 Before we get started, just a reminder that given an executive order that Governor Baker issued, that'll give some relief to the open meeting while we are able to conduct this meeting using remote connectivity. So we've been doing that since March and successfully. But should something go wrong, please go to the MGC website and we'll give additional direction in the event that we have to reconnect. So thank you everyone and we'll get started calling to order today, public meeting 316. It's August 27th at 10.02 a.m. We'll get started with item number two on the agenda, the approval of minutes. Commissioner Stebbins. Good morning, Madam Chair. Thank you. My colleagues in your packet, you have the meeting minutes from the June 25th 2020 meeting. It was obviously a lengthy session of minutes as we reviewed community mitigation fund applications. But I would move their approval subject to any correction or any typographical errors or any other non material matters. Are there any edits questions for. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We're at 12, the entry at 12, 16 p.m. We're talking about the Springfield police department request. It. Comments that I referenced the Las Vegas shooting. But the broader discussion that's then referenced. I, before I said that, I said that I agreed with. I'm not going to talk about the riot. I'm not going to talk about the riot fields and broader discussion. In that regard, not just about the shooting. So if we could insert a sentence at that point that says. Commissioner O'Brien reiterated. Commissioners egos concern about the riot. And there'd be a broader discussion. Okay. Any further comments or edits on the minutes. Okay. Hearing none. I just want to thank Shar. They, they were extensive. Thank you. Thank you. I second that motion. Thank you. We'll have a roll call vote. Commissioner Cameron. Hi. Commissioner O'Brien. Hi. Commissioner Zuniga. Hi. Commissioner Stevens. Hi. Yes. Five zero sharp. Thank you very much. Okay. Moving on to item number three. I'm going to move on to item number five. I'm going to be on the agenda. Okay. I'm going to be on the agenda today. Mark six weeks since our license. To reopen under phase three of the Commonwealth spays to reopening. On behalf of my fellow commissioners, I want to thank our team at the MGC and our colleagues at on Core Boston, Harvard, MG. under these unprecedented circumstances. I know that we are united in purpose to ensure a safe gaming environment for all patrons and employees. The reopening measures developed and executed by licensees in close collaboration with the MGC have been thoughtful and comprehensive including reduced capacity, temperature checks at entry and plexiglass installation on the gaming farm. My fellow commissioners and I recognize and appreciate the level of investment that has been made to date to create as safe an environment as possible under the current conditions. That said, in light of recent events at Encore Boston Harbor, I wish to remind all that the MGC's jurisdiction and regulatory responsibilities extend to the entire gaming establishment beyond the gaming floor. It's imperative that we take all necessary steps to enforce social distancing and all other COVID-19 related measures as outlined in the reopening safety guidelines approved by the gaming commission. To put it plainly, the stakes are too high for anything but full compliance with those safety standards. I am pleased that our colleagues at Encore Boston Harbor have taken the recent events very seriously and have taken action to address these issues. I commend the MGC staff for its swift assessment of the situation which we continue to monitor. We will hear more about the specifics concerning Encore Boston Harbor during Interim Executive Director Wells' upcoming administrative report. But once again, I want to remind us all of how critically important it is that we remain vigilant in our efforts. Moving on now to item number four on the agenda. Interim Executive Director Wells, if you could go forward with your administrative report. Thank you Madam Chair and good morning and good morning to the commissioners. For item A on the administrative update, some good news. I would like to announce formally and publicly that the MGC has named Todd Grossman as the General Counsel for the Commission. I'm really pleased personally. I've known Todd not only throughout my time here at the commission but while I was at EOPS as the Under Secretary of Law Enforcement, he was the Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Public Safety, so we work together there. Todd has served in the role of the Interim General Counsel since the end of 2019 and I'd like to commend him for his work during really difficult times. It was not easy during the shutdown, during the pandemic. They were down people in the legal department and he rose to the occasion. I think everyone can acknowledge that one of Todd's greatest strength is his level heaviness and his ability to remain calm during a crisis. That was seriously noted during this time. It was very welcomed by not only me by the staff and the commissioners. That was really helpful, so I want to thank you for that Todd. As I stated, Todd was the Interim General Counsel since the end of 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for the Commission from November of 2012 through the end of 2019. Before that, as I mentioned, he had been the Deputy General Counsel with the Department of Public Safety from 2006 to 2012. He'd served in capacity as a private attorney briefly in 2005 and 2006. Prior to that, he also served as an Assistant District Attorney from 2000 to 2004 at the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, which a number of us here at the Commission also had the good fortune to be part of that office. So I want to thank Todd, welcome you, and I just want to say that we all appreciate all the work you've been doing and we all look forward to working with you in the future. I don't know if you want to say hello or thank you, but just check in. Yeah, I would love to, if I may, thank you Karen for those kind words. Usually that kind of praise only comes from my parents and my wife, so I appreciate, I appreciate those sentiments. Certainly one of the great honors of my career to be invited to step into this role in this environment and particularly here in this organization that is really so full of smart, thoughtful, conscientious, and aware people really across the org chart. So sincerely thank you and we're ready to get right down to it. So here we go. Okay, that sounds good. Any commissioners want to weigh in or otherwise I will jump right into my next item on the casino reopening update. Seems like it's a good chance. Why don't we start with Commissioner Cameron. Yeah, just a quick thank you and congratulations to General Counsel Grossman. Haven't called him yet, so happy to use the title and look forward to our continued working together. You've served us well and I expect you'll do the same in the future, so congrats. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, I appreciate that. Commissioner Seneca. Yeah, just the same. Thank you for all the work that you've done. I think that was a testament all the years that you've been with us. How much you understood the industry and helped us develop all the regulations in the thoughtful way and many other things navigating through complicated lawsuits, a lot of legal questions. You're down a couple of people in that department and that adds to the level of complexity that Karen has mentioned already in terms of operating in this remote environment. So I think you're doing a great job and look forward to your continued involvement and a rebuilding of that department as well because the lawsuits haven't slowed, the challenges haven't slowed in this pandemic, but we continue to navigate them with your statement. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Stevens. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a note of congratulations to Todd. He started out with us way back when we're over on State Street in Boston, but he's been such an important part of the team in so many different respects. I can't find anybody who gets more excited about regulations than Todd, so it's great to have him on the team and I know he's got a lot on his plate as he moves forward, but just offer my congrats. Thank you, Commissioner. We got lots of regulations to talk about today, so that'll be a lot of fun. It's a good day. It's a good day. Commissioner Bryan. I'll make it short and sweet. I've had the opportunity to already congratulate Todd in a smaller setting, so in the interest of time I won't go into depth other than to say I think everything Karen said about, you know, particularly your temperament and your ability to handle the crisis and sort of the lack of personnel and then the environment and the virtuality is tremendously helpful for the group. So again, I wish you luck and congratulations again. Thank you, Commissioner. It's a pleasure. I appreciate it. And just to close, congratulations, General Counsel. You went through a thorough competitive assessment. That's because that was the right thing to do. It did not surprise those of us involved in that, that you would emerge at the top. But we thank everyone for the support they've given the lean legal team during this time, but most of all for your leadership during this time, Todd, I know your team has appreciated it very much and we look forward to working with you going forward in this new and exciting role. So thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that. I'm looking forward as well. Okay, thank you. So moving on to item B in the administrative update is the casino reopening update. So the casinos are still operating obviously under the COVID guidelines. And while general compliance is still occurring, as we are aware through media reports, there was an incident at Encore Boston Harbor, which I'd like to just update you on. Near the early morning hours of Sunday, August 16th, GEU responded to a guest suite at the hotel following a report from the Encore Boston Harbor Security Department on a disturbance. In sum, there were over 110 individuals inside the suite where the GEU officers entered and pursuant to the hotel's own rules, the suite capacity is limited to 10 people. The investigation identified a male who had rented the suite on the late afternoon of August 15th. The hotel had issued three key cards for the room after checking in. That individual and a male companion proceeded to the elevator lobby, escorted other individuals back to the suite in small groups. This occurred frequently from the first and second floor elevators starting at approximately 6.30 p.m. Review of the surveillance footage, the queuing at the elevators showed at some relevant periods over the course of the evening the six-foot social distancing requirement was not met. The investigation into the incident showed that approximately midnight a member of Encore Boston Harbor's hotel management team received a call from an unidentifiable number stating that the caller was viewing the Instagram account of one of the individuals rented the suite and saw that he had at least 100 people in the suite at Encore Boston Harbor. Approximately 15 minutes later at around 12.15 an Encore Boston Harbor Butler made a report to EVH personnel at the hotel's front desk. He had just delivered an item to the suite and saw more than 30 people inside and informed them to clear out the party for violating the maximum hotel occupancy. At around 12.30 the hotel management called the suite and informed the individual the maximum occupancy and of noise complaints and to clear out the suite within 15 minutes. Surveillance videos also showed that 36 individuals departed the suite at that time. At around 12.37 a caller with an unidentifiable number told EVH hotel management they were going to call the board of health for the occupancy violation. At approximately 3 a.m. EVH security and offices of the GE responded to the suite for reporting the disturbance and at that time as mentioned before over 110 individuals were present in the suite the majority of them were not wearing masks. So that generally gives you a summary. The IEB does note that the guest that registered the suite has been charged with sort of a conduct for hosting the gathering and was issued a $500 citation for violating the governor's order prohibiting gatherings of over 25 people. So as part of our duties you know in the enforcement arm of the commission the gaming agents and some assistance from the state police conducted this investigation and they did it swiftly as the chair mentioned we did take swift action pursuant to mass journal laws chapter 23k section 36a as a first step required by law. We did issue notice of non-compliance to the casino and gave them some identifiable measures and some time for correction. Those measures included developing and implementing a communications plan to inform and to emphasize the hotel guests of these capacity that which are lower than the 25 person limit set by the governor's that that be strictly enforced and that the communications plan should also inform and emphasize to hotel guests the strict prohibition on indoor gatherings and the $500 penalty. We also required they develop an implemented training plan for employees to identify red flags and escalate them immediately to supervision, the security department and the GEU as appropriate including unusually frequent this entries and exits to a hotel room or suite and any information tending to evidence prohibited indoor gathering. I do know what I think the only time the the time the security partners was not made aware of this these red flags until 3am when they cleared out the entire room. We did require increased security staff monitoring of the elevator lobbies of the first and second floors to ensure that only registered guests gain access to hotel rooms and suites and that the six foot distancing requirement is met and that there's compliance with the mass requirement and finally assign security staff to monitor hotel floors to ensure prompt response to unusual noise activity and disturbances and we required that the facility report back to the IEV and writing the next day that would be Friday August 21st on the specific details of the steps it was taking to address this important matter. So I'd like to commend the gaming agency and the state police and Attorney Lilios who spearheaded this and she actually issued the notice of non-compliance. I'm going to turn it over to her to give you sort of an overview of their response to the issuance of the notice of non- compliance and then turn it over to Assistant Director Bruce Band to talk about subsequent activity at the casino and what it's been like since this happened and what they're seeing at the casino. Does anyone have any questions for me at this time or should I just turn it over to Attorney Lilios? Okay so Loretta are you there? Yes I am good morning Karen good morning Chair good morning commissioners. So as Karen mentioned the notice that we issued last Thursday required the property to take immediate steps and as of last Thursday the property already had implemented many steps. The property did report to us in writing on Friday on the steps that it was undertaking to comply with our requirements and they had added a number of measures that they had identified would be helpful to identifying any guests that might be intending to have a prohibited gathering and some of their efforts have borne fruit. I know Bruce can update you on some of our monitoring efforts. Specifically the detailed measures that Encore provided included the strictly enforcing their own limits on occupancy which are less than the governor's limits so their limits are four to a room and ten to a suite. Their communication plan has included written and oral explanation and discussion with guests upon checking of the limits and of fines over and above the civil citation that the Commonwealth allows for. They have it will be issuing their own fines for violations of their occupancy limits and those communications in and of themselves have led to a number of immediate cancellations of guest reservations so on the front end it seems like you know that that measure on the communications plan is helpful. They will be and have been monitoring luggage and other supplies to try to identify that no party materials are being sent or provided to any rooms. As Karen mentioned the increased security measures in the hotel at elevators complemented with increased surveillance measures to identify unusual activity, unusual noise, unusual disturbances. Enhanced training of they by the time they got our notice on Thursday they had already planned training with management in there they've had a series of meetings where management and senior management have been tasked with implementing these additional measures and those have been in order to implement them included personnel being brought off of furlough to make sure that the resources are are available. There's been a reviewing of social media some of the guests who may have been planning events communicate this on social media so there is an aspect of monitoring social media as well. You know Bruce can update you on some of the monitoring aspects of this they have included a number of shutdowns of over occupancy in multiple rooms I think nearing the double digit mark now none of those violated the 25 person governors rule but all of them did violate the properties occupancy limits for rooms and for suites. So that is a summary of the measures that we've acquired that they have implemented. I do want to say from my seat as well Chair you mentioned that they're taking it very seriously and from my seat as well that's my experience as well that this kind of floating of the safety measures is unacceptable to the property and they have put significant action and resources behind it. Madam Chair, Commissioners, I would agree with Deputy Director Leo's assessment that there was a big change at Encore over this past weekend. They were extremely vigilant in their duties. What we saw is not only were guests change their mind about their their weekend registration at the desk when they found out the new rules but through their vigilance eight different rooms were evicted for breaking those rules and fined as well. So Encore seems to be holding fast to their new rules and really sticking to their guns as far as to what they are trying to get the guests to abide by. I was impressed with this because that's not easy to do with your loyal guests per se. Anybody have any questions about that? Yes, thank you. Without necessarily getting into specifics, it's fair to say that by the notion of trying to ensure that only hotel guests are on the floors as well as that there's a limit to the number of people in any given room or suite that they've implemented additional measures to just simply somebody waving a key let's say in front of security to get past the security elevators. Is that a fair statement that there's they're now going to be checking for things like last name of the person who's reserved the room or how many people may be given time or gone through the floor like counting people that come in and out of particular floors? Yes, they have implemented measures to make sure that hotel guests are going up only upstairs. This includes having guards make rounds on the floor as well for they can actually hear the noise on these floors as well. Being more vigilant at the hotel is who's going upstairs as well. So I think they're getting this really under control as well. We've given them some suggestions as to what we've seen at other hotels as well over the years. Deputy Director Lillios, did you want to add in? Just to note that it is a tall measure and it requires managing the property in a way that a hotel isn't typically managed. I think from my understanding when there are noise complaints that is when a hotel would kick in and try to protect other guests from disruption. So it has required a shifting of how to run the hotel property in compliance with some of these other safety measures and there has been some creative thought given to how to identify red flags and evidence that indicates a prohibited gathering, maybe being planned or taking place beyond what a hotel is used to doing. Are there questions Commissioner Cameron? Yeah, well I hope it sounds like they do realize how important this is, which I'm happy to hear. Certainly this is much more serious than a guest being disturbed by noise and whatever measures they had before obviously were not effective enough and so I am pleased to see that they understand the seriousness and put in the measures not only that we recommended but that they thought of themselves to to really curtail this from ever happening again it's that serious. So that's the most important part of your briefing to me is the fact that the licensee understands not just that they would be penalized by us but they they really do understand the importance of protecting health and safety. Yes. Other questions? Commissioner Brian? More of a comment than a question which is I thank Executive Director Wells for the update that she gave this morning and I also want to thank her and the members of IEB who gave us updates right after this happened and so to be clear this is something that I laud IEB's actions under the statute. I laud the fact that you came to the commissioners and updated us and I want to reiterate also that while I do I do think they appreciate the severity of the laps that happened at that time and that they've taken steps I also want to say that there is a reason that the statute allows for emergency action by the commission if anything should happen that is in fact imminently dangerous to anyone that is not what happened last weekend as far as we know however while they do take it seriously I do want to also say that given the situation that we are in if we would need to take any further action we could I think that as stated by Loretta Lilios and direct executive director band deputy director band I think that we are in a situation where they take it seriously and they're acting appropriately and we in fact see the fruits of that action so I am pleased with that but I just also wanted to put praise out to the people on our end who made sure that you were in the loop and responding what was a very serious issue. Commissioner Stepans. Yeah madam chair just to just to echo that point and thank the IEB and the GEU for the great work that they did I'm encouraged by the response so far of our licensee and you know it appears they are taking this very seriously and certainly the word is getting out to their to their guests who those are the ones who canceled their reservation and decided that they weren't going to take that risk but you know the broader message to the general public of you know we're still operating within these public health safety guidelines don't be foolish don't jeopardize the livelihoods of all these on-core employees who have been brought back to work and could be at risk of of having gaming operations suspended again if activities like this continue to take place so thanks to IEB and the GEU for their good work their immediate work their rapid response to this as well as the work of our licensees but you know we can the general public and the gaming patron can be a little smarter about this Commissioner Simica. Yeah on that note actually I had a question I know that the $500 citation is something that has been implemented as part of this the pandemic really in terms of from from the governor does that apply to only the person who rented the room in this case so that applied to everybody in attendance to a gathering like this and this do we know if more than the person who rented the room in this case was cited for for the gathering. Roddy do you know the answer that might just from my memo I think it was only the person that rented the room but I don't know do you have any other further information on that? That's the information that I have is that the registered guest the young man who rented the room was the one who was cited for for that you know it's possible that that could have could have been more broadly implemented but it's my information that it was only only he the fines that the hotel is implementing are significantly higher than that I think in the $3,000 range for violating the occupancy limit alone and that is over and above any damage to the room that they would charge back to the guest. Yeah and I wonder I mean I don't know if if anybody has an answer for this but whether that citation could be applied more broadly to everybody in attendance where these two happen again might also be hopefully at the tarant along the lines of what Commissioner Stevin was saying it takes many people to be to act foolishly to not just the person who you know and that was the top of you know renting the room with the intention to organize a gathering but I wonder if there would be the possibility of applying that citation more broadly where these ever happen in any other way. Deputy Director Lillian, do you want to address that? That's certainly something we can look at I do know that for the the party that we're talking about that the primary objective of GEU and security was to safely disperse people at that time so that was the priority you know at three o'clock in the morning when they were called there but you know moving forward it's my understanding that the board of health as well as law enforcement at the state and local level do have the authority to issue those civil citations it's certainly something we can can look at thinking about as a deterrent deterrent piece. So I just wanted to add one point to I think it's a clarification but perhaps everybody and I'm sure everybody understands it fully is that this notice of non-compliance that was issued is a very serious step it's a serious step that when as Commissioner O'Brien noted we were it was brought to our attention through the restart group and then appropriately under the open meaning law the team did inform each commissioner individually. What was most egregious in this instance was not simply the actions of the public who it is not understandable given the risk to not only each other but to all the people in the hotel and then as we know we can look at examples here knowing on how it will affect the general public and the community but what was egregious here for me was that that happened and our licensee got noticed over three hours and at least one employee the butler did exactly the right thing and went notify the his fellow employees to have action taken and what's really important here for our licensees is to not only enforce the measures that they're taking to ensure further safety for all given the pandemic we're in but to also remember to keep those channels open to make sure they are hearing their employees when they make reports of instances that put others at harm. So that's why I think that this this particular incident in light of all the complexities for all of our licensees at this time was taken so seriously and IEB acted so again the reporting could happen in any climate and we encourage our licensees to be listening to their employees with respect to these risks. Additional commissioners in a gum sorry. Yeah no just just to say thank you for that clarification I still think that you know the the X factor here is a public that unfortunately includes will continue to include you know notwithstanding the measures that are now taking place which I think are very important unfortunately there's still at least the possibility that a very small group of people may feel like you know that a gathering is not a big deal and want to attempt something again. Yes please don't think that my remark diminished the import of yours I'm not sure exactly of our ability to actually enforce those payments and and I think Deputy Director Lillios maybe you know know whether we have any jurisdiction over the five hundred dollar Gaming Commission on its own is not authorized to issue those citations and your correct chair that are the IEB's focus GEU's focus was on safely clearing the same getting folks home in a safe manner in GEU IEB's focus was on you know identifying the non-compliance to the our licensee and directing measures to ensure that it doesn't happen again so that was where our focus was and that's where our statutory authority is. Is that helpful Commissioner Zuniga? Yeah thank you thank you I think we can follow up on it with our colleagues. Yeah I understand what becomes the highest priority at a time when you have already a group of large gathering but to the extent that it's possible to get a name and a phone number let's say and from everybody who's being escorted where these ever to happen again and I and I hope really I hope that doesn't happen again maybe it's it's something that we could at least explore what other recourse there is towards other people who are not just the person renting a room but other people who are also contributing to the to the risk. Any other questions for Karen, Areta or Bruce? I'm seeing none very thorough report as I mentioned you know swift action it had had to be very swift and thorough and accurate given the risk so I know again I just am repeating myself thank you for for that and for the licensees all three for their continued vigilance on this on these matters you know I can only say what I've said before is this won't be forever you know it's but we have to well we're in this situation where the public health metrics are where they are we've just got to be really everyone has got to take full responsibility for their actions so thank you all right. Thank you Madam Chair so I'll uh I'll move on to item 4c I want to give an update on the MGC office reopening their working group update so we do continue to have as evidenced by the prior report on-site gaming agent and GEU presence at the casinos however what do you want to report that we issue to notice that we will continue to have the rest of our staff telework through December 31st of 2020 I should also mention there are also racing employees that are that are on site at plane ridges along with gaming agents in the GEU so unless otherwise directed by a manager based on the agency's operational need and pursuant to the governor's guidelines and the governor's orders we are keeping people at home and teleworking and continuing to do that at least through December 31st of this year 2020 the gaming commission we did adopt the common wealth of Massachusetts telework policy for the purpose of managing teleworking arrangements and resulting from the pandemic now certain provisions of that policy have been suspended or updated due to this coronavirus pandemic and the conditions required by that health situation so we do have an addendum to that so we have used the policy modified it as necessary just to keep our folks working as much and as efficiently as possible we have arranged for additional equipment to be transferred for home use we'll be distributing those tomorrow and Monday for example monitors chairs things where if people are really not coming back into the office for a while that may be able to be more comfortable and work more efficiently if they have some of their equipment that's now located at the office we've also provided employees again with the ITS acceptable use policy for state equipment so we're monitoring all this with policy and tracking and additionally the working group met again yesterday discussed this and some other measures as far as you know keeping people safe how can we advise people on ergonomics and working from home and and just communicating to the staff that we recognize that this is hard you know I think all of us are you know there's a sense of weariness in working at home I think it would be nice to be back in the office have some socialization change up the routine so you know the message to the staff is that you know we recognize this is hard we're trying our best this is a pandemic we're in extreme situations extreme situation we appreciate what the staff is doing and they've really risen to the occasion to work for months now in this situation and they've been doing a good job so I appreciate that I want to say thank you to the staff and we'll continue to monitor how people are doing try to communicate as best we can on everything that we know that's going on just so people people can feel connected and again another shout out to the IT department you know the technology we've been using has been effective in keeping people in touch and communicating and keeping the work going so you know I don't know if twister sevens or community picture Cameron wants to comment on any of that at this point because they've been instrumental in that working group and have been monitoring and checking in on and how people are doing and wanting to help as far as making this telework effective and and work for the people that that work for the commission commission Cameron yes thank you I would just like to you know speak to the preparedness of our team meaning every time we have one of these reopening meetings they are very well prepared not only with what the governor's office the latest information that's coming out but best practices coming out HR measures to help employees very thoughtful discussions about okay we have a hybrid plan here we had a discussion yesterday about gaming agents and some things that might make that work stronger but how do we do that safely and so I just appreciate the level of preparedness this is not willy nilly let's try this it really is thoughtful conversation and well-informed conversation because our team has attended these these meetings that the governor's office has prepared for each aspect of a reopening so I just want to commend our team for not only caring so much about our employees as well as the health and safety of patrons but how to do this in a way that makes sense and by still following the rules but being effective and efficient at the same time so just to thank you to the team for the work they've put into this and how much they care Commissioner Stevens yeah just to add on and I echo commissioner Cameron's comments and you know thanks to Karen and thanks to our CFAO Derek Lennon the whole team for again following the latest guidelines making sure that we're doing everything that the governor's team is suggesting again we talked about it yesterday which is making sure that everybody has a safe place to work at home you know they're not trying to juggle a laptop on top of a refrigerator and potentially creating some type of workplace injury we don't want that to happen so the idea that you know the team will be able to have access to a desk and to monitors and again to everything help them more effectively or to better work from home in a safe environment is critical but kudos to the team they've been thoughtful about this and following every guideline that's coming out of the governor's office and the other public health agencies I should just give a little shout out because you're referencing the good work of the governor's HRD team and Jeff McHugh is the the chief of that division and he generously offered our invitation made an invitation to our team to join his and the work that they were doing and it has turned out to be so instrumental so we're very very fortunate that they thought of us so to Jeff McHugh we give give a great deal of thanks and thanks to that team you know I have to Karen I know that you noted Derek you know right in the smack in the middle of budget yeah it's scooting down to help Alex and team with with you know PPE and making sure that the signage was ready and helping Alex and so it has been you know right everybody on on foot so thank you and commissioners Cameron and Stevin's thanks that work will continue and you know that's one thing that I would note about our senior staff is you know I look at you know this in this piece we've got Derek and Trippi and Katrina and they're all working selflessly you know they're putting they're putting their staff and their teams you know ahead of themselves and they're offering to do whatever necessary and it's you know I just want to compliment them for that and also just say what a pleasure it is to be a part of that that team because that's the kind of environment you want to work in so we appreciate it and it is a lean team it is I got to tell you about that this morning and I was like yeah you know thank you yeah they're they're really pulling together so thank you so that concludes my administrative update great yeah and we do have a one note I just got a chat to remember that Derek aside from all that he's doing is also covering the licensing division which is a very important job right now so thank you for that thank you to Marianne for reminding me thank you right thank you and thank you to the licensing team yeah right and even on the other side we've also got Loretta that's has done so much work on the and the the external component you know I'm we're talking about the internal component but Loretta's doing all that work with the external component and all that too there's just so many people the whole team so I can't say thank you excellent thank you okay I think we can move on to item number five then Karyn um Dr. Lightbaum the racing division you have a horse racing update and then we'll continue with the details thanks thank you good morning I'm pleased to report that wearing of the masks um at Plain Ridge over the nose has gotten much better um everybody was wearing their masks but sometimes they weren't keeping them over their nose which is something I've noticed out in you know general in the general public as well um so um Sevo Tools Group is doing a great job making announcements during the day they're sending email notices out during the day as well and other um you know ways of reminding everybody to do that as well as help from the Horseman Association and reminding everybody as well so that's been very well um and the reports from the simulcast facilities are that everybody's complying with the requirements of wearing their masks and everything and they haven't had any problems with that um not this Saturday but the following Saturday September 5th is the Kentucky Derby obviously with COVID it's a very different world out there they are not going to have fans at the Derby which is going to be very different and it will it's the second race of the Triple Crown this year the Belmont has already been run so the three races are being run in a different order so really not sure what the betting will be on this race but obviously it's going to be a big day for all three facilities and they're looking at their COVID plans as far as adding security and things like that just to be sure that if there is an increased number of patrons they're ready to handle that I'd like to give a shout out to the racing division team in the hot weather wearing the mask is very difficult and a lot of our staff does work outside so on a day like today they're all going to be very happy they've done a great job and as you all were mentioning Agnes has been down bringing supplies to us and Jacqueline has also brought things down for us I really appreciate the whole staff working together to support the racing division and with that I can go on to the next agenda item unless anybody has a question. Commissioner Cameron did you want to add anything in? I don't have a question but and I appreciate Dr. Leipman giving the shout out to her team but I would like to give the shout out to her her leadership has been instrumental here and there have been you know this is difficult for everybody so sometimes tensions are high there are concerns but a steady hand in the leadership role has been and and really behind the scenes putting out little fires Dr. Leipman mentioned the the mask situation she personally has been involved with reminding people I mean that's not typically something a racing director would get involved with but I don't think there's an aspect of all of the protocols that we put in place that she has not been on top of and really that that says a lot to your team when you're out there working as hard as you're asking them to work under difficult circumstances so just I want to credit Dr. Leipman for her efforts to really make this opening safe which which it has been so far. Moving on then if there are no other comments or questions yet okay moving on to your next item Alex thanks. Okay so the next item is the horse racing committee decision on the split of the racehorse development fund and I'd like to give a shout out to the committee members of the horse racing committee. Chair Brian Fitzgerald, Emily Katunnik, Joe Savage, Peter Goldberg and of course Commissioner Cameron. This year they had multiple meetings they asked for a lot of different information had very thoughtful deliberation to reach their decision which is so important to the horsemen as it touches on things that are vitally important to them such as the purses the money that would both support the breeding and health and welfare and pension. So again there really was a lot of work at this committee this year and I'd also like to commend the horsemen. They all were very good about supplying information that the committee requested and where you're splitting up a pot of money among different people it can be challenging but everybody works through it in a cooperative way so I wanted to bring that to the commission's attention. Thank you and before we move on to the actual item I do understand General Counsel Grossman that you would like to actually move up one of the regulatory provisions out of just simply in 6C to help in the ordering of this am I correct? That's exactly right Madam Chair and thank you and thank you to Dr. Leipan for that great intro I second everything she just said there just as a matter of procedure I think it would make sense to move item 6C up before the actual substantive discussion about the split recommendations you'll recall item 6C pertain to the amendments to a number of regulations that address the distribution percentage from the Racehorse Development Fund that's 205 CMR 149.04 paragraph 4 there was a public hearing convened this morning presided over by Commissioner Stebbins and I apologize I wasn't there so I certainly at some point turned to Commissioner Stebbins to offer any comments about that public hearing but by way of background if the commission's okay with proceeding with this item there should we just pause on should we pause on that and just ask for Commissioner Stebbins whether any additional comments? Sure Madam Chair thanks no this was was a relatively quiet public hearing on the regulations we were considering three this morning that are on our agenda for today but there were no comments offered by the general public with respect to this regulation or the other tip and okay excellent and then just to make sure from my fellow commissioners you're able to find because we did go out of order on the materials you're able to find the memo okay excellent thanks okay thank you Madam Chair so as just referenced there is the cover sheet in the packet which describes the purpose of the law governing the distribution of funds from the Racehorse Development Fund as well as an outline of the proposed amendments and the amendments of course are in red line form they're in the packet there's some green language in there too but the red and the green both represent the changes that are before you here today you'll recall as we've discussed previously the familiar 80 16 4 percentage breakdown that's described in chapter 23k section 60 for purpose which goes to purses for live racing breeding and health and pension funding respectively notably just by way of refresher historically all the funds have been distributed in those three categories in accordance with one overall split percentage so now if these amendments amendments are adopted and they have been in effect by emergency but if they're adopted for final promulgation here today there could be three separate split percentages for each of the three categories this reg has been in effect since June 4th and pursuant to that language the horse racing committee met on July 15th to review the existing split percentage which was put in place at some point in the past year which you'll recall is presently set at 65 percent to the standard bred industry and 35 percent to support the thoroughbred industry and the committee met to make an updated recommendation to the commission which of course as we know is incidentally on the agenda for discussion right after we talk about this amendment for these amendments I should say so as as we've heard the public hearing on these regs was held this morning additionally the race the horse racing committee put the concept out for public comment to the racing industry there were certainly no objections to that and the committee itself supported these changes you may recall just by way of procedural note that certain horse racing related regulations have to be submitted to the legislature prior to taking effect that's required in accordance with chapter 128a section 9b that section though only applies to regulations that are promulgated in accordance with chapter 128a the regulations you have before you here today are being reviewed under chapter 23k so there's no requirement that they be submitted to the legislature under that section however just as a point of procedural note the actual recommendations made by the committee were sent to the legislature in accordance with section 60 of chapter 23k so the legislature is looped into this whole process through that avenue so as as well with with that that is basically an overview we can get into the details of the amendments if that's helpful but the baseline is just that they move the regulations from a place where one split percentage had to be put in place to one that just allows the commission and the committee to make separate recommendations that's really all the regulation amendments do the recommendations themselves are a separate issue but this would allow for those recommendations to be made in that fashion so perhaps i can pause there and see if there's any questions or comments before we move into the adoption mode any questions on on the regulation of course as a general counsel grows and finds out this we did act on as an emergency regulation any questions i'm hearing oh commissioner zeneca yeah perhaps just to highlight and emphasize at thatwithstanding the lack of comments this morning that there's quite a bit of input that has been provided through the race horse racing committee and the membership for both the organizations of the thoroughbred and the standard bred that that arrived at this point so there's that's an important part of the process that we have taken advantage of because we have that structure of the race horse racing that's a really good point commissioner cameron i know you probably were going to reference that in conjunction with the substantive discussion up for today you might just want to remind you might want to just remind the public of the racing horse racing committee's construct yes would you like me to do that now well just in terms of the constant who is actually on it Dr. Leitham just mentioned the individuals so the treasurer has has a position that she appoints emily and certainly the governor appoints the chair and brian Fitzgerald is serving in that capacity now the gaming commission has one spot and i have served in that position since the beginning as the representative on the racing committee on the gaming commission and then each breed has a representative on the on the committee so there is an attorney representative for each of the two breeds which is very helpful in many ways because they do have the substantive knowledge and are able to provide documents that are very helpful to the committee in doing its work so that's the five person committee and those individuals have changed over the years but i have to say this year's committee worked extremely hard and really was attention to detail with with this decision this year right and so to rike's point that the the lack of comment today does not in any way reflect the investment of all the state oh no in fact they were actively involved the entire time as the racing folks always are frankly they are engaged it's a very engaged community very passionate community um on on both sides with with both breeds so yes we um we hear from them um we listen to them and incorporate their thoughts into our into the work that we do excellent so back to the regulation are there any questions for todd with respect to the regulation hearing none shall we go ahead and act do we have a motion so the first of course we have the amended small business impact statement it's in the packet for your consideration if if you're we're ready that would be the first item that would be appropriate for consideration yes todd and this is for 205 cmr 149.04 is that correct that's that's correct then madam chair i'll be happy to move that the commission approved the the amended small business impact statement for 205 cmr 149.04 uh those are the race course development fund distributions escrow accounts as included in the commissioners back second any questions edits okay commissioner camera aye commissioner bryan commissioners in agar aye mr stevens aye and i felt yes thank you shara and follow yes i further move uh madam chair that the commission adopt the version of 205 cmr 149.04 the race course development fund distributions escrow accounts as included in the commissioners packet and authorize the staff to take all steps necessary to finalize the regulation promotion process second any questions on that okay commissioner cameron aye commissioner bryan commissioner zeneca aye commissioner stevens aye yes five zero thank you so that puts you in a position that's helpful for continuing the discussion on item number five b back to as alex sort of primed us for the discussion on the split thanks that's going to continue from here thank you thank you thank you okay thank you dr leibhahn so with that having been completed that was very helpful i think we should have a quick look at the governing law we're now talking about the recommendations that are before you as made by the horse racing committee as to what the split should be and as you've noted and you've seen the horse racing committee made use of the new regulations to make these regulations so there are three separate percentage splits before you in each of the three categories and i thought since things are a little bit different this year that i just take a minute or two just to run through the governing law and some of the standards that you need to look at in determining whether to approve these recommendations the the disc so the distribution of funds from the resource development fund is of course governed by chapter 23 k section as we know that section established the resource development fund itself and provides that the commission shall administer the fund it also in that section created the horse racing committee the sole purpose of which is to make recommendations to the commission as to how funds shall be distributed the statue does set out certain criteria that the committee had to consider in making its recommendations and it considered other additional criteria but there are a couple set out in the statute that it had to and i'll just go through those quickly by way of refresher it had to consider the average purses awarded at thoroughbred and standard bread racing facilities the total employment numbers both direct and indirect attributable attributable to each horse racing industry it considered the relative needs of each horse racing industry for increased purses it considered the amount of the live racing handle generated by each horse racing industry and fifth it considered the number of breeding and training farms of each industry that are located in the commonwealth so those are the statutory criteria and all were considered as we'll get into momentarily by the committee the statute then requires that the committee submit the recommendation to the clerks of the senate and the house no sooner than 30 days before the commission looks at it and that was in fact done i believe a copy of that notice is actually in the packet or in here before you today for your reference the existing distribution percentage just by way of background you'll recall was set by the commission within the past year at 65 percent to the standard breads and 35 percent to the thoroughbred the statute provides that the commission shall only change the percentage upon a recommendation of the horse racing committee and they have in fact made a recommendation for the change it does require very clearly though that it's the commission and not the committee that is the ultimate body that approves the percentages so that is the the matter that is before you here today on july 15th the horse racing committee as described did meet and voted to recommend that the existing split percentages be changed as outlined in the packet that so that there be one split percentage for each of the three statutory categories and unless there are questions about the law or the process i'd like to turn things over to commissioner Cameron who will walk through the discussion that the committee undertook in reaching some of the recommendations thank you general counsel grossman if i i'd like to start with just explaining that in the past we did look at this as as just one split all three categories were addressed in one legal brief and the committee would you know look at that documentation ask questions and come to a decision frankly we struggled with really for the last two years the fact that there were some needs on the health and welfare side in particular with the thoroughbred industry and that you know changing those splits to favor the the standard breads because they were doing more racing there were some real life impacts that we struggled with and i want to commend general counsel grossman because he was there he heard our discussions about this and volunteered frankly to take a look at the law and see if there was a way we could address those that need a differently meaning is could we in fact legally make decisions about those three categories separately giving us a legal recommendation that we could that's how this issue came before the commission and i do want to thank that my fellow commissioners for listening and understanding that that was an issue and as we did today first in an emergency move and secondly today we just promulgated officially the fact that this new regulation does allow the committee to work this way so under under the emergency regulation we were able to ask each breed each industry to provide documentation and each three three of those categories meaning make your case for more money for purses for breeding and and for health and pension benefits and they did that so we looked at more information this year and were really able to make recommendations based separately on each category certainly as everyone on this commission knows the standard bread industry has a live racetrack they are conducting a full racing meet and you know their employment numbers are higher the need for the purse money they made a certainly a greater case for that and which led to our decision to to to recommend five percent more for the standard bread industry this year which which would mean 70 percent to the standard bread and 30 percent to the thoroughbred industry that was the decision the majority of the committee and and that's the recommendation before the commission now when it comes to breeding again documents were provided that clearly demonstrated to the committee that the majority of the breeding was being done on the standard bread side that industry again for the reasons we just talked about they have a live racetrack they have a place to race thus that in itself encourages breeding the uncertainty of thoroughbred racing has certainly slowed down breeding on the thoroughbred side and and thus frankly the only place to race for the this year would be would be elsewhere outside of massachusetts because they don't have a place to race in in massachusetts so after reviewing those documents the committee made a decision to to provide five percent more to make that recommendation so again the standard breads that would be 70 percent and the thoroughbred industry a 30 percent that is the recommendation of the committee where we looked at things differently was with the health and pension benefits you know this is an area where there are a number of individuals from the thoroughbred horsemen and women who are actually using those benefits now and and really the case was made names were provided services were provided and and so the committee really and on the standard bread side those benefits are typically going for a pension plan at the end so you do your you run for a number of years and you're eligible for pension benefits so the committee really saw the need on the thoroughbred side to provide additional benefits for individuals who are actively using those benefits and so that number was was dramatically changed and 40 of those monies will go to the standard bread that's the recommendation and 60 to the thoroughbred because they really were able to demonstrate and provide documentation of of a greater need so this this decision by the commission to authorize the committee to work in this way had real life results frankly and i think we'll be able to to really meet the needs of both both industries in a way that makes the most sense for this year so that's the work of the committee this year and and again it really did help that we were able to look at this differently and again i want to commend general counsel grossman because he he volunteered he said let me take a look maybe there's something we can do different in here so that was very very helpful and commissioner camera can you just help explain the the the the three big buckets in terms of the percentages there the 80 percent 16 percent sure so so yep i should have mentioned that so 80 percent of the money i talked about the i talked about purses and that would be the 70 percent but that according to the statute that 80 percent of the rest racing development fund goes to purses so of that 80 percent the decision was made to go 70 standard bread 30 30 thoroughbred and then 16 percent by statute of those monies go to the breeding programs for each breed and again that that was the 70 percent to the standard bread the 30 percent to the thoroughbred and four percent is the distribution for health and pension benefits and as i just explained that would be 40 this year the recommendation to the standard bread and 60 to the thoroughbred industry thank you for asking me to clarify that just wanted to clarify there's no discretion with respect to the three big buckets the discretion came with the division correct any questions hi i will just point out that given what what what i know about the state of the raising both in both breeds you know over the years that these change in the split makes a lot of intuitive sense as you point out you know the the needs uh you know as the statute says relative to purses and and breeding the the the directive is clear that it's based on on what the industry is doing but it's not surprising that the health and safety needs would be much greater when it comes to that small percentage but a significant one in terms of people's livelihoods on on the still very almost inactive thoroughbred industry again with exceptions that we all know well but i'm i'm happy and persuaded of course that all the work that was done resulted in in what appears a very intuitive solid recommendation for sure brian mr stevens questions for commissioner cameron general counsel grossman and alex doctor like that no no i think it all makes intuitive sense as they said i think i think they put a lot of thought into how to split it up it makes sense to me yeah madam chair makes sense to me i had the opportunity to to watch the the racing committee meeting virtually like we all did and and appreciate the great back and forth and give each industry the you know credit for raising the issues that are important and backing it up with good data and good information so thanks to commissioner cameron for all her good work yeah thank you commissioner cameron and thank you for the very thorough report today i'm all sat i feel as though we flipped this carefully and i just i'm very appreciative of the horse racing committee doing its work it's my understanding it's a recommendation taw that comes to us we even if we if we had any suggested changes we really would not be able to make those suggestions now it would be a vote to approve or out send back is that fair characterization of the process that's right that's the way i read the statute absolutely okay so given that um and hearing that everybody feels really um sufficiently briefed and satisfied and and impressed by the the overall process and thoughtfulness so far do we have a motion on this matter or further discussion madam chair i'd move that the commission approved the recommendations submitted by the horse racing committee in accordance with general law chapter 23 k section 60 as follows 80 percent of the distributions from the racehorse development fund for purses for live races shall be split 70 percent to standard bread and 30 percent to thoroughbred 16 percent of the distributions for breeding program shall be split 70 percent to standard bread and 30 percent to thoroughbred and four percent of the distributions for health and pension benefits shall be split 40 percent to standard bread and 60 percent to have a second second thank you commissioner any further questions last minute thoughts on this commissioner cameron okay i i okay commissioner zuniga i commissioner stephens hi and i vote yes thank you and thank you for all the good work five zero dr lightbound thank you so so much can i guess you get to continue now um on item number five c please this item is the plan rich park request for premium free period from june 14th to september 5th of 2020 this is in accordance with mass general law 128 c section 2 number 4 and it's basically a standard operating procedure for the uh anyone has any questions does anybody have any questions on the lot south for general council grossman you've seen the director of tools request you're all familiar with this process i believe no questions okay i have a motion yeah madame chair i move that the commission approved the request of plan rich park casino for premium free period of sunday june 14th through september 5th 2020 in accordance with general law 128c 2 4 i second that thank you commissioner okay barring any further questions or edits on this piece commissioner cameron i commissioner brian hi commissioner sunica hi and commissioner stephens hi and i vote yes excellent thank you and then we have derby day item number 5d oh and there's director otul good morning thank you doctor oh yes good morning good morning and uh dr like that if you want to continue please thanks so this item is um plan of park casino's request to use the handheld wagering devices also known as walkabouts on derby day um as a way to handle um increased demand um for wagering opportunities with the covid um that we're dealing with right now um on derby day there's a um high interest from um maybe what you call the casual better they may not um bet often enough to have an account wagering um account and um but they do have excitement over the derby and want to um maybe come in get a ticket and then go home and watch it on tv um so this was a way of um keeping these folks from having to go into the casino and having interaction um but allowing them to bet so um the company that would be supplying these handheld devices is sport tech which um is already licensed by the gaming commission on the gaming side um and um these devices are used you know in places like kentucky ohio uh prairie york minnesota um speaking with brian rogers the eastern field service manager uh for sport tech he says they're used all over the united states and in europe um these um handheld machines can um print take a bed in um print the ticket out um they can also cash tickets um or cancel them just like um a machine in the building could but these are wi-fi enabled so they can be put where wherever you want them um today on the call we have steve otul director of racing uh lisa mckinney the compliance manager and greg demarco the pandemic safety advisor um so they can answer um questions the commission may have and um now i'll turn it over to steve otul to describe the program in more detail morning thank you alex uh first i'd like to congratulate todd uh being named general counsel i've worked with todd since the commission was formed and uh he's become well aware and and for very well versed in the racing laws which he understands are convoluted at times and very confusing so uh he's been very helpful over the past few years for us so congratulations todd thank you steve and i remember steve otul used to be one of the people sitting in the way back of the room before there were any licenses or anything like that i wonder who he was and now it's a long way so thank you steve um thanks commission for hearing this request um traditionally on kentucky derby uh the uh the race is held on the first saturday in may and um it's it's usually a very hyped up event um everybody wants to get out of the house early spring and baseball season has just started so it's kind of a kind of a bookmark for a lot of people especially as as alex mentioned the casual customer and what happens here at plane ridge as well i'm sure as with the other outlets is that we have an influx of interest on that particular day uh for a number of reasons and what a lot of people like to do is come and make their bets and go home and watch the races on nbc sports on mbc tv now on that particular day there is also a lot of great steak races which have the interest of some of the casual fans but a lot of the racing enthusiasts so so not only is the derby a drop but also also that and that's evidenced by nbc mbc sports picking up their broadcast at three o'clock and then switching over to the national mbc broadcast around six o'clock to cover the derby the derby specific so um what what happens here is the place gets pretty crowded and in just the layman's terms terms uh we're usually at capacity to help the entire day on all levels and uh but what a lot of it is is a lot of foot traffic a lot of people come in make their bets go home and watch watch the races especially with the afternoon coverage of all the great steak races so in order to try to accomplish this with the covid situation this year we thought that a drive-through and walk-up windows would keep people out of the building keep melting the fresh air and be able to handle that as well as keeping the inside building to more of our seasoned customers that are here all the time and want to be in the building to watch the full card of simulcasting from church and other racetracks um there are four major days in racing as far as we're concerned it's it kicks off with the derby and then there's the breeder's cup on the thoroughbred side there's a little brown jug in the gambletonian on the standard bread side and then of course here in massachusetts we've thrown up fifth big day of the spirit of massachusetts and what we did on that particular day was we limited uh through ticket sales uh the occupancy and we we uh we offered 300 tickets that day and we kept the crowd under 300 for the uh space downstairs uh we intend to do that the same uh the same thing for uh the derby and we would never by doing that i don't think we would ever hit anywhere near the 300 because the the a lot it's an eight hour day the racing starts at 10 30 i believe in the morning uh we open up at 10 in the morning and it goes through till seven eight o'clock at night so it's a it's a long day so we would have our afternoon customers that would look for the come in and look look at the graded races and then we have the later ones that want to be here for the derby so uh i don't think we'd ever even come close to the 300 ballot one time especially we limit it with the tickets um so we what we're proposing is to have two drive-thrus with what's called walkabouts and a walkabout is just simply a um you know the the tele machines downstairs could be like a like a rotary dial telephone and the walkabout is like an iPhone so uh this is the um this is the walkabout and it goes on the teller's wrist like that um it goes on the teller's teller's wrist so they have it just like that and then they turn and then so it's just a very simple very large iPhone looking piece and then this is the printer that goes over the shoulder of the teller and it kind of lands around the hip and so when the when they hit the print for the for the ticket the ticket is there and you know obviously in the drive-thru they'll accept the cash first then rip off the wagers and give them to the to the patrons uh we have uh Greg and Lisa if they wanted to talk about the measures for uh to protect the protocols the COVID protocols uh but they will have the uh plexiglass shields masks the drive-thru and the walkups will have the plexiglass on the walkups we probably won't use the uh walkabouts because we do have data lines into the uh food court area that we have outside and we'll just transform that uh those data lines will take the regular machine so we'll probably just use the regular machines there we're not going to use walkabouts there but we're really not asking for um the approval of the specific device because the device fits all the it fits all the regulations it's just a different form of a of a teller machine uh you know we're looking for the approval obviously to accept the wagers outside the building to keep in this atmosphere to you know be able to you know have some business uh that we might not get if we only restricted to 300 people in the in the building to that day disappoint some people that were committed and have tickets that didn't realize uh that it was going to be a ticketed event but we can still accommodate them because it is a day when people walk in the front door don't look at a simulcast screen just have their bets for the derby or the other graded races and go home and watch them on tv so um it will be a different derby this year and when i explained about it being spring time and the first saturday in may people like to get out i mean it's more of a party atmosphere here on derby day so we're not expecting that especially this year where now it's not even the first leg of the triple crown it's in run on September and people don't seem to be wanting to go out as much as they used to either so you know we usually handle anywhere from 700 thousand dollars to a million dollars on derby day um we don't expect to come anywhere close to that this year uh if we did a quarter of a million to 300 thousand i think would be ecstatic so um but we're just looking for a way to accommodate people to come in that want to make a bet and that we could um and that we could accommodate them if i could just like start with just two clarifications one a little bit of a funny one steve the party atmosphere um probably will be something that we we we are sad that we can't really help you with that this year but with respect to the proposal that you're making which is the drive up as well as i understand basically you're going to have standing kiosks that folks would could walk in and and place their their bets almost like an atm machine or a kiosk um the uh the reason why they they need to place the bets come to the premises is because while many of your traditional loyal um betters do have the proper account that actually allows for mobile betting in massachusetts most of the casual do not but i just want to remind the public and and all of us that there is mobile betting allowed um from your home if you set up the established account correct and and and for horse racing and and that's been around for a long long time and so in this case you expect a crowd usually it is a party atmosphere usually we have a pandemic and you're trying to accommodate those who want to enjoy the the um experience of betting on derby while watching from their home they actually have to come to the premises to place their bet so okay so those are just to to lay the land um i'm sure there are many questions that we all have here this is a this is a new event and hopefully it could well be just a one-time event we're not expecting it for the future uh doesn't mean it couldn't happen before we just continue Todd are there any legal requirements relevant to this discussion thank you madam chair well there are a couple of legal issues that we looked at and i'd be happy to walk through those now just to get them on the table the first question given that this is an atypical request was just whether the wagering devices can actually be positioned in the places they were being requested so we wanted to look at what what body of law governs that and it turns out that it's governed by chapter 128a section 5 paragraph a and i think it's it's worth before i get into that just a quick pause to point out that this issue is not governed by chapter 23k which allows for gaming to be conducted in the gaming establishment the parking lot area is not part of the gaming establishment so there's been some question as to whether you could do this type of thing at all but in my opinion this is racing this is i mean that's not my opinion this is racing and so it's not gaming there is a distinction between gaming activities and racing activities racing is clearly governed by chapter 128a and there is a specific body of law that addresses where wagering machines can be placed and as i said that section 5a so the the statute provides that before holding or conducting a racing meeting every licensee shall provide a place or places equipped as here and after provided in the statute on the grounds where such meeting is held or conducted or adjacent there too but not elsewhere at which the licensee shall conduct and supervise the paramutual wagering essentially so the requested positioning of these devices is clearly on the grounds where the racing meeting is being conducted so i don't see any issue under the statute with placing the machines where they've been proposed as i understand the proposal there was a second issue that came up though that we did take a look at and that is the type of machines themselves and section 5a also addresses that that language says that essentially the place or places where they put the machines has to be equipped with automatic betting machines capable of accurate and speedy determination of awards or dividends to winning patrons and all such awards or dividends shall be calculated by a totalisator is that how you pronounce it machine or like machine sure steve can pronounce it better than that but anyway we've we've been advised by ppc mistro tool just mentioned that and i think as alex mentioned through the manufacturer itself that these devices do have the capabilities required by statute even if they won't be fully employed for these purposes if that is if payouts won't actually be made in the parking lot and given that they appear to me to comply with the statute so with those two pieces in mind it seems as though this proposal is in conformance with section 5 paragraph a of chapter 120 questions on the overall plan yes i have a question perhaps steve can answer just just the usual teller environment a patron walks up to to the teller and there's all kinds of information like the odds for one for one horse or another that even the the occasional that better might find useful well how is that gonna work in this in general somebody who will be forwarded to the to the to the outside booth if you will so the tellers where they're taking the vets they will have what are called profile sheets for each track and each race which is very very ordinary it's kind of like the newspaper entries and results just the entries the jockey and the morning line odds and whenever you're doing advanced wagering like that you're subject to the the odds at the time that the gate swings open so if you're betting in the derby at three o'clock you're subject to the the the odds at post time not the odds at three o'clock and they swing around the whole the whole day they stay pretty close to the morning line odds especially on the on the race like kentucky derby and the graded stakes races because the the track selections and the morning line odds are pretty hold true throughout the card i mean they vary but they hold true throughout throughout the race day so um and the casual better doesn't care um if uh if zuniga is in the race you're gonna come here and you're going to bet on zuniga right so that's that's what these casual betters um are more apt to do that a lot of them don't even care about the odds they want to have the bragging rights back at home that you know grandpa picked the winner and the young and the young grandson did stuff like that um that's what we find and we find actually educating a lot of the betters when they when they come in too you know they they they want to bet on the derby but they're not sure that some of the language they understand win place show but not you know exact as super factors and things like that so um but we'll have that we'll have the morning line odds we'll have the profile sheets so if they want if they want to look at entries and stuff like that we can get that to them um and we do that on a regular basis actually all the time here at playing rich for anybody who needs to just make you know learn how to bet okay um and also um you know in general a car will approach you know the open parking area i suppose somebody will be there to try to ascertain whether they're there for just a drive-through or whether they have a ticket and direct them accordingly is that is that a fair statement yeah we have kind of a we're not using the valet lot now valet parking has been suspended so we're using the valet lot for for that so we have a a swing around where we can take a substantial amount of cars and queue them in line to to participate in this in this type of unique type of wagering um greg might be able to answer more about how that traffic is going to flow but we you know through signage and directing them to that lot um they'll be pretty uh they'll be pretty pretty evident of how they get in line and get queued up for that and we will have i believe greg has provided for uh officer out there to be directing traffic perhaps before we go into the details of the transportation we should probably adjust um covid-19 compliance in terms of i understand that you'll have the folks who are taking the bets have proper uh face masks and face protection what will you be um what will be your communication to the actual uh better when they drive up will they be needing to be masked how are you going to communicate the um expectations of your patrons again through signage and we'll also we're also going to have a supervisor and a plainboat police officer out there in the parking lot as well to prepare the customers as they as they get closer and uh i think i meant i'm not sure if i mentioned signage but signage of course while they're in line to prepare them for you know what's coming up so our supervisors and the plainboat police officer will be there kind of monitor the whole situation so these activities are also outside and so um loretta we haven't talked about that but as they're coming in and q commissioners would we expect them to keep their masks on despite the fact that they'll be outside in the q to bet at the kiosks is that fair steve they'll be in outside space i imagine that would be just like entering the casino where people line up to enter the casino and get the and come through a line we would ask them to be six feet apart and and conform with all with the mask on conform with all the rules that we have for that line set up as well and if it if it goes into the outside space they'll keep their masks on they'll be in yeah it's it the where we have the walk-ups is it's it's it's just a it's a small building and there's a gate coming in and there's a gate going out so just you know right around the building there'll be two tellers this we'll keep them moving and so they'll be in they'll be in a line there but it'll be a moving line they'll be outside they don't come inside at all that's that's what i thought so um commission camera and i think you're nodding but you understand what i'm saying it's a little bit different because of outside i do and i and i do think it's important as as they do now to to have the mask and six feet apart and and it sounds like there's going to be someone there to remind people as well as signs to inform them of what the process is i think that's what i'm hearing yeah i'm familiar with where they're doing this i'm trying to think about it so it's it's not and i have seen this work in other jurisdictions um you know the the outdoor um you know the walkabout so i i can visualize because i've seen it and they actually sorry to interject um they actually just did this at the meadowlands for the hamiltonian day um they had uh they had these the walkabouts in the parking lot they didn't do drive through like we're proposing they didn't walk up with the walkabouts in the in the parking lots there uh to keep people outside the building commissioners questions for director otul and dr lightbound um are we restricting it somewhat to the covet and sort of the just the basic mechanics of the vetting because i do have questions about um the comment that was made about even having done this outside they didn't do driving and that adds a whole other element to this in terms of security and that sort of thing um and i i know dr lightbound i have had some conversations about it i've had some conversations with ivy um so i would like at some point to have a conversation about the forum under which we can really fully that part of this but in terms of what we've talked about right now um in covid in particular i do think that instructing the patrons to have the mask on in the car also because it would seem to me you're not going to be able to do six feet necessarily while you're engaging um ppc employee who's taking it so i do think in terms of requirements and then notice to the patrons that even though they may feel like they're in a car and they can crack the window or something i do think that fairness to the person standing there taking the vet with the walkabout that the patron should um keep the mask on in that circumstance also to be just cautious so let's just put the security question because i think probably all of us are thinking about exactly the the the transactions that are taking place we'll just park that to the side and just concentrate the covid right the second um so we're hearing masks in the car masks in the queues whether they're inside or outside in maintaining social distance the actual the folks who do stay um and i know that even you you are going to be providing the tickets and you're imagining steve that it will never um the number won't creep up to three hundred the the uh loretta i know that we've talked about this in terms of the number for safe occupancy for spectators or simulcasters in this case um is there a magic to three hundred is there a formula that supports that let's just say steve you know it's a great day everybody is completely in compliance with their masks but at a certain point you do creep up to that three hundred are you able to maintain the social distancing that you need to accomplish to to make sure that people can enjoy themselves but be safe loretta sorry so it's my understanding that the 300 the tickets to be distributed for the 300 are for entry uh into the indoor and the apron area to enjoy uh the event uh the outdoor apron area is now a standing room only uh area uh standing area uh that's not the right language standing room only uh implicates that it's um you know very compressed standing it is an area where there are no seats any longer there had been a total of i think 54 seats that uh those seats have been cordoned off now so the apron area is a standing area only now and the 300 uh number uh would be distributed between that apron area and the indoor simulcast area uh by uh all calculations enforcing the six foot distancing for groups not traveling together would be uh eminently doable between those two areas at the 300 uh number and uh the additional measures of masks uh would apply and beverage limitations to the indoor area only because beverages are limited to seating uh areas only and there is no seating in the outdoor uh area now um also mindful we talked earlier about the the party atmosphere uh being minimized because of beverages and limitations on occupancy numbers uh but also mindful that spectators enjoying this event um can be differentiated uh from the behavior of uh party goers at your you know typical social gathering you would not expect the type of social interaction between guests who are not traveling together that you would uh at a uh at a party for instance uh attention is typically drawn to the either live or um or to the live event or to the screens so in terms of that 300 number before between the indoor and outdoor areas and with the six foot distancing the masks the limits on uh beverages the overall enhanced sanitation and availability of uh hand sanitizers as well as the experience with the recent um spirit of massachusetts event which also was a ticketed event 300 tickets were made available 250 attended uh is my understanding um the measures uh do appear to be uh enforceable at the upcoming uh september fifth event very helpful further questions just on that um i have i had conversations with libretta lilyos about that topic also and um i do believe my memory from the spirit of massachusetts is they also had a detail officer there to assist in terms of the capacity and the distancing etc i'm just looking for confirmation that that's the same intention for this weekend we have a detail officer for every live uh racing day so this particular day we're putting on an additional officer to assist with the uh drive-through so we'll still have we'll still have the officer in the building so the officer in the building for the racing and the open apron area and then one over in terms of traffic direction outside correct and if i can make a comment for security and for this for plain ridge uh we have met with local first responders on august 21st went over our detailed traffic plan in the setup for these two locations if approved we will have all the security management and security officers uh working in that area outside and racing and levels of all plain ridge uh management throughout the facility as well uh one enforcing COVID-19 protocols and helping with any customer service uh inquiries do we have um other questions that are COVID-19 relevant you know related to the yeah thank you madam chair um and steve i think you touched on this earlier about you know again i love advanced communication plans so everybody has an expectation of what's going to happen when they show up probably similar to indoor bedding or typical bedding i go up to somebody with a walkabout i make my wager is there uh an effort on the part of the person taking the wager to say check your ticket before you drive away just so that doesn't cause or create any kind of confusion um i know myself trying to order through double d drive-through sometimes i wind up with my order sometimes i don't depending on whether i have my mask up but um can you talk about that uh just a little bit to make sure we're not causing any more confusion out on the uh in the queue as people are coming up to me for beds sure that's a that's a actually a great point uh commissioner um one of the one of the hurdles on a day like that is the you know the the casual gambler on on racing is in first and all the language so there's an there's always an added effort on that particular day and other days like that where there's high volume with inexperienced gamblers on racing to check your ticket you sure that's what you want um a lot of different questions like that by our tellers because they they don't like to make mistakes and uh when and they take they take a little bit extra effort in that day because they realize uh exactly what they're dealing with our tellers uh know the experience better as that stand in line and they know that they know all the risks uh of gambling but when they see unfamiliar faces even on a even on a normal day they'll they'll make sure and we have we do have signage and we'll have signage for uh check your tickets before before departing because that is that is the case in racing once you walk away with your ticket it's yours and for obvious reasons you can't come back after the races so i'm gonna say i really want it so then you get to win uh step it's i want to know if there's a horse name like that and i would like to add to uh we will be working with our marketing department for advanced communication for as our traffic plan our COVID-19 protocols in any race in other details so we will have that out sent out with our marketing department here soon once we get the approval and i'm assuming greg and steve in addition to a mask and a shield and any plexiglass that you know they also have gloves to be able to you know it's accepting cash from from the drivers they go about their work but i'm assuming that's already included just as i've been discussed yes all of the sand and sanitizers the gloves the obviously outside the shields as well as the face mask okay thank you so in terms of the um COVID-19 related matters um i i would make the suggestion to steve that you just work closely with um our um with Loretta Lios and team to just make sure that you know the standards that are incorporated that we've already gone over and adopted are being met and that we're anticipating if we haven't mentioned it today because this is a new plan to us that we um if we need to actually do anything formal we could always reconvene but that you could work with her to make sure that the intent of our standards adopted for racing are also being applied here and for simulcasting and to the extent that it implicates the casino at all we have to make sure we're consistent with those too absolutely yeah i think if we could just agree to make sure you collaborate closely with does that make sense around at least with COVID absolutely and steve and i have been uh in touch and uh i met him on site a couple weeks ago uh down in Plainridge so uh we can coordinate and collaborate on the measures for the event on the fifth okay all right now in terms of security uh it's a couple of a couple of outstanding issues i would think that we want to make sure we don't leave without addressing uh security and also just the gaming integrity um we've mentioned the statutory requirement with respect to the equipment um i think you know given what i've heard there should be no problem um with that but i think it would make it's a good a best practice to have that reflected in writing um tod that should not be um problematic i don't think in terms of the that the company has seen the statutory requirements i suspect they uh they were sent over but we can we'll circle back to make sure they're very clear on that point okay and then in terms of um any other gaming integrity issues um i and security issues i think that there um it becomes of course problematic to discuss security issues in public i believe that there may be some relief that we can get from um the open through the open meeting law with respect to an executive session if we feel a need to address security and security strategies for this particular event more privately karen um and tod i'm not sure i want to offer i want to make sure we can offer something to the commissioners that's that's uh truly available yes and tod and i were in touch last night and this morning on that and there is an exception under the open meeting law for public safety and security and this this would fall into that exception do you agree with that tod that's right it's uh so it's chapter 30a section 21 which talks about executive sessions and outlines all the reasons why a body can go into executive section the session uh and part four says that the body can go into executive session uh to discuss the deployment of security personnel or devices or strategies with respect there too and that seems to fit squarely within what the commission is interested in talking about uh here so i do believe you can make use of the executive session provisions of the open meeting law um if that would be helpful commissioner brian you mentioned that you had some um security questions would that be helpful to you i did it would be helpful to me i think if well we can resolve integrity of the game and the request itself at the open meeting i do think that um being able to candidly have that conversation because this is a new event outside um and even in new jersey we didn't have moving vehicles etc so i do have security questions that i think it's not appropriate um to discuss it would defeat the purpose to discuss in this venue but i think if we can in short order resolve that by executive session that that would be the way to go other commissioners comment i do want to recognize that um lieutenant gibbons is on uh he's joined today so good morning um he would also be uh part of the equation i suspect uh providing um uh security as the msp representative at um mgm but uh perhaps you'd be working and being informed on this so thank you for at least joining today whether you're the part of the equation or the messenger today so thank you um other commissioners do you feel that you would like to explore these the security measures um through an executive session just so that we are quite aware of both the risks and the um the uh the plan i i would i would agree with that i think we should use the opportunity to use uh executive session if it's available to us to talk about some of those security concerns i don't think it's a long list but it's certainly one that warrants having a conversation with that information can be kept confidential commission cameron i would agree i am i actually love to talk about security plans so i i i would uh welcome the opportunity as well okay and commissioner cynical uh yes you know just to complete the concern or you know the the feeling of the majority i i i do uh recognize that our staff has looked at um a lot of the details and i know understandably that we cannot necessarily go through them uh here uh i'm i'm satisfied that uh that they have things um thought through but um you know i'll go along with um with joining an executive session and i'm hearing those questions that that others may have i agree we we certainly have some background but what we haven't been able to do is hear each other's questions and i and i know that you know many of our own questions will be really helpful to hear and answer and and i know director too that your team would be able to you know keep us fully informed so in in order to go into an executive session that has to be noticed appropriately so we can take measures to notice that it will be probably treated as an emergency hearing just so that we can allow you the proper time to move forward with respect to the security issue with that said um with respect to the plan today we could um i think Karen act on the plan as presented with an exception to you know further review of the security that's correct yes and and i think and i think also some further clarification just to um make sure that we're all set with respect to the um the gaming integrity through the device so but that we can take care of that that i i don't need to make an exception would just be uh something that i would ask staff to take care of correct correct i think that's the efficient way to do it and um before we move on if we were to separate out the security uh if we were to is there anything else with respect to cover 19 we've obviously deferred also to having Lovetta work closely Lovetta and team of course work closely with with Steve anything else that you can think of with respect to this plan okay so you do need um i'm back to dr. Leibman you do um want us to take a formal action today yes that would be great i'm the uh two issues that you talked about if you're comfortable with that so with respect to um my going forward in marking up a notice for the emergency executive session do we i don't know if we need formal action on that but i have a consensus that we can for because you'd have to vote go into executive session um uh under uh the law but i can go ahead and move on that you won't be surprised all right excellent second um with respect to the the substantive request from ppc on the plan for the the derby day do i have a motion if we were to segregate security issues um that too i'm sorry michelle brian i was going to amend um madam chair i moved the commission approved the use of handheld wagering devices or walkabouts during the 2020 Kentucky derby day pursuant to compliance with the existing racing and gaming COVID restrictions and any additional COVID restrictions discussed today and further subject to IEB confirming the statutory compliance of the device and subject to approval of any security issues to be discussed um at the executive session at an executive session second okay any discussion commissioner zuniga commissioner stubborn okay okay no further questions edits then we'll we'll go ahead with the roll call vote commissioner cameron hi miss you know brian hi commissioner zuniga hi commissioner stubborn hi okay and I vote yes five zero director atool you've got some good marching orders we um um we'll be reconvening um in an executive session and uh caren and team will work with with you to see who we would like to enjoy to join that session so thank you very much Lisa thank you thank you and Lisa and greg we thank you for being here i'm sorry thank you thank you madam chair and thank the commissioners for taking the time to hear this and the staff's work it's really appreciate and Lisa and greg have done a lot of work to help me as well so i appreciate their help so thank you all thank you thank you for joining us this morning okay dr. life and are you all set we are thank you very much okay excellent excellent then we can move back to Todd's favorite subject um we're on to regulations item number six on the agenda thank you so the the first one is our certain amendments to 205 cmr 134.03 you'll recall these amendments were enacted by emergency in order to allow employees of licensee sister properties to work onsite during the reopening period on a temporary and limited basis provided proper notices are provided to the commission these amendments were to an already existing scheme that was put in place to allow for such employment during the initial opening of the casino and if the amendments really just allow those to also take place during the reopening of a casino to address the pandemic situation we find ourselves in so as i said these have been in effect by emergency they have gone through the promulgation process there was a public hearing conducted this morning overseen by commissioner stephens as he described earlier um and we have um an amended a small business impact statement before you and they are teed up for final adoption if you are so in call commissioner stephens any comments this morning on this particular rag no as uh as i pointed out before we had the the public hearing there were no comments but i think as counselor counselor general counsel grossman pointed out this was part of the rags teed up for the opening none of us ever expected to have suspension of operations but we saw licensees needing to bring in some back in some key team members to help with the reopening after the suspension and keep in mind that most of those folks are upper-level management and are already licensed or likely approved registrants in another gaming jurisdiction so um i think it's it's a helpful tweak to the the regulations hopefully we won't have to go through it again uh but it it certainly gives our licensees some great flexibility to get some key team members in for some of the critical steps that needed to take place before they could reopen so i think it's very smart and it's great to incorporate it finally so back to general counsel grossman so we'd be uh seeking two votes here today one for the amended small business impact statement and one for the vote to finalize the promulgation process any questions for taw sorry okay go ahead commissioner stevens sure madam chair and move that the commission approved the amended small business impact statement for 205 cmr 134.03 gaming service employees as included in the commissioner's packet second thank you commissioner okay um we'll call commissioner karen hi commissioner brian hi commissioner zeneca hi commissioner stevens hi my vote yes five zero shara thank you uh madam chair i'd further move the commission adopt the version of 205 cmr 134.03 gaming service employees as included in the commissioner's packet and authorize the staff to take all necessary steps to finalize the regulation promulgation process do i have a second commissioner brian okay thank you um any further questions okay commissioner of karen hi commissioner brian hi commissioner zeneca hi commissioner stevens hi all right vote yes five zero thank you moving on to six b so these are um amendments to 205 cmr 138.72 i'd like to turn this part of the presentation over to attorney teresy who is joined us by a video for the presentation yes hi thank you general counsel grossman and good afternoon madam chair and commissioners you have in your packet a draft of 205 cmr 138.73 this regulation requires the gaming licensees to have a system of internal controls that includes policies and procedures relative to ensuring a workplace free from unlawful discrimination harassment and retaliation this regulation came before the commission on june 4th and at that time you voted to begin the promulgation process there was a public hearing held this morning to receive comments as you've discussed already that was presided over by commissioner seven and we did not receive any comments at that time we did however receive comments from mgm prior to during this morning and you have a red line in your packet that reflects those comments so i want to be clear that the red line the changes in the in the draft in your packet are not proposals from the legal department those are the comments that we received from mgm i incorporated them into the draft so that you could see how they would look in the document and have an opportunity to discuss them today so there are two changes that you'll see in section one and four f that are really just clerical changes that mgm proposed there are there are however two comments in section 4d and 4g that are more effective so the comment in section 4d that removes language that would require an explanation when the licensee identifies certain allegations as not having been investigated or resolved and 4g removes the requirements that qualifications be provided for anyone who'll be discussing training on unlawful discrimination harassment or retaliation and instead requires only that their title be provided so with respect to these two substantive changes we do have some concerns so i'm going to turn it over to you yes i just kind of i'm sorry carry i do need to clarify so the red lines that are in here right now came in from mgm when yes after the after june the first time they came before the commission so they were comments received as part of the promulgation process okay and then we have not received any further comments from the general public is that correct that's right so these are not your recommended changes this is not this is um mgm's recommended changes and not necessarily encore or ppcs that's right yeah all right um so i think commissioner o'brien uh was going to begin the discussion on what some of the concerns are with the the two more substantive changes that i identified certainly thank you attorney tracy um carry and i went over these um when they came in and we've had a discussion and i did in my view cd and g is being substantive i see sort of the other two as some sort of ministerial chains that don't subsequently change the requirements of the reg my um concern with d is my memory of why that language that they're suggesting be stricken was in there in the circumstance where you may have one or more cases that simply do not move and maybe are stale and there would be some reason we would be looking for why they're not it could be tracking an eoc matter it could be maybe tracking a grand jury something like that there might be valid reasons why a case would sit um i'm a little stumped by the request because to me that requirement almost would help them explain a lack of movement on certain cases so i i'm a little flummoxed as to why they would ask for the deletion um and then as for g um the qualifications request was in there in particular so we knew that these trainings were not simply checking a box and that it was going to be conducted by someone with expertise in the area and so i am particularly concerned about the g request and don't think it's appropriate because while the title is somewhat helpful i don't want a title thrown on someone who and then we have no idea whether they were truly qualified to give what is an important training so those are my thoughts on the proposed changes if i could add to that i i clearly remember also why we included those in our meetings with the licensees we discussed all of these items and kind of had dialogue back and forth on why these provisions were important and there was general agreement with with everyone there at the meeting that this this made sense so i my recollection is the same as yours commissioner and i agree with you that d and g should remain as originally written um there is a reason for both of those uh both of those both the qualifications and the explanation to be included and there was substantive discussion about it i don't know if anyone has any other comments or questions but my recommendation would be to not incorporate the red lines unless the ministerial ones are you know by preference and just go forward with the non red line version that we had voted on the last time but i would i'm sorry with respect to the others or is there any is there any clarification that you thought was beneficial not necessarily other than it the first request in terms of incorporating by reference might be not having to create a freestanding document although i don't know i believe attorney trici asked for some further clarification on that um uh and i don't believe you got any carry maybe i'm wrong the last time we spoke you hadn't gotten further clarification on that i haven't know well the the first ones it's an or so it's you know it i don't think it hurts you know on number one in terms of incorporating that what appears to be very minor as long as it's accessible my fear is that it's not a i don't want to be a document that's at headquarters that's then a trouble to find for someone that was my hesitancy with that so it's not accurate okay but i we didn't get clarification on what they meant so that's why i'm hesitant to adopt it i see well the substantive ones um i i agree with your recommendation commissioner bryan that we don't adopt the the comments provided because they change what i think is ultimately um an important piece you know that actually helps them as as uh as you suggest on on d but also um that is important on in the case of of the subsection g commissioner stephens i think i interrupted you before sorry yeah no no worries uh yeah and with respect to to g um i'm assuming for the most part some of this training might be done by somebody who's outside the organization and they would easily be able to provide a list of their qualifications their resume their background especially if they were pitching any sort of training work to our licensees so i i really didn't see that as a big heavy lift um that's information that's probably readily available and and probably more helpful than just a person's title it does f offer some a little bit of clarification argue i'm agnostic on f i think karen i talked about that it it might provide some yeah it seems that the change in f is um fairly innocuous just like it's and reasonable right yeah um yeah i i think f would be uh would be appropriate to include it does clarify a little bit exactly what policy we're talking about right i'm in agreement with respect to um g and d and because i really can't get my head wrapped around um what they're they're going for and with the or clause or incorporate by reference existing corporate policies a system in term submitted by a game shall include policies or incorporate by reference existing corporate policies the fact that they didn't clarify when we asked them to yeah i'm a little yeah i'm a little lost i mean so um i would just say maybe f looks like a helpful clarifier you need to have formal action taking on this or do we need to go back to them on this what would you recommend kary no we don't need to go back um so we uh you have in your packet an amended small business impact statement um as well so we can um take action on that as well as action on the regulation and just accept the version in the packet um with the exception of the three changes that we won't be accepting or in the alternative um except the changes the version in the packet with the change only to um i believe it is commissioners yeah are we is someone ready to take action on this or do we still have some more questions i can give you a motion if unless there are questions no i'll set um madame chair i moved that the commission approved the amended small business impact statement for 205 cmr 138.72 policies and procedures for ensuring a workplace free from unlawful discrimination harassment and retaliation as included in the commissioner's packet only including the red line represented paragraph 4f second questions edits okay commissioner cameron aye commissioner brian aye commissioner simica aye commissioner stephens aye i vote yes five zero sharp um madame chair i further moved that the commission adopt the version of 205 cmr 138.72 policies and procedures for ensuring a workplace free from unlawful discrimination harassment and retaliation as included in the commissioner's packet um only including the red lines represented in 4f and authorize the staff to take all steps necessary to finalize the regulation promulgation process second any further questions i'll set commissioner cameron aye commissioner o brian aye commissioner zunica aye mr stephens aye i vote yes five zero thank you thank you thank you kerry yeah and kerry noted it was good afternoon we are moving into the um the afternoon hours um our next item is number seven back to you karen for the compliance items update yes so i think this is part of an ongoing discussion you know compliance is is uh overall is central to our function as a regulatory agency and we have many components of that throughout our operation so i think it makes sense for an ongoing discussion uh but i thought it would be helpful to give sort of that broad overview of things we've got going on with compliance across the agency you know and i am certainly open to any feedback suggestions it's you know it's a core part of our function so uh any kind of uh information or best practices on any areas of compliance would certainly make us a better agency so for purposes of the update this afternoon i'll group them into two buckets so i'll talk about external compliance and our external compliance functions and our internal compliance functions so these are just examples of things we do throughout the agency with respect to external compliance a major component is our gaming agents division so these are our individuals that serve as on-site compliance officers and they have a focus on compliance with casino internal controls as well as other things you saw earlier today they did a ton of work with respect to the party at the at the uncle boston harbor but a lot of their work deals with internal controls with the cage with the dealers and how they deal their cards you know all sorts of gaming integrity operations and operations that ensure safety and security at the at the property as well as public confidence in the integrity of the games at the casinos so that's a huge component and as i mentioned it is a 24-7 operation so we are constantly doing external compliance all day every day while these casinos are open a sort of a part or subset of that is through our it technical compliance group the it department you know ensuring technical compliance of the electronic gaming machines with established standards so you know that whole team working to make sure that the public can have confidence that when they put money into a slot machine at one of the casinos that the odds are fair and they're in compliance with the regulations and with appropriate standards in addition we've got for example Joe Delaney working with the licensee these and their license conditions and their commitments to the not only the states the state but individual community so their host community agreements their surrounding community agreements there's compliance with respect to that we also have Jill working with compliance with respect to diversity and workforce development and suppliers and keeping track of that we have Derek and Paul they work on the casino audit so the annual audit required at the casinos they do work with Eve Bailey on that whole process and there's there's a lot of work that goes into that and a lot of thought every year on all those operations and overall our legal department is supporting all of this so given that we are a regulatory agency obviously we deal with compliance on a regular basis for external parties as far as internal compliance we have for years we have had a risk assessment process within the agency through that process we identify risks in each department and identify remedial measures to mitigate those risks so we have an internal audit and compliance working group and we have Commissioner Zaniga works on that as well as Commissioner O'Brien and the number of our top-level staff currently that we're working on the charter and the scope of responsibility and what what is that group doing but for years they've been going over these identified risks to talk about them and see you know what should we be doing and how can we make things better at the agency other internal components of compliance include our CIO security protection of information our CFO policies and procedures to ensure compliance with state requirements and best practices best practices to protect funds anytime you're dealing with money there always has to be protections and procedures in place HR department protection of confidential and protective information we're subject to the state auditor's office you know we have been audited and we can be audited by the state auditor's office at their discretion in another meeting I also identified and discussed a little bit the internal control plan that we have and the internal control questionnaire the annual one that we have filled out so we're doing a lot of these things on an internal basis as well one of the next steps we're talking about is what is the best way to test internal compliance so we're having discussion on that doing research for example what is the law and the best practices and you're an internal control officer how do we want to do that how do we want to make sure that we're doing what we need to be doing and I think as an agency being open to being tested to being checked to having each other look at things is a healthy environment so that we can be open and available to making changes if necessary you don't have to be the agency that does things just because that's how we always did it if there are better options or ways that things can be improved it's helpful for the agency to have that mindset so I just wanted to give an overview I don't know any commissioners have any questions comments thoughts on compliance anything they'd like me to be doing is the interim executive director anything I can direct towards the staff but this is an ongoing issue and to be a premier agency and to do things well compliance both internal and external has to be part of that conversation so I'm certainly open to any suggestions any direction from the commission and how you'd like to move this forward and and further discussion any other further topics how we want to discuss this going forward I'd be welcome in to any suggestions in that area thank you Karen this is a really a helpful start to planning that has been going on and then perhaps formalizing the plan so that we would be able to to move and be able to be strategic going forward commissioner Zuniga and commissioner Brian you both have been involved in in the the regular working group commissioner Zuniga yeah thank you just to I think that's a great overview that Karen provides the central idea I think is one that deserves more highlighting not that she didn't do a good job highlighting it but is that the work is ongoing we have this working group that has developed a lot of you know a monthly meeting to thinking about what areas need to be assessed what a calendar that we have in terms of our own compliance a risk assessment that's that's done annually and other things as well so I think we are in the process of of establishing a what we're calling a charter documenting a charter as to what are the roles and responsibilities of that group who is part of that group we always assume that we will be coming to this commission to update on those those efforts because it's important to at a minimum at a summary level for the rest of the commissioners not just those that participated that group to understand some of those details and as Karen alluded to this is something that we plan on reporting back on a regular basis one particular aspect that I just want to put out there as something we ought to think about for you know for a future meeting is one of the roles of that are a best practice of the comptroller and that is a designation of the internal controls officer it was if I if I may just provide a brief sort of history of that because it's because it's a a guideline from a comptroller the the finance department is usually the one following a lot of the guidelines that the comptroller's puts out and in this particular case our history with that role has fallen on the finance department just in terms of complying with with making the risk assessment that somebody going to each of the directors and saying what are the risks and documenting them and saying you know documenting how they're being mitigated or what becomes priority technically that is not the ideal a person somebody who's in the finance department to be doing to be acting in that role so one of the things that I want to come back to this commission with is eventually decide on and designate somebody and there will be pros and cons as to depending on what that where that person sets for that role that's one of the things that I was hoping that we would discuss you know sooner rather than later it is really not critical really in terms of timing that is something that we need to think about for at a minimum when we do the next internal risk assessment but it's something that was highlighted recently and something that we need to think about and is this designated that role is designated by the head of the agency and because a lot of us are the head of the agency we need to think about what when and how that designation is eventually well with respect to the head of the agency I think that that's been clarified with respect to the internal you're talking about the internal control officer right now correct yes yeah the internal control officer and this is a controller guideline is designated by the head of the agency we could make an argument and I think we should consult with the controller on this on this matter as to whether that guideline fits squarely with our own structure we are an atypical agency in the sense of we have a five-member full-time commission and you know a lot of that guideline is really thought of for agencies with one secretary or one commissioner and that person in many most instances designates the internal control officer but I don't want to necessarily talk too much about that position that's one thing that I think we need to talk about but the report that that Karen says it's an important one that and that is that we will continue to come with updates and reports about these efforts as we continue forward yeah it's a very important exercise and so thank you Amrique for starting the conversation I think that we want to you know continue to get some good guidance from the outside I do think as much as that there are two commissioners involved in the compliance discussion a compliance is something one that belongs very much as Karen has noted as part of the core mission of operations and so very much falls on to the executive directors oversight and then as a commission we do all need to be fully informed on ongoing basis with respect to compliance issues as they arise so well that's why the planning is so important and these are good initial steps so thank you and you've been doing a lot of work that just needs to be now trans translated to to all five of us so thank you commissioner brian you've also been involved in those discussions I don't know if you want to add in at this point I'd know other than to say that we're at a transition point and I know we all joke that there's no such thing as steady state but there was one main focus there was an element of compliance in terms of licensing and that and construction we are in a different phase with all but one region at this point and so we as an agency also have to take a look at what that means going forward and that is part of the discussion that we have in the group in terms of what's this going to look like in terms of audit and compliance functions for the office going forward and it we need to it's a good time to assess given the fact that we have shifted to the three functioning casinos I'll be at a strange time because we're not under the new normal um but it is a it's a back drop to everything that Karen and Enrique have spoken about questions push a camera and push your step ins no questions thank you for the thoughtful explanation and meet on the bones with what what the group is doing I echo that good work excellent so we'll just stay tuned for the and make sure that we have an appropriate amount of time in preparation to to make it a meaningful discussion make sure that all of us are kind of prized as to the um the subject matter excellent thank you thank you sure Zunica um if you have if we you know short on time but I think our report is relatively straightforward you want to start yes are we on the item number eight number eight yes on the executive director um search update yeah um and um let me just start by by noting that we conducted a two surveys you might remember of of the staff and directors uh relative to um attributes qualities priorities um for the agency but also in the context of the executive director um search uh and in particular our interim executive director uh Karen um we distributed that you know HR has distributed that um the results of those surveys to commissioners uh only you should have received those um I will only uh note that it's perhaps not surprising that there is great feedback uh and and really all together positive of Karen um and we come here uh today to figure out essentially next steps what we had talked about in our efforts most recently was that um as these two surveys would inform would help us inform the next steps on on designating uh permanent executive director and uh we have I suppose a couple of options and that's what I want to bring up uh today whether we decide on on one option or another today that may be a different matter but I wanted to put together to put forward the the notion of uh exactly how to continue the process so um you might recall that early on we um we thought that a third company an outside company was going to help us do these surveys we've done that internally too in my opinion great success and that those surveys would inform a process for determining that uh that next step so we could take these these surveys share them with Karen eventually we haven't done that yet and then after doing that uh figure out a future meeting a public meeting that we come five commissioners and and Karen and have a discussion not unlike an interview that we've done uh in the past that could be as an option one it could be an unstructured just free flow conversation uh in which uh like in the past each one of us asks questions outlines priorities and gives feedback as as as we see necessary and we know that uh you know Karen can you know respond um take notes and and what have you as a second option um we could have more of a structure for that type of conversation and provide something akin to an evaluation to a performance evaluation uh in writing prior to that conversation in a public meeting that would generally be around the same type of principles that I just described the notion of trying to articulate priorities trying to provide good feedback as to what we've seen and what we expect going forward as as a way to um to guide what is effectively a an interview for the permanent position this um the second option brings up um something that uh the chair has highlighted as to who would be in the role has allowed it to meet we've had a conversation we have heard about this um who would be in a position to compile and aggregate those uh those comments and um that that is something that in the past we avail ourselves of the general council to um each um each commissioner forwards um feedback answers to questions uh uh and priorities and the like and um the general council aggregates them into a document that is then made available to Karen and the public and uh and we have that that discussion that could also be done by a our outside council um in case um we saw benefit in doing that um that process that way so as a version of these or a second version of these um this type of process um would be a full evaluation um of like we've done like we did most recently when uh when we did that for for that betrothion in which we avail ourselves of the evaluation form where we answer specific questions and um and do that uh process or do that conversation in the context of evaluating Karen on the performance for the time that she's been an executive an interim executive director so um those are in general the options we have again all three have um the purpose or objective of having an open meeting open conversation one that could be a little bit more structured in the form of a formal um uh performance evaluation somewhere in the middle where it's only a document that is aggregated or something a lot more informal in terms of a free flow of conversation but all three options we have the goal of eliciting the the the discussion that outlines again priorities and feedback um and uh with with the um with the following outcome of having a discussion among commissioners um to um whether to offer the permanent position to Karen and to have discussions around compensation which is which is what would naturally follow um following terms of process so I can stop there to see if I've articulated the options uh sufficiently um or answer any questions that anybody might have questions I think I just heard an echo commissioner Cameron, pressure Stevens, pressure Brian I think the bottom line is that we um anticipate moving on this sooner than later uh we think it's in the interest of the organization so that if we do advance Karen uh she can get going on some of the more complex matters particularly with respect to the um or chart which is really something that she um would address only if in you know in the permanent or the the um the executive rather than the interim um status uh so my hope is that with the feedback that we've received through the surveys and you're um you know you've you have that now that we could um for all practical purposes now make this an interview of um the leading candidate that we've all determined to be the leading candidate and and and do it in the proper venue um because we must operate publicly with respect to the higher the executive director then the second option is san riquez outlined is should we should we formalize our thoughts in some way they're in a in in using perhaps the instrument that's been used in the past um or some version thereof um and then finally should we do actually a full assessment you know I I liken it that she came on in this role really at the beginning of the year and if we do advance her into the you know the executive director position I think we could put our full evaluation process into the cadence of end of the year and keep that cadence going forward that uh make sure to return to an annual assessment it has to be public but that that is the best practice for our executive directors and keep that going forward on a annual basis so that the executive director can expect yep it will have to be public but I um I will be assessed and um in in my role on an annual basis so you know we could do something more formal in september just won't be a full year so I'm trying my preference would be to go the full year for a more formal process but something in between I think commissioner zuniga and I debate I don't know if we're really debating that or not but um it really is the formal structure but we have three three options that we wanted to give you and you may have a fourth or fifth too can i share camera and I'm going to turn to you because I bet you've given us some thought well I'm hearing the options certainly for the first time but yes I you know certainly have thoughts about you know the performance and surveys and whatnot but I I think I agree um that we need to move this forward as quickly as possible um for a number of reasons um and I I think if we did the informal uh method now knowing that it's almost september and we will get to the formal evaluation at the end of the year that may be an appropriate way to to move now that accomplishes the goals um but knowing that the end of the year is coming quickly so to do a formal process now and do another one at the end of the year doesn't seem um it may be a step that we don't need to take at this time. Commissioner Stevens? Commissioner Browning? Commissioner Stevens? Yeah um and and I think commissioner zuniga for kind of outlining some of our different options um you know obviously this is a unique situation we found ourselves in I think all of us appreciate the great job that Karen has done not only unique to step in an interim basis but obviously confronted with everything that has been thrown at us this year um you know hearing these suggestions for the first time I'd love to find the opportunity in short order for us to have a good discussion as a group and obviously that would be in the venue of a public hearing to to talk with Karen uh to talk about you know what ideas she's had as she has settled into this role now twice uh is is uh you know what goals she would have going forward as the as the permanent executive director have that dialogue with the five of us to each of us be able to convey our concerns um and wrap that up pretty quickly with with the designation or an appointment in short order um I think madam chair to your point I would like us to get back on this regular cadence of an evaluation uh even if we did it for a short window um through the end of the year um you know I know there's probably a lot that interim director wells has on her plate that she would like to knock off before the end of the year I think that'd be a good evaluative step for us to take on her success as well as having given her some expectations through that initial conversation with the five of us as to you know what our our goals and our hope and direction for her work would be I think that would be fair um but I think your point it would put us back on that regular cadence of kind of an annual evaluation so um somewhat I guess of a combination of some of the options that commissioners are going to get laid out um a formal interview which we have done with every other executive director that we've invited to fill the position it was public it was in front of us it gave each commissioner an opportunity to talk about their priorities here from the candidate just so we don't lose that kind of tradition if we ever in fact needed it again and then kind of a quick end of the year evaluative process maybe on the last three or four months when she officially has the position to look at her work and again if she said again in that cadence of doing it every year from here on out. Commissioner O'Brien thank you Commissioner Stevin. I mean I echo what everyone has said in terms of I do think it's time to move and clearly the form of how that has to happen in terms of an open meeting in a discussion etc is obviously mandated and appropriate I think we should do that as soon as possible. I hate to throw another option out there to sort of have more choice but while I can appreciate wanting that cadence that's historically been there at the end of the year given the timing of this given the COVID timing of this given the vacancies that we have I'm not so sure another assessment three three and a half months after we have vetted her and said yes okay go ahead with your plan it's going to be particularly fruitful and it may add some level of freneticness to her trying to fill positions and things like that so it could be that the off cycle is from the appointment and that you go six months out from that to do a six month assessment at that point with the idea and then maybe there's another one three four months out from there and then you get on a cadence if it has to be December because that's by default how we've done it but my concern with doing one that quickly after sort of a vetting an interview and a plan is particularly in the COVID remote environment we're in and some of the openings we have I don't know how I'm worried that that might some of the downside to that might outweigh the benefits in terms of timing for just a couple of months difference. I guess I view it a little bit differently because in terms of the options I think Commissioner Zuniga was saying that we could really assess her and her interim status now in a more formal fashion and that could give guidance for her going forward. I thought it might make sense to actually combine her interim and then the four months that Commissioner Stevens focused on and give a given evaluation based on the context of where we are. You know the next year may may bring a completely different set of facts that we don't anticipate just like you know 2018 and 2019 brought a different set of facts that you didn't anticipate so the context of her assessment you don't know if that needs to bind us because I think everyone has to be assessed in the context of which they find themselves working. So you know we what I'm hearing is that there's you know some new choices that I had thought about just the four month based on her position as executive director I was imagining perhaps the the interview process being informal giving guidance then taking really what we had the benefit of these last eight months and then combining with the four months and then doing a real formal the more formal assessment based on the entire year and knowledge that of course it wasn't interim status and and rather than doing it so formally in September that then what do we do with the four four months. There's no magic to the year end except that she really will have been in this acting position as well as in her current director position of the IAB for eight months and then and then by the end of the year and I sort of feel we own somewhat of a formal review to ourselves and and to Karen and to the entire team and the public so that was my thinking almost a combination of the two. Mishia, I know that you know we've gone back and forth and that's where I know no I think that's that's that's fair and I'm in agreement I let me just mention that if I hear a thing where everybody there's real real agreement is desired to move to move on this you know yes she's been in an interim position for far longer than anybody I think expected so and then the question then really in that context becomes one of a vehicle what is the best vehicle to to at least that conversation and in my mind is whether we try to put together something in writing whether it's a formal evaluation or a less formal one and he's forwarded to Karen for us to then discuss it upon the meeting or if it's more informal which was my option number one in which we just come in to have a conversation with the benefit of having had and here as well the survey that I think was also very important the two surveys by the way I I don't know if I noted but we would then prior to that conversation whatever it is with something in writing or not those there's also those surveys would be forwarded to Karen she has not received them yet but again there's no surprise that there's great feedback which is well respected and I'm not you know covering anything new but there's there's also a big acknowledgement of how unique and difficult the situation is currently by operating in these environments so context will also it has also been already taken into account by everybody perhaps if we don't want to resolve this right now and maybe we do I'm going to certainly give that as an option we could use Derek and and the HR team to present these options to you in a proper arrangement so that you know you could get comfortable I just I want to make sure we can be and then I am certain we can be nimble but we don't want to have the process so further process create further delay around the vehicle that you know Enrique just mentioned we're just struggling a little bit about you know how we evaluate which probably means that we probably need to formalize that so that we don't struggle with it and that it does get done and that can be accomplished through a written policy and procedure that will inform the evaluation process going forward you know if it's in fact should be annual then we'll stick to it and we'll make sure it gets done annually Commissioner Cameron yeah I don't I don't know that we're struggling I think we just heard each other struggling was just like you know yeah no and I for one would love to make this decision now and move forward if it's possible yeah yeah struggling might have been a suggestion that just you know I mean I think we just needed to hear each other which we did and it's if we can so I was going to certainly return back if we if we can come up with I would like it to be a solid consensus you know rather than the divided vote if possible because it's such an important part of our responsibilities um Commissioner Cameron Commissioner Brian Commissioner Stabbins do you have suggested or if you want I'm not I'm not exactly clear what everybody is I think we're in many ways saying the same thing but with just a little difference in that timing maybe but again I get back to I like the idea of having kind of an informal conversation at this point with surveys to discuss and then you know certainly before we know it the end of the year we'll be here which will be a more formal process yeah based on the entire year based on the interim yeah correct Commissioner Stevens yeah I would like to see a smooth you know quickly even you know I know we're going to share the the results of the two surveys that we're done I would like to see that done as quickly as we can so maybe that our first meeting in September we're having this open conversation we all agree that she's done a great job and we want to offer her the position so we can kind of check that off as early as we can you know the evaluative process you know when when we named her interim it was really to make sure that you know the trains and trucks kept running on time I think we'd all agree that she has done that but obviously giving her the permanent position letting her lay out some of her goals and something that we can measure them by really over the remaining months of the year is important as well as just kind of folding into more of a general evaluation and recognition of their work through the first almost three quarters of the year I think is helpful again I hate to evaluate somebody when really we didn't set out goals or expectations for them I think that's tough but yeah I'd love to see our next meeting in September an interview give her time to digest the survey results and have some feedback do whatever presentation she would like to make to us and and really just kind of get that get that step done with and then you know the evaluative piece we can kind of work on over the the coming months with an eye towards looking back as well as looking ahead and maybe getting on a cadence that's a good differentiator so that at the very least we we can say maybe we're going with option one that Commissioner Zinnicka first presented and not worrying about having any kind of an evaluative piece ready for the first meeting in September and then the vehicle that we use for assessment it will need to be prepared anyway but I don't want it to linger my goal would be by year end that there would be some kind of a formal process and and and to Commissioner O'Brien's point if it becomes clear that that assessment is difficult to do given where we were we'll we'll we'll react to that when when we start preparing the the the evaluative document does that make sense Silene yeah I think that's accurate I think the way Bruce summarized it and then your description of sort of if there needs to be an audible based on an on-the-ground assessment given the circumstances then I think we need to be open to that yeah yeah okay we had to have a few audibles haven't we so I know and that that word steady state I came on and you've used it and I do not understand what that means though it's coming one day you know we're all all all the team has acted in a very steady way regardless of what the context is and that's been my experience so congratulations to the entire team and it's all its efforts during this time we kid about it but it's does not ever it really continues to amaze me and also just to go back I thank all the members of the team that did participate in the survey we did get a very good outcome and participation so that was made it meaningful and that also says a lot about how they view the the need for for leadership and how they view Karen and we appreciate that even the open questions were all very inspired but thank you so much so I think then I don't think we have to take any full vote today I think we'll proceed with I have the email ready to send to Karen with the the survey so she'll get that have some time to think and will our plan will be unless there's you know barring something that develops that it will come in the first full public commission meeting in September which I think if Mary Ann were on is September 10th perhaps so and I think that right now in through our agenda setting process that looks like a good date for this so thank you now we do have an extensive afternoon plan because we have a number of executive sessions mainly on litigation updates that really important but it involves some outside counselors and guidance Todd we are running about a good half hour later than we anticipated can you get in touch with the attorneys who are joining us today the executive session and let them know that we need to start at a later later time it is right now I'm going to round up 110 I know that we need the cameras like round up to 115 um I think that um before we actually move formally on that I just wanted to make sure we thought about the logistics how much time should we bring it all the way to two or should we shoot for 145 commissioners Zuniga what do you think commissioners Zuniga was thinking I said two o'clock she beat me to the two o'clock I um yeah I I think we might all have I think we might all have some work to do too and so that's a really helpful it's a landline just a little bit of a different space uh why don't we why don't we go to two I forgive I forgive forgive us but it's not involving the public and I am hopeful that the um the executive sessions will move along in an efficient way uh but in order to go into the executive session General Counsel Grimstone if you could help us out um I Madam Chair Madam Chair just one real quick before we adjourn with the executive session oh yes on the uh commissioner update I'm sorry yeah I I did just want to point out that while we've been meeting there's been great news on the other side of the state out in Springfield uh the governor congressman Neil MGM the folks from wind development WINM development in opal development got together for an announcement that the funding pieces are all now in place and we're publicly announced to move ahead with the renovation and development of 31 Elm Street so um great news I know it's a long way to get there but it goes to all of those folks and leaders for for getting it done and making it possible and it really was that it was very innovative and creative and it took a lot of a a lot of folks to get there but what an exciting announcement Bruce thank you um excellent news and any other I should have asked commissioners uh do you have any update no okay but commissioners Stevens thank you for that now um general counsel Gressman I want to get this right we hadn't had a chance to speak about this yesterday but I believe I have to actually read into the record each um executive session and the purpose of why we would go in and then there needs to be a real call vote for each executive session correct that's exactly right and we also want to make a declaration as to whether the public session will reconvene at the that's right and so all of this information is right on the agenda right so the public does have notice of this to the agenda but I will go through the process um we do have five executive sessions planned it was to create an efficiency of use outside counsel so thank you and it also all timely so thank you uh the commission is anticipated today to meet an executive session in accordance with GA 30a section 21 a3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining at discussion at an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the of the commission the public session of the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of the executive session I will need to take a roll call vote uh I guess we need a motion and I think so moved so moved I have a second second was that okay to say uh general counsel grossman I think that'll be okay on appeal yeah okay thank you so much um we'll take a roll call vote commissure uh Cameron aye commissure bryan aye commissure zinnega aye and commissure stevens aye okay moving on to the next item the commission is anticipated to meet an executive session in accordance with GL chapter 30a section 21 a3 to discuss strategy with respect to a matter related to wind versus wells mgc wind resorts as discussion at an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the commission the public session of the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of this executive session do I have a motion so moved second thank you we'll call vote commission to Cameron aye commissure bryan aye commissure zinnega aye and commissure stevens aye thank you moving on to the next item the commission is anticipated to meet an executive session in accordance with GL chapter 30a section 21 a3 to discuss strategy with respect to fbt ever reality llc versus mgc versus wind mass llcs discussion at an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the on the litigating position of the commission the public session of the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of the executive session do I have a motion so moved second second okay thank you we'll call vote commission to Cameron aye mission o bryan aye mission zinnega aye and commissure stevens aye you know what I'm not sure if I've been saying my own vote each time um for the record yes yes and now yes have five zero on all three of the above the commission is anticipated to meet an executive session in accordance with gl chapter 30a section 21 a3 to discuss strategy with respect to a matter related to fbt ever reality llc versus mgc versus wind mass ma I'm sorry llc as discussion at an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the commission the public session of the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of this executive session do I have a motion so moved second thank you we'll call the commissioner Cameron aye commissioner o bryan aye commission zinnega aye commissioner stevens aye I vote yes five zero um the commission is anticipated to meet an executive session in accordance with gl chapter 38 section 21 a3 to discuss strategy with respect to city of reverend mohegan's son mass chooses llc versus the mass chooses scheme commission as discussion at an open meeting may be detrimental to the litigating in um position of the commission public session of the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of this executive session do I have a motion so moved second thank you we'll call vote uh commissioner uh Cameron aye commissioner o bryan aye commission zinnega aye commissioner stevens aye and I vote yes five zero so for all all five items we will be going into executive session as explained and approved by five zero vote of all of us thank you at this time I will need a motion to um adjourn our public meeting and then we anticipate going into our executive session through a separate hd meeting connection and that will start at 2 p.m so commissioner stevens has moved to adjourn commissioner Cameron second thank you commissioner Cameron aye commissioner o bryan aye commissioner zinnega aye commissioner stevens aye and I vote yes five zero and thank you to all for um your your uh good work today appreciate it and to all those that have attended and had a good strong presence thank you so much for all the mgc team for participating in today's meeting thank you general counsel gross thank you madam chair i'll see you too thank you bye thanks everyone