Special to the Independent
Following approval during a series of public meetings, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) announced that nearly $22.8 million in Community Mitigation Fund (CMF) grants have been awarded to various municipalities and other eligible entities across Massachusetts.
Since its inception in 2015, the MGC has awarded approximately $79.5 million in grants from the CMF. Established by the gaming law, this fund assists host and surrounding communities, along with other qualified applicants, in offsetting costs related to casino construction and operation. Grant awards support a broad spectrum of community needs, including education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues, public safety, emergency services, and gambling harm reduction.
“The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is committed to maximizing the value and minimizing the harms of legal gambling, and this includes the impacts on the host and surrounding communities,” said MGC Chair Jordan Maynard. “On behalf of my fellow Commissioners, we are proud to support projects across the Commonwealth that seek to improve public safety, assist with community planning, reduce gaming harms, enhance workforce development initiatives, and mitigate traffic and road safety issues. We have seen firsthand the impact of the Community Mitigation Fund and look forward to the completion of each project.”
The CMF review team conducted a thorough evaluation of all applications to ensure compliance with the FY2026 CMF Guidelines, making recommendations to the Commission during several public meetings throughout the spring of 2025. Following deliberation on those recommendations, the Commission voted to award the following grants:
Everett Award: $2,453,500
High Rise Fire Training – This project funds high-rise emergency response training for personnel, with backfill and overtime support, to ensure readiness for complex incidents.
LAN Tel Video and Police Radios – This project funds additional video cameras along the Riverwalk and dock behind the casino, and 10 dual-band radios for coordination with the Gaming Enforcement Unit.
Land & Water Police Patrols – This project funds additional overtime for land-based public safety near the casino during peak times and for maritime operations between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Fireboat Training – This project provides Fire Boat Operator training, covering boat readiness, personal survival, in-water skills, maritime fire suppression, and a full-scale exercise.
Analysis/Design of Mobility Networks and Infrastructure – This project supplements a $1.5 million MassWorks grant to assess infrastructure, including roads and sidewalks, and to design and permit upgrades for current and future development.
Everett Square Sidewalk and Street Reconfiguration – This project provides additional funding to reconfigure Everett Square’s roads and sidewalks, enhance pedestrian and signal infrastructure for better transit service, and improve green and open space.
Lower Broadway Bus Priority RAISE Grant Support – This project funds data collection and property research to identify Right-of-Way needs for Everett’s $22 million RAISE Grant project to build transit priority lanes on Lower Broadway. Reuniting Neighborhoods and Communities – This project provides matching funds for a $1.5million federal grant to develop concept designs for transit and roadway improvements