2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 1 APPENDI XD APPENDIX D 2020 Transportation Planning Grant Application BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Please complete the entire application. Check if a joint application City of Everett 1. NAME OF MUNICIPALITY(IES)/GOVERNMENT ENTITY(IES)/DISTRICT(s) Broadway Gondola Feasibility Study 2. PROJECT NAME (limit 10 words) To evaluate the feasibility of using the alignment of Broadway for an aerial rope way system that would connect Encore Boston Harbor in Everett to Everett City Hall. The aerial connection would serve pedestrians, bicycles, and other non-motorized modes. It would serve as an extension of the proposed aerial tramway currently being studied and proposed by Encore from Assembly Row to the Encore resort. 3. BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION (limit 50 words) Everett Department of Planning and Development 4. DEPARTMENT RECEIVING FUNDS Tony Sousa –Director of Planning and Development (Everett) 5. LEAD APPLICANT - NAME AND TITLE OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR HANDLING OF FUNDS (CONTRACT MANAGER) 484 Broadway, Room 25, Everett, MA 02149 6. ADDRESS OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR HANDLING OF FUNDS (CONTRACT MANAGER) 617-394-2245, tony.sousa@ci.everett.ma.us 7. PHONE # AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR HANDLING OF FUNDS (CONTRACT MANAGER) Jay Monty: Transportation Planner - City of Everett, Massachusetts 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 2 8. NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION OF JOINT APPLICANTS MUNICIPALITIES /GOVERNMENT ENTITIES/DISTRICTS Carlo DeMaria, Mayor – City of Everett 9. NAME AND TITLE OF INDIVIDUAL(S) AUTHORIZED TO COMMIT FUNDS ON BEHALF OF MUNICIPALITY(IES)/GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY(IES) 484 Broadway, Room 25, Everett, MA 02149 10. ADDRESS OF INDIVIDUAL(S) AUTHORIZED TO COMMIT FUNDS ON BEHALF OF MUNICIPALITY(IES)/GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY(IES) Mayorcarlo.demaria@ci.everett.ma.us (617-394-2270) 11. PHONE #, EMAIL, AND ADDRESS OF INDIVIDUAL(S) AUTHORIZED TO COMMIT FUNDS ON BEHALF OF MUNICIPALITY(IES)/GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY(IES) Encore Boston Harbor 12. NAME OF GAMING LICENSEE 1. IMPACT DESCRIPTION Please describe in detail the transportation related impact that is attributed to the operation of a gaming facility. Please provide support for the determination that the operation of the gaming facility caused, is causing or may cause the impact. 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 3 A critical piece of MEPA permitting process for the Wynn Casino was the ability to provide adequate mobility to and from the casino in a roadway corridor that is chronically congested with single occupancy vehicles. Since the issuing of the MEPA certificate for the Wynn Casino in Everett, the level of anticipated development along the Broadway corridor has increased as Wynn Development has purchased numerous underutilized parcels of land along the corridor for redevelopment. This development, not included in the original MEPA certificate, would generate a significant number of trips along the Broadway corridor. In addition, the corridor’s importance as link in the regional transit network has been emphasized in both the Everett Transit Action Plan and the Lower Mystic Regional Working group. The Everett Transit Action Plan found in 2016 that demand for transit along the Broadway corridor is expected to double in the next 25 years. In the 3 years following, it has already increased over 5%. In short, there is a clear need to increase the transit capacity along Broadway not only to accommodate background growth, but also anticipated growth related to the casino. This demand has been recognized by the Encore resort as they have advanced plans for a direct connection to the MBTA Orange Line at Assembly Row. While Encore has advanced plans for a pedestrian bridge, they are also advancing plans for an aerial gondola to create year-round weather-protected means of connecting their Everett facility to the Assembly Row transit station. This grant would be used to explore whether such an aerial tramway/gondola could be feasibly built and operated further north to Everett Square as a means of public transportation. Such a system would enhance the ability of Everett residents to travel to and from the gaming facility for work and leisure and, combined with Encore’s intended operation of a gondola system from its facility to Assembly, would also provide a direct connection to the MBTA orange line. 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 4 2. PROPOSED USE OF TRANSPORTATIO PLANNING FUNDS (Please attach additional sheets/supplemental materials if necessary.) a) Please identify the amount of funding requested. $200,000 b) Please identify below the manner in which the funds are proposed to be used. Please provide a detailed scope, budget and timetable for the use of funds See attached scope of work c) Please provide documentation (e.g. - invoices, proposals, estimates, etc.) adequate for the Commission to ensure that the funds will be used for the cost of mitigating the impact from the operation of a gaming establishment. See attached scope of work. d) Please describe how the mitigation request will address the impact indicated. This mitigation request will help identify whether this alternative mode of transit would be beneficial to the Broadway corridor in providing additional mobility capacity that cannot be currently met with the existing roadway system. Building off of the Encore proposal to construct an aerial tramway/gondola system connecting the resort and development area to the MBTA Orange Line at Assembly Row, this proposal would seek to understand whether the impact of insufficient mobility on Broadway could be mitigated through further build-out of the tramways system to a point further north in downtown Everett. In addition to the casino resort itself, Encore has purchased numerous underutilized parcels of land along Broadway in the vicinity of the Gaming Facility for complimentary re-development. This development will have significant impacts on trip generation in the corridor that was not covered under the existing MEPA certificate. It is the City’s strong desire that the trips generated by Encore at the existing facility and by this future additional development be offset through investments in mass transit rather than automobile infrastructure. 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 5 3. CONNECTION TO GAMING FACILITY Please provide specificity/evidence that the requested funds will be used to address issues or impacts directly related to the gaming facility. It is anticipated that construction of the proposed aerial tramway/gondola would directly serve the Gaming Facility, with a station at the site and a connection to the tramway/gondola being proposed by Encore itself. It would provide access along two corridors which were identified in the EIR documents as being primary routes for employees and patrons. Employees and patrons coming to the casino resort from the MBTA Orange Line would benefit from a seamless transfer to the gaming facility and the opportunity for a reduction in the number of shuttle buses on City Streets. Further extension of the tramway/gondola north to Everett Square could provide reliable and efficient transportation for employees of the resort as well as residents of Everett commuting to Boston and Somerville. 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 6 4. INTERNAL CONTROLS/ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS Please provide detail regarding the controls that will be used to ensure that funds will only be used to plan to address the impact. If non-governmental entities will receive any funds, please describe what reporting will be required and how the applicant will remedy any misuse of funds. The City’s internal control structure regarding all grants have been designed to ensure compliance with the federal Office of Management and Budget circulars A-87 “Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribes”, and A-102 “Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments” regardless if the grants are not federal. The control structure ensures all transactions are properly recorded and accounted for, and all transactions are executed in compliance with Laws, regulations, and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements. Some examples of these controls include, but are not limited to: The City’s accounting system records all grants and the related grant activity in separate funds, and does not comingle grant activity between grants. The City utilizes a requisition and purchase order system within the accounting system to ensure expenditures are sufficiently authorized for their intended purpose and adequate funding exists prior to procuring goods or services. The City individual responsible for the management of the grant will be the only individual allowed to authorize expenditures to the grant, ensuring that only legitimate grant activity is charged to the grant. The City’s accounting system automatically controls this process, which is then manually reviewed by the City Auditor’s office during the payment processing. Grant records maintained by the City individual responsible for the management of the grant will be reconciled with the City Auditor’s office on a quarterly basis. Any discrepancies identified during this process will be researched and corrected within 15 days from the date identified. 2020 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION BD-20-1068-1068C-1068L-46130 Page 7 5. CONSULTATION WITH MASSDOT/REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY (RPA)/NEARBY COMMUNITIES Please provide details about the Applicant’s consultation with the MassDOT, the Regional Planning Agency serving the community and nearby communities to determine the potential for cooperative regional efforts regarding planning activities. Encore and Wynn Development have taken the lead role in engaging with state agencies, including the City of Somerville, DCR, MassDOT and the MBTA, regarding the feasibility of a gondola system from the gaming facility to assembly Row. Should the City be allowed to proceed with this grant proposal it would participate in these conversations as well as form a formal stakeholder working group including those same agencies and other transportation advocacy groups. The City believes this approach is reasonable given that it would not make sense to have separate parallel conversations for the Broadway and Encore portions of the tramway/gondola, but rather to have a single comprehensive conversation and working group involving all parties. 6. MATCHING FUNDS FROM GOVERNMENTAL OR OTHER ENTITY Please demonstrate that the governmental or other entity will provide significant funding to match or partially match the assistance required from the Community Mitigation Fund. Please provide detail on what your community will contribute to the planning projects such as in-kind services or planning funds. The City of Everett will contribute all necessary staff time and resources for the advancement of this project. The City retains a planning and development staff of 5 planners including a dedicated transportation planner. Additionally, City Engineering staff will be available as needed to provide in-house knowledge and analysis of city infrastructure that would be relevant to the study. 7. RELEVANT EXCERPTS FROM HOST OR SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS AND MASSACHUSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (MEPA”) DECISION a) Please describe and include excerpts regarding the transportation impact and potential mitigation from any relevant sections of any Host or Surrounding Community Agreement. Part “C” of Section 6 of the Host Community Agreement between Wynn and the City of Everett details the commitment to public transportation access along Broadway and to the casino site. This includes fixed-route shuttle bus service serving the Casino and MBTA Orange Line Stations as well as Logan Airport and other regional transportation hubs. In addition, new MBTA bus stop facilities have been constructed at the project site along Broadway. The intensity of transit services provided by both the Casino and the MBTA are significant. The possibility of an aerial tramway/gondola system was not anticipated at the time the Host Community Agreement was negotiated. b) Please provide a demonstration that such mitigation measure is not already required to be completed by the licensee pursuant to any regulatory requirements or pursuant to any agreements between such licensee and applicant. There is no specific reference to an aerial tramway/gondola in any of the licensing documents and decisions issued to the Encore Casino, however, Encore was required to study a pedestrian crossing of the Mystic River to Assembly Row. The gondola may better serve the same interests as the pedestrian bridge, and this segment of the gondola is being studied and designed solely by Encore. There is no requirement of Encore to study a gondola or other non-traditional means of transit north of the resort. c) Please also briefly summarize and/or provide page references to the most relevant language included in the most relevant MEPA certificate(s) or comment(s) submitted by the community to MEPA. In the SSFEIR Certificate issued by MEPA to Wynn LLC on August 28th, 2015, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Matthew Beaton wrote “I have concluded that the practical, rational and effective approach to addressing broader regional transportation impacts for this project is through enhanced transportation planning processes…. I am requiring enhanced public participation during permitting and development of the Section 61 Findings by MassDOT and the establishment of a Regional Working Group.” The Lower Mystic Regional Working Group carried out this task and at its conclusion in 2018, recommended that a non-vehicular connection to the MBTA Orange Line at Assembly Row should be a priority project that would address the regional impacts of the Encore Casino as well as other projected developments near Sullivan Square. d) Please explain how this transportation impact was either anticipated or not anticipated in that Agreement or such MEPA decision. The MEPA decision recognized that not all of the regional impacts of the casino could be anticipated at the time of decision. The formation of the Lower Mystic Regional Working Group was intended to identify how such regional impacts could be addressed, with the understanding that the casino, while not wholly responsible for the impact, was at least partly responsible for it. e) If transportation planning funds are sought for mitigation not required under MEPA, please provide justification why funding should be utilized to plan for such mitigation. For example, a community could provide information on the significance of potential impacts if trip generation totals exceed projected estimates. Throughout both the MEPA and gaming licensing processes, emphasis was placed on exploring and encouraging multi-model transportation options to and from the resort. As previously noted, the innovative proposal of constructing and operating an aerial tramway/gondola system, currently under consideration, was not previously contemplated and thus was not a requirement under MEPA. However, there can be no doubt that, if feasible, such a system would enhance the ability of Everett residents, as well as resort patrons and employees, to access the gaming facility, other businesses and destinations in the City, Assembly Row and the MBTA. The Broadway portion of the tramway would link to the portion proposed by Encore, which would link to Assembly Row in Somerville, making this a regional mass-transit project. No Community is eligible for more than one Transportation Regional Planning Incentive Award. CERTIFICATION BY MUNICIPALITY/GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY On behalf of the aforementioned municipality/governmental entity I hereby certify that the funds that are requested in this application will be used solely for the purposes articulated in this Application. Sig nature(s) of Responsible Municipal Entity(ies) Date