Mayor Nicholson, “I do think this is a benefit to the City.”
The Gardner City Council will meet on July 1st to decide whether or not to schedule a public hearing. If they vote No, the matter and transaction effectively ends. If the vote is yes, a public hearing will be held.
Mayor Michael Nicholson Issues Statement Regarding Racetrack Proposal
Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson has issued a complete statement regarding the Racetrack Proposal. Listen on any device. CLICK PLAY.
This statement was also included in the Mayor’s Weekly Update of June 28, 2024. Mayor Nicholson explained that the proposal started out as a private transaction between GAAMHA Inc. and BayState Racing LLC for the land at 827 Green Street in Gardner. The Mayor stated, “There’s a lot of misinformation that’s out there.”
With respect to the transaction, “This is not something the city went out and recruited, this is not something the city went out and started. This is something that under state law, two private business entities can certainly enter into an agreement to sell and purchase whatever they’d like, and that’s exactly what happened. However, under state law, Chapter 128A of the General Laws of the Commonwealth say that in order for a horse track to be put here in Gardner, the City Council has to have a public hearing, and then from that public hearing, vote whether or not to allow racing to take place on this parcel of land or not.”