Local officials fear demands on police, infrastructure
A new Seneca Indian casino on tribal land near Cuba Lake, New York is set to open next month. Local police are concerned the center will “lead to traffic issues for the community,” the Olean Times Herald reported last week.
Since March, Seneca Construction Management Corp. crews have been constructing a 90-foot-by-50-foot building on a 1-square-mile area on the southwest lakeshore. The Class II gaming facility would contain only slot machines and no table games under the 2002 gaming compact between the state and the Senecas. It is located less than 40 miles from the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel in Salamanca, reported the Salamanca Times.
The casino would be the second tribal-owned business on the reservation, noted Diane Neamon, a shift leader at the nearby One Stop convenience store and gas station, and the third business of any kind in the territory.
“Yes, it would be a challenge because we would have more cars coming in and out of the lot, but it would be great to have a casino here because they could hire people from around this area,” Neamon told the Times last fall.
The structure neighbors the Seneca One Stop store on North Cuba Lake Road, and it is scheduled to open for business July 4.
Police Chief Dustin Burch says the mini-casino will draw crowds seven days a week.
“With there being 150-plus machines in the new facility, there’s going to be more people in the area,” he said. “We are anticipating a huge influx of traffic near and around the lake once it opens. I’m concerned because we already have a large number of complaints of speeding around the lake, and we don’t quite have the manpower to handle additional traffic. Plus we still have to address our other emergency calls.”
Burch expressed interest in meeting with Seneca leaders to discuss the matter.
