Penn National Gaming Pledges $900K in Grants to Police and Fire Departments

Penn National Gaming has committed to providing $900,000 in grants to the Tewksbury Police Department and Fire Department should their Merrimack Valley Casino be awarded a license from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The proposed $200 million facility at 300 Ames Pond Drive would first need to receive a two-thirds majority vote at an Aug. 20 special Town Meeting and then a majority vote at a Sept. 21 town referendum before going to the MGC for a license. 

The grants would include $375,000 to each department over five years for personnel, professional development and training needs for officers and firefighters and $75,000 to each department for equipment. 

“One of the concerns we’ve heard from many residents is the short-term need for town resources for emergency services, specifically the police and fire departments,” said Jeff Morris, Director of Public Affairs for Penn National Gaming in a statement.

“We are hopeful that our commitment of $900,000 in grants on day one will give the citizens of Tewksbury confidence that both departments will have the resources needed to support the community in the years before the tax and host community  agreement benefits of our facility start paying off,” Morris said. 

Should the proposed slots-only casino receive approval, Penn National would pay the town annually $1 million mitigation payments and $120,000 for capital expenses on top of an estimated $3 million in tax revenue.