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Sarno names advisory committee for casino bids

Date: 11/5/2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD — On Nov. 1, Mayor Domenic Sarno released the names of the advisory committee who will help him determine just which of the three casino companies should move to the host agreement negotiations.

Currently Ameristar, MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming can apply for the second level of the Request for Proposals (RFP), the process that will give Sarno and his committee much more detailed information on each of the company's proposals.

Sarno expects the three companies will participate in a "robust competition" and the committee members "will advise me on the pros and cons of each proposal."

When asked if all three of the companies could conceivably make the cut, Sarno could not say. Instead he described the city has being "in the catbird seat right now."

He added that officials from other cities have contacted his office wondering how Springfield attracted three major casino developers.

According to a timeline released by Sarno at the press conference, the developers must submit their answers to the RFP by Dec. 14. There will be at least one public hearing about the proposals, although a date has yet to be determined.

Sarno will announce on Jan. 25, 2013, which company or companies have made the cut and will enter into talks with them about the host agreement. The final host agreement or agreements will be finalized by April 26, 2013 and the referendum vote would be sometime in June 2013.

Sarno emphasized the City Council would be involved in the process as that body must ratify the host agreement(s) and determine if the vote will be conducted city-wide or in just the wards in which the casino(s) would be located.

The members of the advisory committee are as follows:

• Judge Nancy Dusek-Gomez, retired from the Massachusetts Trial Court in 2011 after 25 years as a justice of the Springfield District Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she worked as an assistant district attorney in the Northwestern District specializing in civil rights and child sexual assault cases.

• Kathleen Kane, certified life underwriter, is a managing director with The Springfield Group of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in Springfield. She has worked for Northwestern Mutual since 1986. She previously served as the president of the Woman's Partnership; a division of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

• Dr. Haskell O. Kennedy Jr. retired in 2009 after working for the state of Connecticut Department of Labor for 20 years, serving most recently as the director of the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs.

• Kevin Kennedy is the city's chief development officer.

• Attorney Jill McCarthy-Payne is a professor of Criminal Justice at American International College. She worked previously as an assistant city solicitor for the city of Springfield, assistant district attorney for the Hampden Country District Attorney's Office and as an adjunct professor at Springfield College.

• Joanne Morales-Harrison is a Community Re-Entry Unit Manager with the Hampden County Sheriff's Department. She served previously on the Springfield Police Commission from 2004 to 2006. She has been employed by the Hampden County Sheriff's Department since 1992 and has worked there as a correctional officer, correctional caseworker, substance abuse counselor and after incarceration coordinator.

For more information on the second level RFP, go to www.springfield-ma.gov/casino.