Boston City officials on Nov. 24 briefed the City Council Committee on Ways and Means on a $2,607,000 community mitigation grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that the city would accept and spend to offset impacts tied to nearby casino operations.

"This grant will fund offset costs related to the construction and operation of a gaming establishment," said Brian Morell, District 4 city councilor and chair of the committee, as he introduced Document 1927, the message and order authorizing acceptance of the funds.

Gigi Munden, from the Planning Department's real estate and capital construction group, said about $1,000,000 of the award would fund the Harbour Walk extension across the Little Mystic Channel, constructing a missing segment at the Terminal/Chelsea Street area in Charlestown to create outdoor recreation and pedestrian connections. Munden said the Harbour Walk project is in design, is expected to be bid by spring, has an estimated total cost of about $5,000,000, and that the city expects to obligate and spend the grant funds and complete the work by 2027. "We won't be applying in the next round," she added.

On the public-safety side, the Community Mitigation Fund program coordinator, identified in the hearing as David, said he manages the allotment and that the FY26 public-safety allotment is $622,000. "The public safety allotment is 622, thousand dollars," David said, adding the funds are intended for advanced training, technology and operational readiness for units including the human-trafficking unit and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center.

Omar Khosha, budget director for Public Works and Transportation, told the committee the department submitted parts of the grant to fund intersection improvements at Chelsea and Terminal Streets and to install four blue-bag stations in Charlestown to mitigate traffic and safety impacts associated with the casino.

When asked whether the grant funds services for gambling addiction, David said this award does not specifically fund gambling-addiction services and instead focuses on traffic mitigation and public-safety responses tied to organized crime, human trafficking, drug distribution and related threats. David also said the city has received mitigation funds since 2015 and that the grant operates separately from the city's operating budget under state-administered casino revenue.

A speaker identified as Maria said patrols increased on Thursday through Sunday after the casino opened and that the city coordinated with the Massachusetts State Police and gaming police as well as other jurisdictions. She said that beginning in 2025 the grant shifted from a direct award to the Boston Police Department to a block grant administered by the budget office, and that the city has coordinated a multiagency law-enforcement task force in response.

No members of the public signed up for testimony. The committee thanked staff and presenters and adjourned without recording a committee vote on the matter during the hearing.

Next steps: the matter was presented to the committee for review; the transcript records the briefing and questions but does not record a committee vote to accept the grant during this session.