Saugerties leaders oppose casino

By Hallie Arnold , Freeman staff Daily Freeman May 25, 2005

SAUGERTIES - A casino would be bad for Saugerties, irrevocably changing the fabric of the community, town Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel and village Mayor Robert Yerick said on Tuesday.
Their comments - Yerick went so far as to call the project "a cancer that is incurable" - were the first public position Saugerties leaders have taken on the Seneca-Cayuga tribe's plan to build a casino and resort complex on the 850-acre Winston Farm at the junction of state Route 32 and 212.
But it's unclear if their opposition will be enough to halt the project.
"I think we're risking our future by even going any further," Helsmoortel said during a televised forum on Tuesday with Yerick, Lanny Walter of No Saugerties Casino Inc. and Brian Donoghue of the Saugerties Village Business Association.
The discussion, filmed at the Saugerties Town Hall, will air at noon, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. today on public-access Channel 23 in Saugerties.
Both Helsmoortel and Yerick plan to put anti-casino resolutions before their respective boards. Helsmoortel said his board will take up the issue on June 8. Walter's group opposes the casino; Donoghue said the business association has not yet taken a formal position.
Chief Leroy Howard of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma was not available for comment on Tuesday, but Helsmoortel said tribal representatives have told him they will not try to build in Saugerties if they're not wanted.
State Sen. John Bonacic said an amendment to the state law allowing Indian casinos in New York, which he's offered with Gov. George Pataki's backing, would mandate county approval before a casino could be built.
"If the village and town don't want it, I doubt whether the county will want it," said Bonanic, R-Mount Hope. "I would then oppose a casino in any area where 'home rule' would not approve it."
But Ulster County Legislature Chairman Richard Gerentine said it would be "an injustice to the whole county" to base the county's position solely on the stances of the town and village. Gerentine said he plans to appoint an independent committee to make a casino recommendation to the Legislature.
"We will listen to both sides with an open mind and try to make an intelligent decision," said Gerentine, R-Marlboro.
The Seneca-Cayugas have offered Ulster County a $15 million payment in lieu of property taxes if the casino is built. The county could, in turn, funnel some of that money back to Saugerties, but no agreement has been reached.
The tribe has proposed a 1.2 million-square-foot casino and resort, 1 million square feet of retail space, a 750,000-square-foot convention center, a 27-hole golf course, a 900-room hotel, a 500,000-square-foot arena and parking for 23,000 vehicles at the Winston Farm, which hosted the Woodstock '94 music festival 11 years ago.
Helsmoortel and Yerick said their reasons for opposing the project include the potential strain on the local water and sewer systems, the potential impact on the Saugerties school district and the casino's inability to keep with the "quaint, historic, beautiful" character of the community.
"Although it looked great at first blush, as you look at the problems, they just grow and grow and expand," Yerick said. "I do believe that having a casino come to the community of Saugerties would be a cancer that is incurable."
Helsmoortel said he's hopes the Town Board will support his opposition to the casino, but three of the four board members, including Deputy Supervisor Fred Costello Jr., say they don't yet know enough about the plan to vote on it.
"I don't think I can take a position by June 8 without more information," said board member Phil Tucker, a sentiment echoed by fellow Councilman Thomas Macarille. "It's my obligation to look at it both ways. There are some negatives, but there could be some positives. I just need more information."
Councilwoman Leeanne Thornton said she supports Helsmoortel.
"Everyone would like to see something developed that's positive for the community, and I personally don't think a casino is a positive addition," she said.
Thornton said the state Legislature has until June 23 to vote on Indian land-claims legislation that could include a settlement with the Seneca-Cayugas regarding the Winston Farm.
©Daily Freeman 2005

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