Changes to the state’s gaming law have local officials working to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to decide whether they should opt out of allowing casinos in their municipalities.
Signed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Oct. 30, Act 42 gives officials until the end of the year to pass a resolution informing the gaming control board that the municipality wishes to prohibit the siting of a Category 4, or “mini,” casino in its municipality.
These casinos would have a minimum of 300 to a maximum of 750 slot machines, and could include up to 40 table games. Act 42 states that the auction for up to 10 licenses for such casinos will start no later than Jan. 15, and finish by July 31.
Carlisle Borough Council will take up the question at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the borough hall, 53 W. South St.
At its workshop meeting last week, the council asked borough staff to draft a resolution prohibiting minicasinos. It also asked for potential zoning options for casinos that the council could use as a reference tool in making a decision on the resolution.
“If you don’t take action, then these minicasinos would be technically permitted in our jurisdiction,” Borough Manager Matt Candland said.
Casino impact
Assistant Borough Manager Susan Armstrong suggested the council approve the resolution to meet the Dec. 31 deadline, noting that municipalities have the option to rescind the resolution after that date. This would give the borough more time to analyze potential economic and social impacts of allowing minicasinos.
The risk to that plan is that the borough could be out of the loop for the auctions before the council would have a chance to rescind the resolution, Councilman Sean Crampsie said. Submitting a resolution would send the message to the casinos that they are not wanted, even if that resolution were later rescinded.
He suggested that the council look at the question as a zoning issue in which there would be a process before the public to decide where a casino should be located if an operator is interested in Carlisle.
“Our location, to be honest, is a pretty good location for any casino looking at it,” Crampsie said.
One reason is that the borough sits near a cut-off zone included in the legislation. Competitors of the operators of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course may not open a minicasino within 25 linear miles. Within that 25-mile zone, only Hollywood Casino could open a location.
The dividing line creates an arc roughly from just west of the intersection of Bernheisel Bridge Road and Sunnyside Drive to the north to the York County line between Williams Grove and Dillsburg to the south. To the east of that line, Hollywood Casino is the only potential operator. To the west, it’s any operator’s game.
Opposition
Deb Fulham-Winston voiced her opposition to the casinos, calling them “a form of regressive taxation” and questioning how much income a casino could generate given the close proximity of Hollywood Casino.
Slot machines at such casinos are subject to a 50 percent tax, of which 2 percent goes to the municipality in which it is located.
Councilman Sean Shultz said the borough also needs to consider the organizations in town, such as fire companies and nonprofits, that use games of chance for fundraising and the effect a nearby casino might have.
Councilwoman Robin Guido called for more information about the casinos and zoning options before making a decision, but suggested a minicasino may not be as detrimental as another warehouse.
“Without further research and more information, I almost think I’d rather have a casino or minicasino than a warehouse at this point,” she said.
In addition to Carlisle, other local municipalities plan to discuss the issue at meetings this week. Wormleysburg considered a resolution at its Tuesday meeting. Silver Spring Township supervisors will discuss the resolution at its Wednesday meeting. Monroe Township and South Middleton Township officials will tackle the issue on Thursday.
Who’s out
As of the Dec. 11 posting by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the following Cumberland County municipalities had opted out of allowing such casinos: Cooke Township, Dickinson Township, Hampden Township, Mechanicsburg, Newburg, Newville, North Newton Township and Penn Township.
The Mount Holly Springs council voted against allowing a minicasino on Monday night.
According to their respective websites, New Cumberland and Upper Allen Township were slated to discuss the resolution on Dec. 6, and Shippensburg did the same on Dec. 5. Further information was not available.
The remaining municipalities in the county do not have information on the issue posted on their websites.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|