MGC Awards $10.6 Million in Grants from Community Mitigation Fund
- August 08, 2022
- by MGC Communications
- 0 comments
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) recently approved the award of over $10.6 million in Community Mitigation Fund grants to numerous municipalities and other eligible entities across Massachusetts.
Since 2015, the MGC has awarded approximately $37.7 million in grants from the Community Mitigation Fund. The fund, established by the gaming law, helps host and surrounding communities and other qualified applicants to offset costs related to casino construction and operation. Grant awards support a range of community needs including education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues, public safety, and emergency services.
“The more than $10 million in grants awarded through the 2022 Community Mitigation Fund is yet another example of the Commonwealth’s commitment to fully realize the benefits of its gaming industry as well as the Gaming Commission’s continued fulfillment of the mandate made by the Legislature to mitigate any unintended impacts tied to gaming in Massachusetts,” said MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein.
“The MGC is proud to support communities in the Commonwealth as they seek to improve government services and make advancements in road safety, tourism marketing, wellness and recovery services, public safety training and personnel, and job readiness programming.
“On behalf of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, I extend congratulations to all of our 2022 grant recipients and look forward to the numerous ways those awards will make innovative, tangible improvements to the Commonwealth and its communities.”
The Community Mitigation Fund review team conducted a comprehensive review of all applications to ensure compliance with the 2022 Guidelines and made recommendations to the Commission over the course of several public meetings throughout the spring of 2022. After deliberation on those recommendations, the Commission voted to award the following grants:
|
Grantee & Project Grant Type |
Grant Type | Award | Description |
|
Agawam Intersection Redesign |
Transportation Construction
|
$833,300 | Reconstruction of the intersection at Suffield Street, Cooper Street and Rowley Street. |
|
Boston BPD Public Safety Strategy |
Public Safety
|
$106,000 | Funding for increased investigative activities between the BPD’s Human Trafficking Unit and other related law enforcement entities; and increased traffic safety patrols on the roadways surrounding the casino. |
|
Boston Sullivan/ Rutherford |
Transportation Planning
|
$200,000 | Design of improvement to Sullivan Square/Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown. |
|
Chelsea Spruce Street |
Transportation Planning
|
$167,600 | Funding for a comprehensive study to devise a conceptual design of multi-modal infrastructure enhancements on Spruce Street, between Everett Avenue and Williams Street. |
|
Everett Industrial District Design |
Community Planning
|
$100,000 | Funding for developing design guidelines for potential new development in the Everett DPA/Industrial District. |
|
Everett Mystic Riverwalk Boardwalk |
Transportation Construction
|
$1,335,000 | This funding is to complete a missing section of the Mystic Riverwalk between Mystic View Park and Route 16/Woods Memorial Bridge. |
|
Everett (Fire) Communications Equipment |
Specific Impact
|
$122,600 | This funding will increase radio/communication reliability in and between responding members of the EFD and other responding municipalities. |
|
Everett (Police) Public Safety |
Specific Impact
|
$309,000 | This will provide funding for Public Safety equipment, overtime reimbursement and communication interoperability. |
|
Everett/Boston Lower Mystic Transportation Mgmt. Assoc. |
Transportation Planning | $450,000 | These funds will complete the formation of the Lower Mystic Transportation Management Association. These funds support the basic operational needs of the TMA during its first 3 years. |
|
Foxboro (Police) Training |
Public Safety
|
$71,400 | These funds will continue training officers in high-liability areas to enhance public safety and mitigate areas of impact from the casino. |
|
Foxboro/ Plainville/ Wrentham Regional Destination Marketing |
Community Planning | $136,000 | These funds will provide marketing tools for the implementation of strategies outlined in Regional Destination Marketing Plan in a comprehensive and integrated manner. |
|
Hampden DA Personnel Costs |
Public Safety
|
$75,000 | This grant continues funding to the Hampden DA’s Office for personnel to handle casino-related prosecutions. The funding has been in place for three years. |
|
Hampden Sheriff Lease Assistance |
Specific Impact
|
$400,000 | These funds provide lease assistance for the Western Massachusetts Recovery and Wellness Center after having to move its location to make way for the MGM Casino. |
|
Holyoke Community College Work Ready 2022 |
Workforce Development
|
$500,000 | Work Ready 2022 is a collaborative effort of HCC, STCC, and SPS to provide adult education, career readiness and occupational training to connect un- and underemployed residents to education, training and employment opportunities to meet the workforce needs of MGM Springfield and the region. |
|
Longmeadow Camera Project |
Public Safety
|
$85,900 | This grant will provide funding for cameras at the intersection of the I-91 and Longmeadow Street/Route 5 junction. Monitoring this site will determine the most effective methods of deploying law enforcement and public safety resources. |
|
Malden Arts Center |
Community Planning
|
$100,000 | The City of Malden is working to purchase the old Malden Courthouse and convert it into the Malden Center for Arts & Culture. The Reuse Study will produce a comprehensive report that will help determine the most appropriate and financially feasible mix of arts and cultural uses. |
|
Malden Traffic Signal Inventory |
Transportation Planning
|
$57,500 | This grant will provide funding for a traffic signal inventory and analysis on the major north-south routes into Everett and connecting east-west routes. |
|
Mansfield Route 106 |
Specific Impact
|
$64,500 | Funding of traffic enforcement and education equipment to mitigate safety concerns caused by increased traffic volume on Route 106 since the opening of Plainridge Park Casino. |
|
MassHire/ Boston MBRGHC |
Workforce Development
|
$500,000 | A consortium of partners will provide contextualized ESOL training, occupational skills training, job readiness training, digital literacy training and career counseling. |
|
Medford Wellington Study |
Community Planning
|
$100,000 | This grant will fund a planning study for the Wellington area of Medford. The study will provide a basis for decision making about land-use planning, transportation planning, public infrastructure planning, and zoning modifications for the Wellington area’s future. |
|
Medford Public Safety Vehicles |
Public Safety
|
$68,300 | The police department will use these funds to purchase a pickup truck and Speed Monitor trailer. |
|
Medford Bluebikes Stations |
Transportation Construction
|
$192,500 | This project will add four stations to Medford’s new bike share system, connecting the Wellington MBTA station, Mystic River path system, and neighborhoods to the west to the initial six stations in Medford Square and South Medford. |
|
Medford Wellington Rail Trail Study |
Transportation Planning
|
$70,000 | This project will study the feasibility of utilizing a freight rail right-of-way to construct a multi-use trail that would improve connectivity in the Wellington/Glenwood neighborhood by creating a safe path of travel that is fully separated from motor vehicles. |
|
Northampton Marketing Program |
Community Planning
|
$75,000 | This grant provides continued funding for development and improvement of the northampton.live website. |
|
Plainville (Police) Training |
Public Safety
|
$142,200 | This funding will cover police training costs on fair and impartial policing, human dynamics and conflict resolution and de-escalation. |
|
Revere Place-Making & Branding Broadway |
Community Planning
|
$100,000 | This grant provides funding for marketing efforts around the Broadway corridor in Revere related to district identity, brand association, improved public realm and cross marketing campaigns designed to stimulate economic recovery of the corridor while generating linkages to the district’s unique history and venues |
|
Saugus Rail Trail Solar |
Public Safety
|
$187,000 | This grant provides funding for solar lighting on the Northern Strand rail trail, which would provide a safety enhancement for casino-related users. |
|
Springfield Garage Design & Development Plan |
Specific Impact
|
$300,000 | This grant will advance the site feasibility, design, and financing/development options for a new mixed-use/parking garage recommended in the Springfield Parking Authority parking study. |
|
Springfield Resurfacing E. Columbus & Hall of Fame Ave |
Transportation Construction
|
$766,700 | These funds are for the revitalization of East Columbus Avenue and Hall of Fame Avenue. Major elements will include roadway resurfacing, sidewalk and median improvements, bicycle accommodations, guardrails, and safety upgrades in the heart of downtown in a very close proximity to MGM Casino. |
|
Springfield Court Square Phase 1 |
Transportation Construction
|
$1,500,000 | This grant will help fund the construction of near-term priority public realm improvements to reopen roadways, improve overall access, upgrade utilities, and enhance the pedestrian environment to reestablish connectivity with MGM and the 13-31 Elm Building renovation project. |
|
Springfield (Fire) Extrication Tools |
Specific Impact
|
$41,300 | Funding for the purchase of extrication tools for the apparatus that primarily responds to the casino area. |
|
Springfield (Metro Police) Equipment Upgrade |
Specific Impact
|
$16,000 | This project will address unforeseen deficits in the area of IT connectivity in support of the Gaming Enforcement Office. |
| West Springfield Emergency Responder Staffing |
Public Safety
|
$200,000 | Funding for additional police and fire/EMS personnel hired to increase staffing for the impact to municipal services resulting from the opening of the MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. |
| West Springfield Elm Street | Transportation Construction
|
$1,266,600 | This grant will fund Complete Streets transportation improvements of Elm Street (Rte. 20) from Park Street/ Park Avenue to Garden Street. |
Visit our Community Mitigation Fund page to learn more about the 2022 applications and guidelines.