Council Wants Medford to Seek Casino 'Surrounding Community' Status

The Medford City Council resolved Tuesday night to take initial steps in address the possible impacts of a casino in a nearby community.

While plans for a casino in Everett not far from the Medford border continue to be formulated, Medford councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn wants to get ahead of the game.

She recently attended a Medford Chamber of Commerce luncheon where Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Stephen Crosby was the featured speaker.

"The gaming commissioner gave a very informative talk, although we weren't too happy to hear what he had to say," said Lungo-Koehn.

Lungo-Koehn said Medford is powerless to keep a casino from going to a neighboring community like Everett.

But Medford could achieve the status of a "surrounding community" if it's determined Medford would be negatively impacted by a nearby casino.

In that case, the casino developer would have to enter into an agreement with Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn regarding mitigation and other terms.

In order for any developer to submit a proposal for a license, they must enter agreements with communities designated as a "surrounding community." Lungo-Koehn said the city must submit its application by May 3.

"Our mayor is a good negotiator, he does it all the time," Lungo-Koehn said, adding that because the "whole community is going to impacted," she wants the council to be involved in the process.

She suggested the council hold a committee of the whole meeting with McGlynn to discuss the process.

"I'm concerned about traffic, about crime and about what it's going to bring to our community," Lungo-Koehn said. "We need to get on top of this. We need to negotiate the best possible mitigation plan out there."

Councilor Rick Caraviello agreed with Lungo-Koehn's idea, but said it was too early to tell exactly what kind of damages the city would incur.

"The casino probably won't even begin to run until 2018, 2019," Caraviello said, adding the "real impact" of a casino wouldn't be seen until three or four years after that.

Councilor Robert Penta said the city is going to have to prove they will be hurt by the casino to receive mitigation.

"Everett's going to reap the benefits...It's more than just being an abutter, you really have to delve into it," Penta said.

Councilor Michael Marks said he expects areas of recent development like Rivers Edge and Station Landing would be "devastated" by a casino in Everett.

"I would venture to guess the casino would be closer to Medford homes than it will be to Everett homes," Marks said.

Marks said he wants to see Medford fight "tooth and nail against this kind of development" and not resign itself to only seeking mitigation.

"It's not the right location," Marks said. "I'm not against casinos and against gambling...If you look at Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods, they're in cow country. They're not in a neighborhood."

"We need to do something before it's too late," Lungo-Koehn said.

Councilor Paul Camuso said he supported the motion to explore become a "surrounding community" but said there is still not any kind of official proposal before them.

"I do not want to go on the record one way or the other at this point because I don't know what the proposal is," Camuso said.