Brockton may be targeted by governor for redevelopment help
By Kyle Alspach
kalspach@enterprisenews.com
April 11, 2008
BROCKTON - Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray hinted on Friday that Brockton may be chosen for a new state program meant to redevelop struggling former industrial cities.
Murray, in an editorial board interview with The Enterprise, was asked if Gov. Deval Patrick would be visiting Brockton during announcements about the program.
"I believe so," Murray said in response.
"I think there’s a few things that are in the mix" for Brockton, he said later in the interview, declining to be more specific. "I don’t want to let anything out of the bag before (the communities) are announced."
Patrick so far has revealed plans to assist the cities of Worcester and Haverhill, but says 16 communities will be named in all. The others will be announced in coming months.
Under the program, sections of the communities will be designated as regional growth districts by the governor.
The program seeks to help some of the state’s "forgotten" cities to become centers for business and job growth, Murray said.
The state will assist by fast-tracking the permit process for companies that want to locate or expand in the communities, the Patrick administration has said.
Funding may also be awarded to help with the clean-up of blighted areas in the communities and planning for their redevelopment, Murray said.
Murray visited Brockton Friday to meet with Police Chief William Conlon and Mayor James Harrington about the Shannon Community Safety Initiative, a state anti-violence grant program for police departments.
He also stopped by The Enterprise for a wide-ranging, hour-long interview.
The Patrick administration is concerned that a casino may open on tribal land in Middleboro, but wouldn’t have to pay any of its revenues to the state, Murray said.
This could occur if the casino — proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and several investors — opens with so-called "bingo slots," which are legal, instead of normal slot machines, which aren’t.
Instead, Murray said the administration would prefer to negotiate a compact with the tribe, which would allow for typical slot machines but would also provide a portion of revenues to the state.
It was never the governor’s first choice to take this approach. Patrick had proposed a bill to legalize three non-Indian casinos — which he hoped would weaken the chances of a Wampanoag casino — but the bill was defeated by the Legislature in March.
The Patrick administration is committed to expanding the commuter rail system in southeastern Massachusetts, but many different options are still being explored, Murray said.
"We know that it’s a catalyst for economic growth," he said of rail service.
Officials are looking into bringing commuter rail to Fall River and New Bedford, but the route hasn’t been determined. Easton, Stoughton and Middleboro are among the communities that officials are mulling as locations for part of the new line.
The Patrick administration envisions Brockton and other former industrial cities as potential manufacturing centers for the growing renewable energy industry, Murray said.
The administration is pushing for Massachusetts to become a world leader in producing solar and wind energy technologies. Former industrial cities like Brockton could provide the labor force that would be crucial to achieving this goal, Murray said.