Saturday, September 21, 2013
Casino foes continue to mobilize for Palmer vote Nov. 5
By Bradford L. Miner, CORRESPONDENT
PALMER — Among those working to keep this town casino-free, the recent West Springfield vote is being called a game-changer.
Those gathering signatures on behalf of Repeal the Casino Deal to force a November 2014 ballot vote on expanded gaming in Massachusetts also cite the defeat of Hard Rock's proposed resort casino at the Eastern States Exposition site as momentous.
State Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, said he was not surprised by the Hard Rock vote, but was taken aback by the margin of the anti-casino victory. On Sept. 10, West Springfield residents defeated the casino project by a vote of 4,165 to 3,413, or 55 percent to 45 percent. Springfield voters July 16 approved MGM Resorts International's $800 million resort casino plan for the city's South End.
Palmer will vote Nov. 5 on whether to become a host community for Mohegan Sun Massachusetts' $1 billion project on 152 hilltop acres off Thorndike Street. Kathleen Conley Norbut of Monson, a casino foe since Mohegan first expressed interest in Palmer in 2007, said the Repeal the Casino Deal initiative looks to capitalize on the David and Goliath-like fervor stemming from the West Springfield decision. Ms. Norbut said she is confident the group will have gathered well over 100,000 signatures by the November deadline.
Paul I. Brody, Mohegan Sun Massachusetts project coordinator, said the Hard Rock defeat in West Springfield hadn't changed the ongoing tactical planning ahead of the Nov. 5 vote.
"We had already mapped out and crafted a very comprehensive and aggressive campaign. We have a number of people in the field and we'll be doing polling, direct mail, speaking engagements and open houses at our Main Street headquarters," Mr. Brody said. "If there is any impact from that vote, it's a reminder you can never take anything for granted," he added.
Mr. Brody, now a familiar face in Palmer, cited "significant differences between the two communities, the projects and the proponents as reason to be optimistic.
"For us, the Nov. 5 vote is not a slam dunk. It never was and we're fully cognizant it will take a lot of work to see this through," he said.
He stated that while Hard Rock had spent less than a year in West Springfield, Mohegan Sun had been in Palmer for 5½ years and a fixture on Main Street for 3½ years.
"Mohegan had been asked to consider the Eastern States site, but it was never attractive given the project we envisioned. West Springfield was an urban location with significant transportation challenges. Beyond that, we didn't get a sense the community was all that supportive of the idea of hosting a casino," he explained.
Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard will hold three forums next month — from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 15 and 29 in the meeting room at the Town Building on Main Street — to answer questions about the host community agreement.
"These forums will be critical," Mr. Brody said, adding, "the town of Palmer is a full partner with Mohegan Sun in the host community agreement and it's important that residents be able to ask questions of a person who was at the table the entire time the agreement was being negotiated."
Mr. Smola agrees with Mohegan that traffic will be one of the key issues on voters' minds when they go to the polls in November.
"Traffic was a legitimate issue for West Springfield voters, and I think it will be the same in Palmer. I've talked to businessmen who've had questions about traffic impacts of a casino in Palmer and pointed them in the direction of Town Hall and Mohegan Sun for answers," he said.
The representative said businesses rely on the very same routes that casino customers will use to reach their destination. He said residents have repeatedly asked him about the flyover bringing traffic directly from the Mass. Pike to the casino site.
"It's been talked about for so long some people came to accept it was going to be the traffic solution. When they found out it was not a viable option, I'm sure it surprised and concerned some folks," Mr. Smola said.
Those gathering signatures on behalf of Repeal the Casino Deal to force a November 2014 ballot vote on expanded gaming in Massachusetts also cite the defeat of Hard Rock's proposed resort casino at the Eastern States Exposition site as momentous.
State Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, said he was not surprised by the Hard Rock vote, but was taken aback by the margin of the anti-casino victory. On Sept. 10, West Springfield residents defeated the casino project by a vote of 4,165 to 3,413, or 55 percent to 45 percent. Springfield voters July 16 approved MGM Resorts International's $800 million resort casino plan for the city's South End.
Palmer will vote Nov. 5 on whether to become a host community for Mohegan Sun Massachusetts' $1 billion project on 152 hilltop acres off Thorndike Street. Kathleen Conley Norbut of Monson, a casino foe since Mohegan first expressed interest in Palmer in 2007, said the Repeal the Casino Deal initiative looks to capitalize on the David and Goliath-like fervor stemming from the West Springfield decision. Ms. Norbut said she is confident the group will have gathered well over 100,000 signatures by the November deadline.
Paul I. Brody, Mohegan Sun Massachusetts project coordinator, said the Hard Rock defeat in West Springfield hadn't changed the ongoing tactical planning ahead of the Nov. 5 vote.
"We had already mapped out and crafted a very comprehensive and aggressive campaign. We have a number of people in the field and we'll be doing polling, direct mail, speaking engagements and open houses at our Main Street headquarters," Mr. Brody said. "If there is any impact from that vote, it's a reminder you can never take anything for granted," he added.
Mr. Brody, now a familiar face in Palmer, cited "significant differences between the two communities, the projects and the proponents as reason to be optimistic.
"For us, the Nov. 5 vote is not a slam dunk. It never was and we're fully cognizant it will take a lot of work to see this through," he said.
He stated that while Hard Rock had spent less than a year in West Springfield, Mohegan Sun had been in Palmer for 5½ years and a fixture on Main Street for 3½ years.
"Mohegan had been asked to consider the Eastern States site, but it was never attractive given the project we envisioned. West Springfield was an urban location with significant transportation challenges. Beyond that, we didn't get a sense the community was all that supportive of the idea of hosting a casino," he explained.
Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard will hold three forums next month — from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 15 and 29 in the meeting room at the Town Building on Main Street — to answer questions about the host community agreement.
"These forums will be critical," Mr. Brody said, adding, "the town of Palmer is a full partner with Mohegan Sun in the host community agreement and it's important that residents be able to ask questions of a person who was at the table the entire time the agreement was being negotiated."
Mr. Smola agrees with Mohegan that traffic will be one of the key issues on voters' minds when they go to the polls in November.
"Traffic was a legitimate issue for West Springfield voters, and I think it will be the same in Palmer. I've talked to businessmen who've had questions about traffic impacts of a casino in Palmer and pointed them in the direction of Town Hall and Mohegan Sun for answers," he said.
The representative said businesses rely on the very same routes that casino customers will use to reach their destination. He said residents have repeatedly asked him about the flyover bringing traffic directly from the Mass. Pike to the casino site.
"It's been talked about for so long some people came to accept it was going to be the traffic solution. When they found out it was not a viable option, I'm sure it surprised and concerned some folks," Mr. Smola said.
THE FLYOVER? MOHEGAN SUN BAIT 'N SWITCH?
Asked about the host community agreement, the former Palmer selectman declined to comment, saying only, "Mohegan Sun needs Palmer a whole lot more than Palmer needs Mohegan Sun."
Mr. Smola said he would urge all Palmer voters to have all their questions answered before they go to the polls, saying, "Once the casino is here, there is no turning back the clock. If you look at Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Connecticut, all those places where a casino becomes central to community, it eventually becomes that community's identity from a 24/7, 365 (days-a-year) operation. If you don't get the centerpiece right, then everything that follows will bear the consequences."
Mr. Smola said while Mohegan has talked about the jobs benefit to Palmer, there is nothing in the HCA that addresses local hiring practices.
"The casino business model requires multilingual, multicultural workers to accommodate as diverse a population of patrons as possible. That doesn't address the town's employment needs, however. People need to ask about the whole employment piece and what — if any — guarantees there are, before they vote," he said.
The legislator said the initiative to repeal casino gaming raises a number of issues, given the timeline of an April 2014 awarding of licenses and a November 2014 ballot question to repeal the gaming law. "With their own and investors' money tied up, the developers will want to get shovels in the ground immediately. It certainly raises the possibility of the Legislature immediately overturning a successful ballot initiative and reinstating casino gaming. There's precedent for the Legislature thumbing its nose to a vote of the people. At this point, I can't imagine what the scenario might be," he said.
Ultimately the gaming commission will not specifically be looking at how many negative impacts on Palmer or Springfield can be successfully addressed. The primary interest is how much money each of these sites can make for the commonwealth, and how issues such as traffic impact that bottom line, Mr. Smola said.
In addition to the Hard Rock defeat, Ms. Norbut is encouraged by the most recent poll, which finds potential voters evenly divided on a resort casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
"The more that people are paying attention to the casino discussion — the more people learn about specific proposals, the gaming industry and local impacts — the less support there is," she said. "West Springfield residents did their homework, and the result of that vote speaks for itself," Ms. Norbut added.
The anti-casino activist cited the Connecticut Department of Revenue's projection of plummeting gaming revenues through fiscal 2019, and a 2009 study by the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue that found a negative financial impact of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun on respective host communities after 15 years of operation.
"Palmer has a bare-bones agreement with Mohegan that facilitates the operation of the casino. Voters should read it carefully. The agreement says nothing about improving the quality of life of the host community," Ms. Norbut said.
She said the Palmer host community agreement has no job guarantees, and nothing about the impact of the resort casino on surrounding communities. That agreement states, "Mohegan Sun Massachusetts will work in good faith and manner to provide qualified Palmer residents with opportunities for jobs." Voters need to ask themselves, "Is it prudent for the community to have that much of its tax base and revenue dependent on a single entity?"
Asked about the host community agreement, the former Palmer selectman declined to comment, saying only, "Mohegan Sun needs Palmer a whole lot more than Palmer needs Mohegan Sun."
Mr. Smola said he would urge all Palmer voters to have all their questions answered before they go to the polls, saying, "Once the casino is here, there is no turning back the clock. If you look at Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Connecticut, all those places where a casino becomes central to community, it eventually becomes that community's identity from a 24/7, 365 (days-a-year) operation. If you don't get the centerpiece right, then everything that follows will bear the consequences."
Mr. Smola said while Mohegan has talked about the jobs benefit to Palmer, there is nothing in the HCA that addresses local hiring practices.
"The casino business model requires multilingual, multicultural workers to accommodate as diverse a population of patrons as possible. That doesn't address the town's employment needs, however. People need to ask about the whole employment piece and what — if any — guarantees there are, before they vote," he said.
The legislator said the initiative to repeal casino gaming raises a number of issues, given the timeline of an April 2014 awarding of licenses and a November 2014 ballot question to repeal the gaming law. "With their own and investors' money tied up, the developers will want to get shovels in the ground immediately. It certainly raises the possibility of the Legislature immediately overturning a successful ballot initiative and reinstating casino gaming. There's precedent for the Legislature thumbing its nose to a vote of the people. At this point, I can't imagine what the scenario might be," he said.
Ultimately the gaming commission will not specifically be looking at how many negative impacts on Palmer or Springfield can be successfully addressed. The primary interest is how much money each of these sites can make for the commonwealth, and how issues such as traffic impact that bottom line, Mr. Smola said.
In addition to the Hard Rock defeat, Ms. Norbut is encouraged by the most recent poll, which finds potential voters evenly divided on a resort casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
"The more that people are paying attention to the casino discussion — the more people learn about specific proposals, the gaming industry and local impacts — the less support there is," she said. "West Springfield residents did their homework, and the result of that vote speaks for itself," Ms. Norbut added.
The anti-casino activist cited the Connecticut Department of Revenue's projection of plummeting gaming revenues through fiscal 2019, and a 2009 study by the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue that found a negative financial impact of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun on respective host communities after 15 years of operation.
"Palmer has a bare-bones agreement with Mohegan that facilitates the operation of the casino. Voters should read it carefully. The agreement says nothing about improving the quality of life of the host community," Ms. Norbut said.
She said the Palmer host community agreement has no job guarantees, and nothing about the impact of the resort casino on surrounding communities. That agreement states, "Mohegan Sun Massachusetts will work in good faith and manner to provide qualified Palmer residents with opportunities for jobs." Voters need to ask themselves, "Is it prudent for the community to have that much of its tax base and revenue dependent on a single entity?"
Anti-casino headquarters opens in Palmer
Referendum vote for Palmer is on November 5th
By Matt Caron
PALMER, Mass. (WWLP) - Organized opposition to a casino in Palmer surfaced Saturday.
The citizens for Palmer to reject casino gambling opened their headquarters Saturday afternoon. The group displayed the messages they hope will help them during the town's casino referendum in November.
Jean Andresen of Palmer told 22News, “We feel that this town is too small for a casino. The site is right in the middle of the schools and a lot of residences. It will just decimate our town.”
Mohegan Sun hopes to build a nearly one billion dollar resort casino off Route 32 not far from the Palmer turnpike entrance.
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