By Ana Celerier Salcedo

On Tuesday, June 6, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission held its second public hearing for a proposed development plan near Encore Boston Harbor. The expansion would be a development on the east side of Broadway in Everett, MA, which would allow for an increase of gaming space, theater, entertainment venues, food and beverage areas.

As well as three separate garages, retail stores, two hotels, a warehouse, and a pedestrian bridge which would allow for foot traffic across Broadway. Encore Boston Harbor Stands between the Assembly Row area of Somerville and Everett on the border of the Mystic River.

A draft detailing the project’s environmental impact has been submitted to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and is reportedly under review. The project is also under consideration by the Massachusetts gaming commission.

JP Bechta, a concerned member of the public, said that she felt Encore had not kept its promises to the city of Everett to provide income and jobs to Everett residents. She cited that Encore had previously mentioned that 14 percent of their workforce would be Everett residents. She later explained that if you do the math, 14 percent of a budget of 4,000 people is 560 people out of Everett’s population of about 50,000 residents.

“We didn’t get anything near the money we thought we were going to get when we voted the referendum for the original casino in 2013,” Bechta said.

She later added that allegedly public service calls such as police and fire have substantially increased since the casino opened, along with increased traffic and taxes in the city. Another citizen named Paula felt that the public meetings, such as the current one, needed to be publicized more to members of the public. She expressed her concerns that the opinions of many residents may need to be heard due to the lack of awareness.

In attendance at the meeting was Ward 3 Everett City Councilor Darren Costa who also shared his opinions on the matter as a whole. Costa commented that, overall, he supports the expansions, however, under some critical conditions. He stated that he feels the original agreement should be renegotiated in light of promises to Everett residents not being kept.

Costa also noted that he supports the expansion because Encore has been a good partner in cleaning toxic land in the area.

“Poorly considered expansion will only make the issue of heat islands worse this is why I do not support the proposal for three new parking garages to be built above ground when they can and should install underground parking instead of clearing the area for parks and trees.” Said Costa.

He highlighted the importance of a partnership between the city and Encore and how the partnership could bring fruitful benefits to both parties as long as supporting the city and its residents was a forefront priority.

This virtual hearing was only the second of its kind, signifying that no final vote was taken at the meeting regarding the matter.