Recent disputes between Boston and Everett surrounding the development of a proposed casino along the Mystic River may be resolved by a third party.
While Boston claims that the proposed Wynn Resorts casino will cross over into city lines, Everett states the casino is just a neighbor. If the two cannot resolve the conflict, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission may intervene.
According to a Boston Globe report, Commissioner Jay McHugh said the decision will be settled by the commission if both sides are unable to reach an agreement by the end of the week.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, who agrees with Wynn Resorts’ assertion that the casino merely borders Boston, did not take kindly to the gaming commissioner’s threat.
“It was like the principal telling two kids that were fighting, ‘Figure out what the problem is; come back to me with a resolution,” DeMaria told the Globe.
Wynn Resorts representative and former Governor Bill Weld of ML Strategies told the Globe, “It is true that the city of Boston is in close proximity to the site. In fact, an abutter.”
As currently constructed, Wynn Resorts plans to build the casino on the banks of the Mystic River across from Charlestown and Somerville.
Mayor Tom Menino and his attorneys have argued that blueprints of the planned project include portions of Boston, granting the city with “host community” status and the ability to negotiate a host community agreement.
The establishment of a host community agreement could allow Boston to “freeze out” the Everett developer.
Mayor Menino signed an agreement with East Boston’s Suffolk Downs racetrack last week that he hopes will win the lone Eastern Massachusetts casino license.
Wynn officials claim they will not provide requested information until Boston considers itself a “surrounding community,” according to the the Globe’s Andy Metzger.
Attorney Abim Thomas said the commission can “eliminate an application from the process” if the commission doesn’t receive the requested documents from the applicant.
Thomas told the Globe that attorneys have been asking for the commission’s help with obtaining the information that has been requested.
The focal point of the debate is a partially submerged land “chunk,” previously occupied by a Monsanto Chemical plant, connecting Route 99 via Horizon Way, a road which is partially in Boston.
Using a map that had yet to be provided to Boston attorneys as visual aid, Dan Gaquin, a Wynn representative, claimed that the portion of Boston land in question will not be used for gaming. If true, Boston is not a host community.
Weld said that the portion of Boston in the Wynn development blueprints would be owned in order to prevent other businesses with a “cross-purpose” from occupying the vacant space. According to the Globe, Weld also raised the possibility of no casino in Everett if Boston “stands in the way” and either Revere or Boston rejects, by vote, the Suffolk Downs casino.
Photos via the Boston Globe
