Area mayors open to betting on new casino

By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner June 26, 2012

One-armed bandits may be coming to a ski slope or beach near you.

Mayors and township officials from Springwater, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood and Clearview have received an invitation to entertain the notion of having a 300-slot machine casino in their neck of the woods.

For some mayors, the concept is a little less plausible than others.

“We don’t have a hotel, we have campgrounds,” said Springwater Mayor Linda Collins. “But if there’s an expression of interest, those factors could be looked at.”

When the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced that Zone C7 — including Springwater and Clearview townships as well as Wasaga Beach and Collingwood — would be lumped together to consider the possibility of a casino, the mayors and deputy majors held a meeting to discuss their options.

Collins said they agreed since all the services would be shared, including roads, fire, police, etc., they’d all also want a share of the proceeds of the casino.

“We’d all share the expenses, so we’ll have to work together to break down the (financial) relationships. The host municipality would keep the development charges,” she said.  

Expressions of interest to the councils by private partners are open until mid-July.

The OLG has indicated that each identified zone will only support one gaming facility and will ensure any new gaming facilities are not in close proximity to existing operations.

However close or far a new casino could be to Barrie residents, they could have one less slots facility to choose from come next spring.

Great Canadian Gaming (GCG), owners of Georgian Downs in Innisfil, announced in March that the OLG will terminate the Georgian Downs (and Flamboro Downs near Hamilton) site holder agreements effective March 31, 2013.

Until at least that time, there will continue to be live horse racing events at both racetracks.

GCG spokesman Howard Blank could not speak to the future of Georgian Downs.

“Unfortunately Great Canadian and our properties in Ontario are not commenting at this time,” he said.

Mike Sinclair runs a horse farm north of Cookstown and is director of District 5 of the Ontario Harness Horse Association.

He doesn’t understand the logic of the provincial government looking for more locations for slots, and allowing tracks like Georgian Downs to possibly close.

The Liberals’ recently passed budget would renege on slots-at-racetracks program that saw revenue shared with the horse industry. Sinclair assumes slot machines are on their way out of the 16 remaining tracks in the province where they help keep that industry viable.

“The budget passed. Who knows what will happen,” he said, adding the owner of the Woodbine track in Toronto has said it will shut down if slots are removed.

Sinclair said officials in London, Clinton, Hanover and other municipalities hosting tracks are trying to preserve horse racing.

“It’s an important part of the community. A bunch of mayors got together and said ‘We want to keep the slots and keep the horse industry viable.”

“The Liberals don’t care about urban areas. We get that. We have no allies. We need the race track owners to stand up to the OLG.”

George Vadeboncouer, released a statement for mayor Ken Ferguson of Clearview Township saying the four communities are taking a collaborative approach to explore the advantages and disadvantages of a 300-slot machine gaming facility in their midst.

“The next step in this process is to educate the individual councils on what this opportunity means to the area from a variety of perspectives. Further steps will be determined by the individual councils working together,” wrote Vadeboncouer.  

The mayors also promised that the residents of each community will be kept well informed of information received regarding the opportunity.

“The announcement by the OLG provides another opportunity for the four communities in the Georgian Triangle to work together to identify if they are prepared to support a gaming facility, and if so, in which community,” he said.

On its website, the OLG states it will issue a request for pre-qualifications to ask prospective vendors to qualify before they submit a request for proposal as early as this fall.

• with files from Ian McInroy

 

Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin June 23, 2012

Mayor of the four municipalities designated as Central Zone 7 by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation as a possible site for a casino say they’ll work collaboratively.

In a statement released early Saturday morning from the office of Wasaga Beach CAO George Vadeboncouer, following a meeting Thursday hosted by Clearview Township mayor Ken Ferguson, the mayors say it was agreed the four communities will “take a collaborative approach in exploring the advantages and disadvantages of hosting a gaming facility in this area.

“The next step in this process is to educate the individual councils on what this opportunity means to the area from a variety of perspectives. Further steps will be determined by the individual councils working together.”

The meeting was attended by the mayors of Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, and Clearview and Springwater townships; each municipality’s senior staff members were also in the meeting.

The mayors also promised that “residents of each respective community will be kept well informed of information received regarding the opportunity.”

In the release, Ferguson stated, “the announcement by the OLG provides another opportunity for the four communities in the Georgian Triangle to work together to identify if they are prepared to support a gaming facility, and if so, in which community.”

He added, “it is important that all perspectives are considered, including the potential impact on services provided by the County of Simcoe.”