WINDSOR LOCKS -- People living in and around Windsor Locks had the chance to hear directly from tribal leaders looking to put a casino in their community.
In the Windsor Locks High School auditorium, the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes held a community forum on the possibility of building a new casino in Windsor Locks.
The location being considered for this third Connecticut casino includes Bradley International Airport but tribe leaders said the primary focus is Thrall tobacco farm, located on Old County Road, on Route 20 near the I-91 interchange. The tobacco farm site had been previously considered as a location for retail outlets.
Tribe chairmen Kevin Brown and Rodney Butler said a casino could generate a minimum of $4-6 million in revenue for Windsor Locks.
“The money could be used for a new police department down the road which we've been waiting for,” a community member said at the meeting.
Both supporters and proponents came out to the town discussion.
“It’s not the business that we want in our state, it’s not the business we want for our communities, it’s not what we want for our children,” Linda Alexander said.
Thursday night's public meeting is one of a series on the topic.
The old Showcase Cinemas building in East Windsor is the other location being considered for the casino site.
An East Windsor resident that was at her town’s meeting, initially unsure about casinos, also showed up to the meeting in Windsor Locks.
“After having attended the meeting in East Windsor the other night I think it’s pretty obvious we are interested in having them,” she said. “I just wanted to get a firsthand experience about how the people in this town are feeling.”
These public hearings are all part of this process in which the casino developers, in this case the tribal leaders, are figuring out which community is a right fit for them to do business in.
The tribal leaders say a new casino will bring thousands of jobs into the area and $80 million in tax revenue into the state.
They also argue crime rates won’t go up, saying they will work with town leaders on those and other concerns.
People in the communities up for consideration are giving the idea of a casino in their town a mixed reception. Some like the idea it will compete with the MGM casino being built just over the state line in Springfield, Massachusetts. Others are concerned their property values will go down.
The tribal leaders said the need for the casino is great, pointing to a recent study that estimated the MGM casino in Springfield will hurt Connecticut’s finances will cost roughly $70 million in its first year of opening.
Brown said after choosing a site, the goal is to have a bill voted on this session, so the tribes can potentially have a casino built by late 2018.