All of the city council members present at the informal meeting with Bay State Racing LLC Tuesday evening voted against allowing horse racing at 827 Green St. during a non-binding straw vote.
The meeting was the first of two events related to the proposed racetrack; it was followed by a public hearing on whether the city council should allow horse racing at 827 Green St., which lasted until 11:30 p.m.
Dozens of concerned Gardner residents packed the Council Chamber in City Hall and Perry Auditorium opened for the overflow crowd. Nearly 50 Gardner residents and non-residents pre-registered to speak at the public hearing.
After three hours of testimony, the public hearing was closed. The city council can now vote at the next regular meeting on Aug. 5 on whether to allow horse racing at the Green Street property or move to vote on another date.
Major concerns from residents
Three significant concerns reappeared in everyone's testimonies: wetlands contamination, traffic, and animal abuse. However, the concern brought up the most by speakers was the potential contamination risk of the city's water supply.
The east side of the 827 Green St. property is close to the Perley Brooks Reservoir dam, which flows into Crystal Lake, the city's water supply. Residents fear if the proposed horse racing facility is approved, the construction and year-round horse racing activities will create harmful contamination. Potential contaminants include horse manure, urine, transmission fluids from hundreds of parked cars and trucks, and fertilizer and pesticides used in the facility.
Janna McPherson, a Gardner resident, said the city already has water quality problems, so city officials shouldn't take any risk that could create more problems with their water supply.
"There is no money in this entire world that is worth the thousands of people in Gardner," she said. "No money in the world that is worth the risk."
One of the two non-resident speakers opposing the horse racetrack is from Hardwick. Before Bay State Racing proposed a horse racing facility to Gardner city officials, many of the investors at Bay State attempted to open a facility in seven other Massachusetts municipalities under the company Commonwealth Racing LLC, and Hardwick was one of them.
Robin Prouty is a veterinary technician who owns a dog kennel business, and her family owns a full-time farm in Hardwick. She said millions of dollars of casino revenue should go to the citizens of Massachusetts, including the Gardner community, not the racing industry.
"I can assure you that the racing industry has nothing to offer sustainable agriculture in Massachusetts," she said. "If you really want to go to races, go to Saratoga – this is bad for Gardner."
What proponents said
Mayor Michael Nicholson was the first to speak at the Tuesday night public hearing. He said his administration has worked to make Gardner a business-friendly community, and if the council chooses to allow horse racing at the Green Street property, then he is more than willing to work with Bay State Racing.
Robert Short, one of the only Gardner residents who spoke in favor of the racing facility, said he has experience in horse farms and horse ownership and thought the racing facility was a great idea.
"I know y'all are going to hate me because I'm for it, but they have so much against them," he said. "There are checks and balances that they have to go through, and there is a record of 150 years of horse breeding there."
Paul Umbrello, executive director for the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, and Anthony Speada, president of the New England HBPA, spoke at the public hearing as a representative of Bay State Racing.
Arlene Brown of Briar Hill Farms, a thoroughbred horse farm in Rehoboth, talked about the difficulties of keeping their industry alive in Massachusetts and asked for support.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Couldn't attend Tuesday's hearing in Gardner on proposed race track? Here's what happened
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