Mayor Walsh Speaks at Boston Olympics Community Meeting

Photo via WHDH.

The first public meeting of nine through September regarding the potential Boston 2024 Olympics was held Thursday night.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and planners for the possible Summer Olympic Games hosting heard area residents’ concerns, at the Suffolk University Law School, about issues such as financing and transportation.

The Boston Globe reported that attendees, which ranked in hundreds, included elected officials, activists, and leaders in business and the nonprofit sector.

Mayor Walsh told the assembly he would ensure that Boston would neither misspend public money nor be left with the bill on potential cost overruns.

“We’re not going to mortgage the future of the city away,” he said. “If taxpayers’ money goes into this, it would go into the infrastructure.”

Neither a non-binding or binding referendum has been scheduled as of Thursday. WHDH noted that Walsh said a binding referendum would end the process.

Public transportation concerns gained turbulence due to recent Northeast snowstorms and related MBTA delays.

Mayor Walsh says he would not use taxpayer money on the games themselves.

The International Olympic Committee won’t choose a city to host the 2024 games until 2017. Berlin, Paris and Rome are the other candidates.

Read the Boston Globe story here.

Read the WHDH story here.

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