Sarno talks public safety, casinos at 16 Acres Civic Association meeting
Date: 11/26/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — Speaking at the Nov. 20 Sixteen Acres Civic Association meeting at the Greenleaf Community Center, Mayor Domenic Sarno said that he would be pushing for the training of additional police officers to ensure public safety.
"I want you to know that I am working with Commissioner [William] Fitchet and the city council to try to put together another police academy," he said. "We have to have police on our streets."
Sarno made the announcement while addressing citizens' concerns regarding the recent incident at Fat Cat Bar and Grill on Worthington Street during which bar patrons clashed with Springfield Police.
Sarno said that the incident raised some major safety issues that contributed to his decision to pursue another police academy.
First, four officers were injured, including Eleni Mendez, who suffered what Sarno described as a sever concussion after she "took a tremendous shot to the head" as she was attacked from behind.
"That's four officers off our streets," he said. "We also had an officer injured at a road detail, so if you include him, there are five fewer officers guarding our streets."
Sarno also explained that because of the incident, the Police Department went into "all hands on deck mode" with all of its on-duty officers responding to the scene, leaving the rest of the city vulnerable.
"It was 60 [patrons] against four until backup arrived and then it took 20 officers to quell the situation," he said. "That means that we had no coverage in our other neighborhood for about two hours. That's not fair.
"During those hours, if someone needed assistance, even me, they would be waiting a significant amount of time for a response," he added.
Sarno explained that he had wanted to bring in more officers for some time, but budgetary concerns prevented it.
"I wanted to do [a police academy] last year, but I couldn't do it because of our budgetary situation. I didn't want to bring young men and women on only to lay them off," he said.
Sarno added that in regards to Fat Cat, he ordered a hearing with the Board of License Commissioners and would be looking to come down hard on the establishment.
"I will look to pursue the strongest sanctions possible to send a message," he said. "If you operate properly, we won't have any issue. If you don't, then we're going to come down on you."
The mayor defended the 1 a.m. curfew, stating that on the whole, it has helped reduce crime in the Entertainment District.
"We were making headway," he said. "The 1 a.m. curfew that I imposed cut crime 35 percent whether in that area or in some of the outskirts of the city where we had had some issues."
Sarno also addressed questions regarding the potential casino developments, specifically concerns raised about financial struggles involving casinos in states such as Connecticut. In September, for example, Mohegan Sun announced it would be laying off more than 300 employees.
"This is a $1 billion economic development project with a gaming component. That's the way we're looking upon this," he said. "These are world-class organizations — Ameristar, Penn [National] and MGM have done their homework. They know that they can make money in this area."
Sarno added that the city has been able to garner the attention of quality gaming companies willing to make significant investments through the process he has followed.
"Our strategy was to create competition and we did," he said. "Ameristar, when they first came in had a proposal of $625 million. Their proposal now is for $910 million. MGM is $810 million. Penn is $807 million."
The host agreement, Sarno said, would bring in approximately "$6 to $8 million a year," based on economic development, public safety, arts and culture and philanthropy.
Property taxes collected from a casino could be projected "conservatively at $15 to $20 million," he added.
Sarno admitted that he originally was skeptical as to the kinds of jobs a casino development would provide, but he was pleasantly surprised to see figures that suggested types of employment that would boost the economy.
"Fifty-five percent are mid-level and up," he said. "Those are jobs that can allow someone to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads."
Sarno said he was in favor of a citywide referendum, but could not say when such a vote would occur because any vote would have to wait until the Massachusetts Gaming Commission completes its vetting process for the three interested companies.
"I was shooting for sometime in June, but that cannot happen because of the Gaming Commission," he said.
Patrick Sullivan, director of Parks, Facilities and Recreational Management, also announced at the meeting that more than $800,000 in financial support has been received for the revitalization of Camp Wilder, which was hit hard by the 2011 tornado.
"Through the mayor's efforts, Rick Sullivan, the secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, told me that Springfield has been awarded a $400,000, with the mayor matching $250,000," he said, adding that other efforts have garnered an additional $100,000 in aid.
