City Council discusses sports wagering and charter review commission

March 23, 2021 | Carolyn Noel
cnoel@thereminder.com

The Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act, among other topics, were discussed at the Chicopee City Council meeting on March 16.
Photo Credit: Chicopee TV

CHICOPEE – The Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act, among other topics, were discussed at the Chicopee City Council meeting on March 16.

The Massachusetts Sports Wagering Act would legalize sports betting in the state. The act was originally presented by state Rep. Orlando Ramos, state Sen. Adam Gomez and cosponsored by Sen. John Velis, Rep. David Robertson and Rep. Peter Capano. Through a Mayoral Order the council voted on whether the City Council would join Mayor John Vieau in support of this act.

The Mayoral Order stated that the act would establish three licenses including approved retailers and provide revenue to the state general fund with direct aid to cities and towns, education, distressed restaurants and police training. Many councilors voiced their support for this possible bill.

“I think it’s important. I think this legislation is very well-thought out and, me personally, I’ve already endorsed this legislation. I’m in favor of this. I look forward to discussing it in committee with my colleagues and learning more about it, but I’m absolutely in favor of it,” said Councilor Derek Dobosz.

Dobosz said he thinks sports betting would allow for more revenue for the state and could help local businesses.

“To me, it just doesn’t make sense to keep sports betting illegal. Especially when Connecticut has legalized it, so I hope the state does something with it,” he said.

If the motion carried, it would be sent to the Casino and Gaming Subcommittee for more discussion and a public hearing. The council’s vote would not decide on if the act was made legal or not.

“I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to make our own input if we choose to. I think that’s the place where it should go for now,” said Councilor James Tillotson. “I think it’s great for us to get it into our committee and talk about it a little bit. Maybe we can add things that we think should be a part of it that we could submit along with our approval.”

After a unanimous vote, the council approved the motion to be sent to the subcommittee.

The council also discussed enacting a commission to review the Charter of the City of Chicopee. This would work as an advisory group who would review the city’s current charter,  and recommend changes to the City Council, who would then have to decide whether they should go forth with any changes or recommendations.

The Charter Review Commission would consist of 13 members and would be a self-sufficient commission. In recent months, there has been much debate over the city’s Charter and if it is outdated. In December, Councilor Lucjan Galecki faced a scandal, which resulted in many Chicopee residents demanding his resignation.

President of the Council, Shane Brooks, told Reminder Publishing in December that forcing a resignation wouldn’t be possible due to the Charter.

“We still don’t have a mechanism to remove an elected official from the board and the city’s history has led by example on this. We had a city mayor who was federally indicted and later convicted and served jail time and there was no mechanism 12 years ago to remove him. So to suggest somehow that now we have a method or a way to get Lucjan to resign is just not based on fact,” said Brooks in December. “ A Charter change isn’t originated just with the city. We’ll have to work with our state delegation.”

The Charter Review Commission would allow members to review this Charter and begin the necessary steps to making change.

“I think it is going to be really, really good for the city to get 13 people, one from each of us, to be appointed and to have them sit down, take a look at the Charter, read through it in detail and make recommendations on what they think needs to be changed,” said Councilor Joel McAuliffe.

After a vote, the motion passed. The Charter Review Commission will soon be established, though specifics weren’t given during the meeting.

The council also spoke about the Walmart store located on Memorial Drive. The store has been ordered to appear in front of the Chicopee City Council and the City of Chicopee License Committee to discuss their license. Chicopee Walmart has recurring problems with trash and ordinance violations, according to the council, which could result in possible license restrictions.

“Walmart has worked with me on a lot of issues and I appreciate them for that, but we've given a hard time to small businesses for a lot less and I think it’s unacceptable for the city’s largest retail to violate ordinances in this manner,” said Dobosz.

Councilor Frank Laflamme wants to bring in Walmart’s landlord to the meeting and have him take responsibility for the issues. Councilor Galecki thinks the store manager should be at fault.

“I think it’s negligence on the manager,” he said.

The meeting ended with routine license renewals.

Those interested in viewing the meeting in its entirety are encouraged to visit the ChicopeeTV Facebook page.

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