McVey: Casino benefits don’t outweigh costs

McVey: Casino benefits don’t outweigh costs
Posted Nov 05, 2013

MILFORD —

Foxwoods is promising jobs and revenue for its proposed casino. The mitigation and annual payments that Foxwoods proposes in the Host Community Agreement are staggering. With such an offer, why vote against a casino in Milford? Do the proposed benefits outweigh the negative impacts?

I have concluded that the benefits do not outweigh the negative effects, and I will vote against it.

When the Town of Foxboro was confronted with a similar casino referendum, its No Foxboro Casino group published a video interview of residents living in towns near the Foxwoods Connecticut casino.

This video is on the Casino-Free Milford website. The residents spoke about how the casino has adversely affected them. Traffic has increased on previously quiet side roads, because Foxwoods employees know the shortcuts to take to avoid traffic on the main roads. There has been a significant drop in property values near the casino, and “hot bedding” is a common practice, with employees living in homes whose owners were unable to sell and chose to rent. Small businesses have closed, because money spent on the casino is no longer available to support them. These are some of the concerns, and there are others.

I would ask those who are undecided about this referendum to visit the Casino-Free Milford website, view this video, and learn about how the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut has negatively impacted surrounding communities.

Can Milford expect less? Please join me and vote NO on Nov, 19!

BARBARA MCVEY
Milford


http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/x1783714401/McVey-Casino-benefits-don-t-outweigh-costs