The Krafts’ statement, issued via a spokesperson, began: “This legislative session, our Commonwealth missed a vital opportunity to clean up a brownfields site for an environmental justice community, robbing the city of Everett and its community of the ability to remove a dilapidated and decommissioned power plant and remediate a site contaminated over the decades and replace it with a public park, water front access, and a privately funded soccer stadium — which was just one piece of this very significant project.”
The Kraft Group thanked DiDomenico and Senate President Karen Spilka for advancing the project and their “commitment to doing the right thing for the Everett community” but said the company is “deeply disappointed that the House would not take up this legislation on its own, and that the Legislature was unable to act on major legislation at the end of this session.”
“This inaction on language that had no financial commitments from state or local government has halted the public process to determine the feasibility of this project before it could even begin and passing this legislation was strictly about allowing us to start the process of determining the viability of this project for Everett,” the Krafts added. “Massachusetts’ political landscape is one of the only places where creating opportunities in environmental justice communities and rehabilitation is dictated by the needs and bargaining of political leaders with outside influences and we had hoped for a different outcome for the citizens of Everett and environmental justice for that community.”
For the rest of the year, the Legislature only meets in informal sessions — lightly-attended meetings in which a single person can hold up a bill. There’s talk on Beacon Hill of passing a slimmed-down
economic development bill during informal sessions later this year. It’s possible the stadium bill could move that way or via a standalone bill. Generally speaking, though, legislative leaders don’t like to pass controversial or complex measures in informal sessions.
Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, House Speaker Ron Mariano indicated there may be a way to pass stadium legislation or other elements of the economic development bill in informal sessions when roll call votes are not held.
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