East Longmeadow, Longmeadow and Wilbraham were among the towns to receive grant funds from the recent division by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission of $18 million as part of the Community Mitigation Fund.
With more than $56 million awarded since 2015, the MGC’s Community Mitigation Fund works to support towns by compensating for impacts related to nearby casinos, the MGC stated. For the Springfield region, this impact is connected to MGM Springfield.
Unlike previous years, funds from the MGC were awarded through block grants, rather than within a competitive process. As a result, towns were notified on the amount of funds that they would receive prior to their applications. In order to receive the set aside funds, the towns were then required to demonstrate that the projects which will use the funds if awarded, clearly and fully connect to impacts from the nearby casino.
In East Longmeadow, the town requested and received a total of $292,725 to utilize across seven projects, Deputy Town Manager Rebecca Lisi told Reminder Publishing. These projects focus on community planning, transportation and public safety. They were selected for the grant application because the town felt the projects best met the qualifications held by the MGC to show casino impacts, she said.
The projects include purchasing portable speed radar signs, creating a pre-plan for first responders, analyzing crash data for road safety and installing rectangular rapid flashing beacon crosswalks, as stated in the town’s application. Each was selected through cooperation with the respective departments, including the town manager, Public Works, Fire and Police departments.
While the funds were designated for fiscal year 2025, the funds will likely be spent by the end of the 2024 calendar year, Lisi said, highlighting that the Fire and Police departments were “excited to move forward.”
Similarly, Longmeadow received its requested amount of $324,800 and has already begun utilizing the funds toward the stated projects, Assistant Town Manager Corrin Meise-Munns said. The town’s three projects are to purchase new rescue equipment to support responses on Interstate 91, install traffic cameras and a fiber line at four intersections, and reconstruct the non-complaint pedestrian crosswalk at Williams Street.
Following a request for an expedient review, the town has already begun work on the Williams Street crosswalk, which is expected to be completed soon, Meise-Munns stated. She emphasized that the town was taking the project “very seriously” and working with the state to ensure the new crosswalk will be compliant. Furthermore, she highlighted the town manager’s work to ensure that grant funds were used for the project, rather than relying on taxpayers to fund the project after it was first installed.
As part of their allotted funds from the Community Mitigation Fund, Wilbraham received $309,100; slightly less than the $313,800 noted in its application. When asked about potential impacts this modification may cause, Town Administrator Nick Breault explained that the original fund division was based on estimates.
As a result, the town may not experience any impacts from the lessened amount.
However, if there were impacts, the town would look into funding the remaining portion through another funding channel, Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell said.
The town’s allotted funds will be used to purchase various public safety equipment, including highway signs, video software and license plate cameras, as well as to hire a team to redesign the intersection at Springfield Street and Stony Hill Road, the town’s application states.
While there is not a set timeline for when these projects will occur, Breault noted that they will take place during fiscal year 2025. He further stated that the projects that will utilize the grants funds have been ongoing concerns for the town and were raised prior to the grant application process.
Other towns to receive funds associated with impacts from MGM Springfield were Chicopee, Holyoke, Ludlow, Northampton, Springfield and West Springfield.
For more information about the individual projects to be completed within each town from Community Mitigation Fund grants, visit massgaming.com/about/community-mitigation-fund.
