Ready to Gamble?
Ulster County Supervisors' Association discusses casinos

by Erin Quinn Saugerties Times July 21, 2005

Casinos are a divisive issue in Ulster County these days. Town supervisors never know when they might get a call from a Native American tribe, a developer, or a high-level political official trying to pitch them on why a casino in their town would result in an economic windfall.
Casinos were the topic of the morning at this Tuesday's meeting of the Ulster County Supervisors' Association held at the New Paltz Diner. A recently established Ulster County Legislature casino study committee headed by legislator Wayne Harris, R-Clintondale, gave an informal presentation to the supervisors on the workings of their committee - which has met only once. The legislators wanted feedback, he said.
"As you all know, the Native American casinos came back to us, this time to Winston Farm in Saugerties, and caused a lot of panic among residents," said Harris. "Unfortunately for all of us, there is a lot of smoke here. We don't know if there are one, three or five casinos being proposed, where they might be located, and whether or not the state legislature has been called back into session to discuss this issue."
Casinos have in the recent past been proposed in Wawarsing and in Saugerties. "Our committee is trying to be proactive and look at the issues surrounding casinos," Harris continued. "Of course, this is a difficult task because we don't know where, how many, what size these potential casino proposals might be. But the issues that we're looking at are potential traffic impact, economic incentives, social problems, increased burden on our criminal justice system, our social services, and environmental concerns."
Saugerties village mayor Bob Yerick had a cautionary tale for his fellow municipal leaders. "When they [casino developers] came to us with their proposal [for Winston Farm], it looked great on the surface," said Yerick. "But it kept changing every second. First they said they would need a million gallons of water a day, then they said 250,000 gallons per day. They said they could give us $15 million, then bumped it up to $15 million for us and $15 million for the county. It was really scary."
The developers had "some serious political ties," Yerick continued. "We said no, but that is not to say it won't get jammed down our throat down the line. It's still not clear where the federal government stands, where our state government stands on out-of-state tribes developing casinos ... We have spent the last ten years improving our village, putting money into renovating our historical sites and attracting tourism ... All of that, in my opinion, would be thrown out the window if a casino came to Saugerties."
Harris repeated that the committee was very interested in hearing from the supervisors. He pledged to aid them whether they opposed or they supported casinos.
"Basically, the legislature has taken the position of home rule on this one," said Harris. "If your township doesn't want the casino, then the county doesn't want the casino."
Several hands shot in the air when the committee asked how many supervisors had already held votes opposing the creation of casinos locally and regionally. Those that have already passed resolutions opposing casinos include New Paltz, Shawangunk, Marbletown, Woodstock, Gardiner, Saugerties, Rochester and Plattekill.
"When you are dealing with something this big it doesn't stop at a town line or even county line, Wayne," warned Shawangunk Supervisor John Valk. "Casinos have much more regional impact than that. If Sullivan or even Dutchess County wanted to entertain a casino development, it would have enormous impacts on Ulster County."
The committee wanted to focus on "a protocol," Harris explained. "There are times when the town supervisor gets a call, or the county, or someone else ... If anyone is approached by a casino developer, then we want to establish a protocol so that the public is completely involved and there is a certain chain laid out for the developer to follow. This benefits the developer and it also benefits the public."
Though Valk agreed, he said that he was frustrated that the committee hadn't reached out to the town supervisors for a liaison to be part of their committee.
"You could appoint someone right now!" responded Harris. "We'd be happy to have a liaison."
Jeremy Wilber, town supervisor of Woodstock, said that he would be willing to serve as a liaison to the county committee, but declared that he was "unalterably opposed" to casino development in our region. "That is not to say I'll be jumping up and down screaming during your meetings all the time," he said, "or would be an obstructionist, but I do want to put it out there that I am morally, ethically, intellectually opposed to casinos."
The meetings will take place every third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

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