The Casino Issue

Now that the municipal election is behind us, I thought it might be
interesting to explore the casino issue. It sounds as if the planned
location is nearer to Bethel in Greenwood, rather than in Rumford. I'd
love to hear some opinions of how a casino in Greenwood would effect
the River Valley.

• Will it stunt our growth in regards to retail industry?
  
• Will it doom us to only having industrial type business consider our area?
  

My thoughts are that if any major retail stores, restaurants or hotels
consider Western Maine they will move close to the casino should it
pass. That would pretty much ensure those businesses wouldn't come to
the River Valley area.

• Would we gain anything?
  
• Would any who are traveling to the casino have to pass through our area?
  
• Would it increase or take away from our currrent tourist traffic?
  
• Would people choose an alternate route to pass through the casino area rather than the route through the River Valley that they normally would have used?
  

While I agree that a casino would be beneficial to Oxford County, I'd like to
hear how others feel a casino in Greenwood would effect the River Valley area.

I have just one question.

How can this enterprise make a profit, in the "highest taxed" state in the US when, according to many (conservatives), no other(s) can?

The TRR has tried to make a case that people are upset because they don’t want citizen involvement in town government. The truth is, the TRR doesn’t want citizen input in issues of town government, unless those citizens agree with the views of the people at TRR. If they were truly interested in citizen input, they would have been allowing BOTH SIDES of issues to be aired on their site. Only recently did they acquiesce and that is most likely because of the River Valley Free Press and the Rumford Free Press. It seems they aren’t about letting the people of the town run the town; it’s about trying to manipulate townspeople.

Chuck wrote:Only recently did they acquiesce

They did?

I personally think TRR is a casino driven interest. I find it interesting that Evergreen Mountain Enterprises and the Concerned Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility both share the same p.o. box number as well as have many mutual members.

I think this whole town politics upset is based on the casino issue. I think this whole mess started at about the same time as the proposed casino. Now that the right supporters are in place (or almost all) you'll see this issue brought more to the forefront. I certainly hope the selectmen don't endorse this project until the location is settled. It also sounds like the job of our new EDC is to help with this casino project.


SJ article

I think I know some of the players (no pun intended). Evergreen's campaign advisor is Peter Martin. I'm not sure but I think he is likely the previous owner of Martin's Manor-Off Track Betting in Waterville, Maine, check the pics in this article. Does anyone know if they are one and the same?
Stavros Mendros- PAC director
Stephen Chute- business planner & lawyer
Ron Jean- PAC accountant (Lewiston's city council???)
James Bishop - Lewiston
Howard M. Kanner- attorney- Florida (graduated law school with Seth)
(you can google these guys yourself)

I wonder if the Procaccianti Group might be doing some of the backing, I've made no solid connections to that yet (the TRR link might lie there) and have quite a few other potentials but nothing solid on those either.



Martin source

Well, The Rumford Reporter = Jennifer Stowell-Norris, et al. Check her connections and you may have your answers.

I just came across this article that Stoneham is a potential consideration for the casino... has anyone else heard this?

I forgot Jeremy Vashaw who was running for a select board seat is also named as being involved.

C wrote:I just came across this article that Stoneham is a potential consideration for the casino... has anyone else heard this?

Haven't we learned by now not to believe everything we read in blogs?? The reason then rumor went around about that location is because both projects include the word "evergreen" in their name.

It's not much of a stretch though. Stoneham is in Oxford County, has Evergreen Valley, is closer to Bethel than us... has Kezar Lake and a ski area. When I signed the petition I was under the impression the casino would be in Rumford. (Scotty Brook area) I think many others were under that impression too. Then I hear Greenwood is the chosen location, now I hear they are still looking for a location. We're not getting too many straight answers from Seth Carey which tends to make me wary even though I think it would be good for River Valley.

Have you ever travelled the roads to Stoneham, let alone the road to Evergreen Valley? They are certainly not tourist roads. The location is one reason the ski resort failed. I believe that the location is still being worked on, thus they cannot be specific. I can see casino opponents buying land to block EM from developing. Also, if they begin now, it will be a much longer battle if Casinos NO tries to raise havoc with the permitting process. If I were planning a multi-million dollar busienss, I wouldn't be publicly stating any of the terms any earlier than needed.

I honestly have never been to Stoneham. I can see the point regarding specifications but Oxford County is a big area. I would not support a casino in the Greenwood area where I probably would support one in the River Valley area. I think the geographic area could be narrowed down considerably and should be before asking our selectmen to support the potential project. A casino outside the River Valley, in my opinion would be damaging to our local economy.

I think we can eliminate some areas such as Wilsons Mills, Hiram, Stoneham and Hartford, they are too remote. The selected area would have to be relatively near a major highway, such as Route 2, 26 or 302. Route 17 is also an option, but highways such as 113 are not. It would need to be near one of the major economic centers of the county (Rumford, Bethel, Norway Fryeburg). When you look at the available property, it limits the possibilities.

I think Scotty Brook would be the perfect area.

Yes, however the roads, electricity and sewer lines would all need to be upgraded. That is a large expense.

I think that expense will arise anywhere in Oxford County. Is it unreasonable that the community would be able to absorb that expense? Would it be offset by tax contributions of the casino? I don't think electricity would be the town's responsibility would it? I would think that CMP would be glad to upgrade the power lines for what would surely be a huge customer, but that doesn't make it so. Perhaps where the casino is touted to be "green" they will have their own ideas regarding sewer and electricity.

I would think that such expense would fall mostly upon the developer. I believe that Lem Cissil was facing a challenge by the citizens because he wanted the town to cover the cost of the upgrade.

There's a big economic impact difference between a housing development and a casino. I think the citizens need to see the projected investment cost vs. reward to make an informed decision.