PALMER - Acting Town Manager Patricia A. Kennedy said she thinks voters should be asked at the June town election if they support having a casino in Palmer.
Kennedy, who brought the issue up at a Town Council working session on Feb. 14, said the question could be either binding, or non-binding.
"I think most people in town have their minds made up yes or no" regarding a casino,
Her suggestion was taken under advisement by the Town Council, which is expected to make a decision on it at its March 7 working session.
Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun wants a to build a $600 million resort casino on land across from the Massachusetts Turnpike exit on Thorndike Street.
At-large Councilor Paul E. Burns said he thinks it makes more sense to wait until any casino legislation is finalized before a new vote is taken.
Burns said the casino bill that came close to passing last summer, but stalled over disagreements regarding slots, required a referendum vote by the host community.
"If we do something that does not comply with the law, we could end up putting ourselves in a worse situation. ... I've always been kind of on the fence about an additional referendum. I think ultimately it doesn't make sense, especially if we will be doing the same thing in another six months," Burns said.
Back in 1997, 55 percent of Palmer voters supported the idea of a casino in a non-binding referendum.
And in the fall, Northeast Realty, the firm that is leasing the land to Mohegan Sun, had a poll done that showed that nearly 65 percent of residents support a resort casino; 300 residents were called, with a response rate of 23.2 percent.
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