HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN REVERE & SUFFOLK DOWNS Casino Deal Now in the Hands of the Voters of Revere
August 30, 2013
When Mayor Rizzo took office back in January of 2012 he immediately set out a roadmap to involve the citizens of Revere in the mitigation process between the City of Revere and the developers at Suffolk Downs in their quest to build a Resort-Style Casino.
Revere, as a Host Community, is eligible to receive certain fees and benefits under a Host Community Agreement (HCA) to help “mitigate” any impacts that a facility like might have as a result of its operations. Now, after lengthy negotiations spanning close to 18 months, Mayor Rizzo is pleased to announce that the City of Revere, and the developers at Suffolk Downs, has come to terms on a Host Community Agreement that will generate over $200 million dollars over the life of the agreement.
In order to ensure that the citizens of the City of Revere had a voice in this process, Mayor Rizzo held four public meetings as well as online and Television options to weigh in on the project. Residents submitted ideas ranging from possible capital and beautification projects, School, Senior Citizen, and Public Safety initiatives. All in all, we received hundreds of recommendations on how we could increase the overall quality of life for our residents and lead to a better Revere through this mitigation process. In addition to the avenues that were laid out publicly, many residents took it upon themselves to respond directly to the Mayor’s Office. Every resident’s opinions, and ideas, were codified and brought into the discussion. Mayor Rizzo, along with officials from his Administration, also received direct input from the City Council, community groups, and other stakeholders across the city when developing the Host Community Agreement.
This agreement between the City of Revere and the developers at Suffolk Downs will protect the interests of the people of Revere by improving traffic conditions, increasing public safety, and green space, creating hundreds of jobs for Revere residents, provides for millions of dollars to be poured into our local economy, and help fund our many much needed infrastructure improvements.
“We took a very measured approach and weighed the opinions, and ideas, of the community throughout. The prospect of a resort style casino at Suffolk Downs will surely create jobs and lead to further investment within our City. The Host Community Agreement will act to protect the Cities interests and ensure that we have the resources needed to serve the many needs of our residents for generations to come. However, we understand that it is the citizens of Revere, through an Election, that will be the final deciding voice on the prospect of a resort style casino,” commented Mayor Rizzo.
The residents of the City of Revere will vote at a date to be determined as to whether or not Suffolk Downs can go ahead to the application phase of the project- without their support, there is no Resort Style casino or Host Community Agreement. This will be a binding referendum and unless a majority of voters agree and vote favorably, no application for a Gaming License can be filed.
If you would like to learn more about the Host Community Agreement that was recently signed by the City of Revere, and the Developers at Suffolk Downs, please visit www.revere.org. You can also reach out to the Mayor’s Office at 781-286-8111 or revere_mayor@revere.org.