On Monday the Council will vote on the Casino Expansion. Dazzled by the prospect of getting 6% ($240,00) of the extra $4 million that the Casino projects will come about in the first full year of operation (I predict at least $10 million) and the acceptance that the Casino is already here ('and better here than on our outskirts with all the problems and no monetary benefit'), this council will approve the relocation and expansion. Slot machines will double.
I can accept the logic and although I am disappointed that Council will not use a referendum opportunity to ask the citizens for the first time of whether they approve of slots in our community it is council's right to make that decision and accept the political fallout if any.
However, it is imperative that we look for the public benefit that we are always trying to receive as a city from any new development. Whether we get 5% parkland, curb and gutter, increased density in exchange for parking relaxations etc. this council has always tried to maximize the publics' benefit when we are considering a new development.
The City of Vancouver's negotiated Social Responsibility Fund of $200,000 annually is the template for the public benefit that we must negotiate with Lake City Casinos as a condition of expansion.
Lake City Casino and BCLC are no strangers to making side agreements outside the COSA agreement. They partnered with the City of Penticton to free up money that would normally flow into the hands of the Casino operators for approved Capital projects through the DAC and the money now forms the basis for annual payments towards the South Okanagan Events Centre. As well a separate side agreement was proposed that would give certain naming rights and use of a hospitality suite at no cost within the new centre and was the subject of discussion between the City of Penticton and the Casino operator and the Gaming policy and enforcement branch.
Let the negotiations begin. I am sure that the new Australian owners will enter into these new arrangements willingly and will recognize the PR they would get each year as they presented the oversized novelty cheque for $100,000 to the mayor in our Spirit Square Plaza. (Put another shrimp on the barbi, mate, the Aussis are coming with money)
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CITY OF VANCOUVER Report Date: September 15, 2006
COUNCIL POLICY
• On July 20, 2004, as part of the rezoning conditions for the Plaza of Nations, Council accepted a public benefit offering from Edgewater Casino that included a donation of $200,000 annually, for the duration of the temporary permit to operate a casino atPlaza of Nations, towards the creation of a Social Responsibility Fund.
BACKGROUND
On July, 20, 2004, as part of the rezoning conditions related to the development of a temporary Class 2 Casino at Plaza of Nations, City Council accepted an offering of public benefits from the operators of Edgewater Casino that included annual allocations of $200,000 for the creation of a Social Responsibility Fund. This contribution is to continue for the duration of the permit to operate the casino, which recently has been extended until July 2013. This contribution is above and beyond the casino revenue that the City receives from the Province as part of the host local government gaming revenue agreement.
The declared intent for the use of the SRF was to assist in the development and implementation of harm reduction strategies and programs to mitigate possible negative impacts of the gambling industry on the City of Vancouver. The legal agreement that was consequently signed by the City and Edgewater Casino on November 1, 2004, indicates that the City has sole discretion to administer the funds.
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Poignant Comments at Vernon Public Hearing of Nov. 13
"I know senior citizens in our little town who live on cat food while the Handy Dart picks them up regularly to take them to the casino." - Diane Coffield (The First Sentence -available at BOOKLAND)
The most eloquent life experiences were expressed by author Diane Bateman (nee Coffield) whom had written about her experiences with addiction in a poignant book 'The First Sentence'. She spoke twice during the night and put a human face on the gambling related problems of addiction in this community. Her recounts of the person in a well paying position that actually made their car their home because of the monetary drains of slot addiction and her concluding remarks of the five suicides in Vernon caused by their gaming addictions were chilling and dominated the negative side of the argument.
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