The East Windsor, Connecticut Board of Selectmen reluctantly voted last week to hold a town meeting on the proposed 0 million casino being proposed by the state’s two gaming tribes, the Mohegans and Pequots, owners of the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos.
Opponents of casino, which has not yet been authorized by the legislature, where it is still in an iffy position, presented a petition signed by 20 voters to the board which forced them to schedule the meeting—as required by the town charter.
The petition also includes a proposed ordinance that would create a regulatory process for issuing a casino license and would prohibit gaming activities within 2,500 feet of a children’s center. The proposed casino would be within that distance of the Albert J. Solnit Children’s Center.
The town has already signed a development agreement with MMCT Venture, the development arm of the two tribes to allow a casino in the defunct Showcase Cinemas property. The board enthusiastically supports the casino, which would pay the town $8.5 million annually.
The tribes are proposing the casino as a way to blunt the effects on their bottom line of the $950 million MGM Springfield, which is rising in downtown Springfield, about 14 miles across the state line in Massachusetts.
Coming out strongly against the East Windsor casino is the Coalition Against Casino Expansion in Connecticut, led by 14 religious organizations. It was this group that pushed the petition that now threatens to slow or stop the East Windsor casino.
Selectman Steven Dearborn, who has strongly supported a local casino from the beginning, declared, “This is not for the better of the people and it’s not for the better of the town. There’s no way I am voting for this, because I think this is going to push for a referendum, and this is a private deal. I don’t care how you look at this, we don’t have to go to a referendum.”
First Selectman Robert Maynard, who also voted against the meeting, said he didn’t believe the ordinance would be legal or binding.
They were outvoted by the other three on the board, however. They felt they were required to vote to schedule the meeting, and one of them, Jason Bowsza, said it might even be moot since the legislature may possible not act on the tribal proposal.
Selectman Dale Nelson said she felt that 20 people were manipulating the process, but voted to schedule the meeting.
The board voted unanimously to wait to schedule the meeting until the town attorney confirmed that the ordinance was properly written and legal.
