The committee held its first organizational meeting on Tuesday.
Members of the new Springfield Casino Site Committee gather for their first meeting Tuesday. Seated around the table are, from left, committee members Bobbie Rennix, Zaida Luna, William Pepin, Bub Williams, Paula Meara, Richard O'Connor, James Ferrera III, and Maurice Thomas.SPRINGFIELD
- A Springfield Casino Site Committee appointed by City Council President James J. Ferrera III will have a limited role in negotiating with a proposed casino developer, a lawyer for the city Law Department said.Springfield Law Department Attorney Thomas Moore told the committee Tuesday at its first organizational meeting that “Negotiations are reserved for the executive office.”
The 15-member committee appointed by Ferrera held its first organizational meeting Tuesday afternoon in City Council chambers at City Hall.
Ferrera said the committee chaired by retired Police Chief Paula Meara will conduct public meetings and release its findings and recommendations to the City Council and the public.
Before a community host agreement which contains a specific site for a casino goes to a city wide referendum ballot for approval, it will need the approval of the mayor and the City Council, Moore said.
Moore said that now that casino gambling is legal in Massachusetts, the Legislature is now developing regulations on siting a casino in a community.
He said the Casino Site Committee appointed by Ferrera “will learn about the bill as you go.”
The state’s casino law, approved in November, is silent on exactly who in a city or town would be in charge of negotiating an agreement with a casino that wants to locate in a community, according to James F. McHugh, a retired Massachusetts Appeals Court judge and member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
McHugh said the law is silent on whether the agreement with a casino operator in a city needs the approval of just the mayor or both the mayor and the City Council.
McHugh said the question needs to be resolved at the municipal level, with officials using municipal law and regulations as a guide.
The casino law allows up to three casino resorts in different geographic zones around the state including one for Western Massachusetts.
Thus far, one casino is proposed in Springfield. Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas is planning a casino on a 41-acre parcel on Page Boulevard in East Springfield.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has said he will “lead the charge” in negotiating plans and agreements with a casino developer.
Sarno added that he will look for input from all the citizens of the city. “Obviously, this is going to be the people’s choice,” he said. “Obviously, there has to be a referendum vote.”
At Tuesday’s organizational meeting, Meara said the Site Committee appointed by Ferrera is an information gathering committee which will make its recommendations to the City Council.
“The City Council needs information and the citizens need information,” Meara said. “We can’t speak for the City Council. We will need ears and eyes in the community.”
Other casinos proposed in Western Massachusetts include a Mohegan Sun plan on 152 acres of leased land in Palmer just off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike and a Penn National Gaming plan for a 280-acre plot in Westfield near the Massachusetts Turnpike.