Consultant: Milford Casino to Require $2M for Police, Fire Up Front, $2.9M Annually

The Milford fire and police departments will have to hire employees and purchase equipment to provide protection to the proposed Foxwoods Massachusetts casino, which could draw some 20,000 people a day.

The public safety needs could cost $2 million up front and nearly $3 million a year, according to consultants.

But the casino will not have a significant impact on Milford schools, said consultants, including HR&A Advisers of New York, the town's consultant.

Both HR&A, and Gaming Market Advisors, of Las Vegas, the developer's consultant, projected 20 to 21 students will enter the local schools because the developer would probably hire mostly Milford area residents, who will not move here for the jobs.

The nearly $1 billion development is expected to provide 3,200 full-time jobs, for positions including management, waitresses, dealers, hotel employees and other functions.

The consultants' analyses of social, economic and municipal impacts of the casino, discussed Wednesday in a session at Milford High School, drew sharp comments from several in the audience — particularly the anticipation of just 20 to 21 new students and a modest, $200,000 impact fee for the Milford schools.

"It doesn't make sense," said Jose Costa, a Milford School Committee member from 2001 to 2007. He pointed out that if the consultants get it wrong, and more students enter the schools because their parents work at the casino, "you'll be talking $50 to $70 million for a new school if your numbers are incorrect."

The tone of the meeting, compared to two previous information sessions on traffic and utility impacts, was much more negative. Several arguments erupted, playing out in front of community television cameras.

The meeting resulted in several arguments, or angry statements, between people in the audience — including Bill Buckley, the chairman of the Milford Board of Selectmen — and Cid Froelich, the town's casino attorney who was acting as moderator. The session was televised live on Milford TV.

At one point, police officers and the deputy police chief stood up when one Milford resident and Froelich were arguing back and forth, but no one was ejected.

Froelich, a partner for Shoefsky & Froelich of Chicago, the town's casino counsel, was being challenged by town resident Tim Spino about whether he had too close of a relationship with Scott Butera, the chief executive of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, the lead partner in the Milford casino development. Butera did not attend the meeting.

When Froelich tried to stop this line of questioning, saying it had nothing to do with the impacts of the casino, Spino wouldn't sit down. "This may be your presentation: this is our town," Spino said. Froelich and Spino argued back and forth for several minutes. "You're attempting to impugn my integrity," I won't stand for it, Froelich said.

Earlier, Froelich had snapped at Buckley, after the selectman blasted the depth of analysis and assumptions made in the consultants' reports, and pointed out that neither evaluated the impact on local businesses. Buckley questioned why several town departments were not included in the impact analysis, including building inspections and Board of Health functions. "This analysis was incomplete," he said. "It did not include the right people." 

As Buckley moved to sit down, Froelich said: "Thank you for that statement, Bill." Buckley came back to the microphone and told the attorney he had asked several questions, and expected answers.

The impact analyses are published online by the town on its casino website. They include reports on crime impacts, on the mitigation for town services that will be impacted, and on economic benefits, including the projected taxes from property development and hotel occupancy.

The consultants, when determining impacts on town services, including police and fire, considered only the first phase of the development.

Among specific topics covered Wednesday:

Milford Fire Department

Of the town departments reviewed by HR&A, this one will have the most significant impact. The department has two existing stations and is operating "well below its preferred minimum staffing levels" according to the report. Milford has nine firefighters per shift. Off-duty workers are often called in to staff reserve engines during high volume/multiple incident periods, according to the analysis.

For the casino operation, the department will need nine more firefighters at the Birch Street station, including supervisors. The department leaders state the size and height of the casino project "presents challenges to firefighting activities," the report said. "Within large indoor spaces, such as the gaming area, advancing fire hoses becomes challenging and often requires more effort than in traditional structures. Firefighting also becomes difficult in buildings with several stories due to the requirement of using stairs to reach higher floors."

The department has requested a new ladder truck, an upgrade to the Birch Street station, and rehabilitation of the soon-to-be retired Ladder 1 ladder truck, to meet the needs of the casino development. Foxwoods has not yet agreed to the capital requests, and the issue is subject to negotiation.

The up-front costs, including the ladder truck and other capital improvements, would cost $1.7 million. The ongoing costs, including salary and benefits for the new employees, would be $1.1 million annually.

When asked by Selectman Brian Murray whether he was satisfied with the proposed mitigation, Fire Chief John Touhey said he was. "In a general statement, we are satisfied with what we have on the table at this point," Touhey said.

Milford Police Department

The town has 45 officers, including administration, and one station. The town is divided into five patrol sectors, for the four regions of town and one for downtown. Each patrol, except the downtown beat, has five to seven officers and a supervisor, depending on the hour.

The casino complex is expected to draw 19,600 people on any given day, according to the analysis. A report cited by HR&A indicates crime will increase because of the increased population. The town has about 25,000 residents.

"Nearly all of the increase in crime occurs on site at the casino, consisting mostly of property crime," the report stated. Calls for police and ambulance service will increase, as well.

HR&A spoke with police officials and evaluated similar projects, according to its report. It recommends creation of a new police sector for the casino site, hiring nine new officers to staff that sector and hiring four civilian dispatchers for increased call volume. Equipment purchases would be limited to an additional police cruiser and a transport vehicle, as well as uniforms and equipment for the new officers.

The one-time costs for equipment and vehicles would be $338,500. The ongoing costs would be $1.4 million assuming 13 employees are hired.

Milford Deputy Police Chief James Heron attended the meeting on behalf of Chief Thomas O'Loughlin, who was out of town. Heron was asked if the department agreed with the crime impact analysis. Heron said the incidents and calls for police service will rise. The proposed hiring of nine officers, four dispatchers, and the equipment outlined in the mitigation report were O'Loughlin's recommendations, he said.

"However way you cut it, it's going to be an increase in service calls for the Milford Police Department," Heron said.

Milford Schools

Milford has about 4,400 students and 365 teachers. Based on enrollment data, 7 percent of the students have English language deficiencies. HR&A conducted an analysis of the 3,290 estimated jobs at the casino, at its full build-out, and considered the impact of workers "estimated to relocate to Milford." The analysis found that 5 percent of the workforce, or 165 workers, would move into the Milford region. And that "Foxwoods anticipates that it will hire approximately 95 percent of the casino's new workforce from Milford and surrounding towns."

The consultant then conducted an analysis of commuting data in the U.S. Census, and determined that 29 percent of the people who work in Milford live in town. "If the new residents to the region reside in Milford at the same rate as other workers who are employed in the town, the project would generate 46 new households."

About 31 percent of the existing Milford households have school age children. The consultant then determined that the casino would likely produce 14 new households in Milford with children. Based on current enrollment, this would mean about 20 new children. Because of this the consultant recommended $211,000 in mitigation for the school system.

Foxwoods and the town will discuss a "re-opener" clause in a host community agreement that would allow the town to reopen discussion of "school funding contributions."

Superintendent Robert Tremblay attended the meeting, but did not speak. In an interview after the presentation, he said it is hard to predict what the impact of the casino will be on the schools. But he said he had concerns about relying on Census data to determine how many school-aged children would enter the town.

"I wouldn't hang my hat on the number of 20," he said. "... You can't rely on just Census data to get to those numbers. If I could do that, I could predict the number of Kindergarteners [that enter each year]."

Property Tax Impact

The report by HR&A estimates the casino will have an assessed value of $653.5 million at full build-out of its two phases. Its analysis of the impacts of the project on police, fire and other town services considered only the Phase I building plan. Its analysis of the economic impact, in taxes, considers full build-out.

The project would generate about $19 million in property tax revenue, based on current rates. This would be about a quarter of the Milford operating budget. The casino complex, which would include a 700-room hotel, would generate another $852,000 in room tax revenue.

The project would sit on a nearly 200-acre site off I-495 and Route 16, now undeveloped. The land is owned by several different people or corporations, according to the report. The largest parcel, of 116 acres, is owned by EM Street Milford LLC and is now taxed at $36,000 annually.