Warren Casino Study Committee holds public forum

 

Connecticut officials detail traffic nightmares, revenue sharing discrepancies, increase in crime from Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods

 

By Cristy Bertini

Turley Publications Correspondent

 

WARREN – The Warren Casino Study Committee held a public forum on May 6 to discuss the planning implications of a nearby resort casino and the revelations were none too flattering.

Three invited speakers that attended the forum in the Quaboag Regional High School auditorium included former Ledyard, Conn. Town Planner Bill Haase, Ledyard Executive Police Officer Michael Finkelstein, and Montville, Conn. Planning Director Marcia Vlaun.

Megan Diprete and Vera Kolias from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission moderated the forum.

There has been a substantial traffic increase since the opening of Foxwoods Resort Casino, according to Haase, who has been a planner in Connecticut for 20 years, including a decade spent in Ledyard, home of Foxwoods. Between 1988 and 1996 along Route 2, there was a 249 percent increase in traffic. This also affected local roads because people that know the area will take the back roads to a casino to avoid the highway.

“The first thing I remember is that in February 1992 when Foxwoods opened, there had been some traffic impact studies, but not a lot. The traffic engineers that worked for the Pequot Tribe said that the traffic would equal that of a major shopping center. Well, about everybody in southern New England showed up. And, there were traffic back-ups that went into not only Ledyard, but into the adjoining towns of North Stonington and Preston.”

Haase said he remembered sitting with the traffic engineer from the Department of Transportation, watching the traffic going into Foxwoods and all the engineer could say was, “Oh my God”, over and over again.

“One of the most profound impacts of the casino is traffic. There has been a leveling off of traffic, but it is still something that the host communities continue to grapple with.” Haase said.

Haase also stated that in his opinion, in 1992 and in 2010, there has been inadequate state revenue sharing with the casino host communities. That was due in large part to the gaming compact negotiated between the state of Connecticut and the Mashantucket Tribe, which was done in secrecy.

“We as local selectmen and councils in the host towns, learned of its content when we read about it in the newspaper the day after it had been signed by Gov. Weicker.”

It called for the payment of 25 percent of gross slot machine revenues to the state, but in the case of the surrounding host communities, such as Preston, North Stonington and Ledyard, there was no corollary payment. It was hoped that the 25 percent revenues would trickle down and benefit the host communities, but it didn’t. “There are no special monetary rewards that the host communities get, just for being host communities.” Haase said.

Haase said that one of the take-aways for a prospective casino host town in Massachusetts is to ensure that the legislative pay-out formula is very favorable and that there is equitable financial compensation to cover adverse impacts, such as traffic congestion, deteriorating roadway infrastructures, increased police and emergency services to handle the influx of employees and visitors to the town.

“Overall, I think you’d find that most people in Connecticut say the casino is a good thing, because the 25 percent of the slot revenues that go to the state, over time, translates to hundreds of millions of dollars on an annual basis. In the 18 years that Foxwoods has been open, that’s billions and billions of dollars into the state, so it reduces that budget deficit that we seem to be in.”

Haase went on to say that casinos aren’t recession-proof. In the last year, Foxwoods has laid off about 1,200 employees.

Haase said small, privately-owned businesses such as restaurants and retail stores will not benefit from a casino. Casinos are one-stop shopping centers with plenty of restaurants, stores and gaming all under one roof.

Haase said the casino did not affect housing property values in Ledyard.

Haase gave an advisory list to town leaders. “I think there are some conclusions that can be learned from our experiences and if they are understood and acted upon before a casino is opened, it may reduce or mitigate some of these problems.”

He said state government must invite officials from local host communities to sit at the bargaining table as these gaming compacts are being negotiated. Local officials should pay close attention to negotiations taking place and insisting that this essential step be required. “If you know these meetings are taking place and you’re not invited, show up anyway.”

Secondly, proponents of gaming should not be allowed to down-play the significant impacts of casino traffic on state highways and local back roads.

Ledyard Executive Police Officer Michael Finkelstein grew up in Ledyard and has been on the police force for 21 years. “If I can give you one thing as far as the emergency services aspect, is to plan from the beginning. Ledyard didn’t plan. We had no real knowledge of what was going to happen or what to expect. I was on patrol the first day that Foxwoods opened and we had traffic pile ups on the highways. People were abandoning their cars and walking to the casino. We were a 16-person police department, now we have 24 officers.”

Mohegan Sun Casino opened in 1996. Montville, Conn. Planning Director Marcia Vlaun said, “What we expected was traffic, traffic and more traffic, based on what happened at Foxwoods. Mohegan Sun started out a 400,000 square foot facility, and today it’s actually permitted for 4,880,000 square feet. If there is one point that I want to drive home to you tonight, it’s that everyone in this situation is going to act in their own self interest. The state is going to act in its own interest. The developer will do the same. It’s up to you as a community to act in your own self interest, because no one is going to do it for you.”

Vlaun said that the planners thought there would be impacts to the school systems as far as new students, but there were not. She said they actually have fewer children in the schools today, compared to when Mohegan Sun opened. She said they thought there would be huge housing impacts as to new construction, but there was not. The number of people per household in Montville is smaller today, than it was in 1990.

“What we did not anticipate happening, was the huge cultural shift that occurred through the casino. This particular industry has certain characteristics to it, and one of the characteristics is that it does attract a huge Chinese gaming clientele. Therefore, the resort needed to have people that could communicate with them. We now are required by law to have a Chinese multi-cultural grammar school in Montville. That is an impact that I never would have forecast.”

Montville receives an annual payment from the Tribe that was negotiated in a contract. The town receives $500,000 per year. Vlaun said it was supposed to be $500,000 plus 1 percent of slot machine revenue, but that didn’t work out.

“At this point in time, if your communities are chosen to be host communities, this is the one opportunity that you are going to have to negotiate what is in the best interest for your town, and no one in your state capital is going to negotiate it for you. Once the money becomes politicized, you’ll hear a giant sucking sound out of these resorts, up to your state capital, where the money is then reallocated to your urban centers. I am a host community, and my town gets less in aid than cities and towns in the western part of Connecticut. Towns that aren’t even impacted by the casinos get more than our towns get.”

Vlaun said that prior to the opening of the casino, the town would receive approximately 7,500 police calls of all types per year. That number is now 15,000 per year.

“There is no possible way that your police departments are going to be able to handle all of this. The state police are now responsible for all calls on our casino property. It’s a different world that goes on in the casino, and you’ll have to negotiate that your local police department will not be able to absorb that without ramping up tremendously.”

Vlaun said that the biggest lesson learned out of the entire thing from any host community in Connecticut is that “the money is not going to flow to you, unless you aggressively lobby for it and have a presence at your state capital, because there are so many other powerful forces that are going to out-do you.”

As far as social impacts, Vlaun said there was an increase in DUI arrests, as well as gambling addictions that led to some town officials stealing tax dollars to gamble at the casino. People leave their children in their cars in the middle of the night in the parking garages to go into the casino.

Brimfield resident Judy Sessler brought up the subject of the casino illumination that will affect nearby neighborhoods. “We don’t want to be well-lit. We don’t want a sky that’s lit all night. Our towns are in the last green valley, which are restful and peaceful and dark.”

Sessler also questioned how many gallons of water per day the casino will use and the effect on sewage treatment plants.

Resident Keith Nicholas brought up an interesting point to the panel. “If a casino were to open in Palmer, the town would have more say, because it isn’t tribal land. The casino would get permits from the town, alcohol licenses from the board of selectmen, town police would be handling calls and the town would control the casino, as opposed to Connecticut, where the Tribe controls everything.”

Vlaun responded by telling the study committee to be careful, as this legislation goes forward, a site situation could occur in the legislation where the town could lose some of its local authority over the casino.