City Clerk Wayman Lee denied a permit for Triple Sevens Cyber Center last week, but city councilor Timothy Rooke on Friday said he was granting it.
FILE – The scene inside a cyber cafe on Worthington Street in Springfield.SPRINGFIELD – A request for a special permit for a cyber cafe on Cooley Street has led to two contradictory decisions filed by the city clerk and a city councilor, and has triggered a new threat of legal action.
In addition, state Attorney General Martha Coakley on Friday announced a permanent regulation that will ban illegal gambling at such businesses, which replaces an earlier emergency regulation.
The business on Cooley Street, known as Triple Sevens Cyber Center, has stated that it has no plans for illegal gambling and is mulling legal action to secure its special permit.
The permit from the council is in dispute, however, following a council vote May 20, denying the permit, and a reconsideration vote June 6, approving the permit.
City Clerk Wayman Lee, citing legal advice from City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula, said he issued a decision last week that denies the permit because the June vote violated a state law requiring a two-year moratorium on considering a permit application once it has been denied.
City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke issued a conflicting decision on Friday, granting the permit, saying he was acting on behalf of the council based on his role as acting president during the reconsideration vote.
During an April hearing, proponents described the business, saying patrons would connect to the Internet to check email, use Facebook, and play Internet games and “sweepstakes” by purchasing Internet time on 30 available computers.
The Triple Sevens Cyber Cafe in Sixteen Acres is point of contention between City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke, who says it should be granted a permit to open, and City Clerk Waymon Lee who says it should not.Lee works for the council, and his decision denying the permit was “completely inappropriate” and usurped the council’s powers to oversee permits, Rooke said.
Lee was not available for comment Friday but previously stated that he must follow the law.
Threats of legal action have come from both the proponents of the cyber cafe and the opponents. The business is at the Five Town Plaza and cannot have more than five computers without a permit, officials said.
The Outer Belt Civic Association, which opposed the permit, has stated it will consider legal action if the permit is issued. The association cited concerns about gambling and the impact the business would have on the neighborhood.
Richard J. Maggi, a lawyer for the cafe, said Friday that the council never took “final action” in May because Rooke immediately called for reconsideration for the council’s next meeting. The two-year moratorium would only apply after final action, Maggi said.
Councilors said there was both public support for and opposition to the permit.
Councilor Clodovaldo Concepcion said he was against the permit because of the neighborhood opposition.
Council President Jose F. Tosado said he favored the permit after getting many phone calls of support, and in the belief it was a good location for a business and appeared to be a legal business.
Coakley said the permanent regulation against illegal gambling “will enforce long-standing gambling laws and protect consumers.”