
Brennan said the firm conducted a peer review of MGM's own study done by The Engineering Corp. and interviews with officials in each of the eight communities.
The study identifies Longmeadow and West Springfield as the communities which will most be affected by casino traffic.
MGM vice president Michael Mathis sent a response to Longmeadow stating MGM will not accept the counter proposal and said there is no definitive evidence that traffic problems will be greater in Longmeadow than in any of the other surrounding communities.
"Based upon my understanding of your counter offer, Longmeadow is requesting more than $1 million up front for unspecified mitigation and fee reimbursements (8 times that agreed to by any other abutting community), $500,000 annually in mitigation payments escalated at 2.5 percent annually, (3-4 times that agreed by any other abutting community) and the benefits of the look back approach," he wrote.
As for the study's recommendations, which Longmeadow took into consideration before making a counter offer, Mathis said he has not been provided with any data that would indicate Longmeadow will suffer "significant, actual known net impacts."
"While we appreciate and respect the work that was put into this study, we don't agree with all of the findings. We feel good, however, that MGM's traffic consultant has generated numbers that while different from this report, have been substantiated by MassDOT. The accuracy of the numbers is paramount when discussing overall traffic impacts. We are carefully reviewing this new 29-page report," he said.
Crane said that GPI study confirms the significant and adverse traffic impacts that Longmeadow will experience both on its local roads and on I-91, which is served by the town's fire and ambulance service.
"Longmeadow is uniquely impacted by longstanding bottlenecks along I-91 around the Longmeadow Curve (the interchange of Route 5/I-9)," the study states.
GPI calculated that an additional 286 vehicle trips will occur along this stretch of highway during the Friday evening commuting hour.
GPI also encouraged Longmeadow to seek funds to upgrade signal equipment at all of the intersections on Longmeadow Street, which is also part of Route 5.
The study states that West Springfield will be the most heavily impacted community, in relation to traffic, citing pedestrian traffic on the Memorial Bridge, overflow parking in the Century Plaza, the seasonal effects of the Big E and more.
The study also questions the look back approach MGM has been touting for the past month.
"Relying on the look back method to be the sole means of determining mitigation to address impacts on surrounding communities, as proposed by MGM, does not afford an appropriate level of conservatism for all communities," the study reads.
Brennan said the look back approach was presented to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission less than two months ago.
"Communities have struggled with this in part because the one and five year look backs mean municipalities will have to come up with the resources to collect data and do their own impact studies to prove that the casino has had an adverse effect," he said.
The GPI study says that while theoretically the look back is a valuable tool, in reality it may not work.
"These communities are being asked to trust that MGM will engage them in good faith at a later date well after the conclusion of the MassGaming Commission process. Given the number of variables which would have to be monitored, it is easy to contemplate a scenario where MGM may attempt to dispute any real responsibility related to traffic impacts."
As of now Agawam, Ludlow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham and Chicopee have signed agreements with MGM. The casino plans on submitting its Phase II application on Dec. 31. Brennan said the Gaming Commission is also clear about the timeline.
"They want to make a decision about the license by April and it is our understanding that they want to have all of the surrounding community agreements signed by January," he said.
Crane said he believes the town and MGM will not come to an agreement before that application deadline, but will continue negotiations in January.
In his letter, Mathis said he believes the next step for Longmeadow is to meet with the Gaming Commission in the new year.
"We were hoping to avoid any of our abutting communities from having to prove (or fail to prove, as we think the case will be) their surrounding community status in front of the Gaming Commission, but that is where we find ourselves with Longmeadow given how far apart the parties are," he wrote.
MGM Response to Longmeadow Counterproposal 12 22 13 by masslive
GPI MGM Regional Traffic Impact Review by masslive
