Brewer to put slots to vote Council schedules hearing on racino

BREWER – The city of Brewer is taking seriously a racino developer’s late-breaking bid to locate a harness racing track and gambling facility somewhere in the community of 9,000 residents.

At a brief meeting Friday morning, the Brewer City Council unanimously decided to allow residents to vote Nov. 4 on whether to allow slot machines at a harness racing facility that may be located in Brewer. Slot machines are a vital component to a racino, which is a combination race track and casino.

A public hearing on the issue was scheduled for the City Council’s next regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, at City Hall. Absentee ballots already are available and may be obtained at the Brewer city clerk’s office.

The action places Brewer in direct competition with its sister city of Bangor across the Penobscot River for the racino, a position Brewer officials claim they did not seek.

“What I can say is we have not chased after them nor have we offered them any incentives to try to bring them here,” said Andrew “Drew” Sachs, Brewer’s economic development director.

“The only thing I can say is I know the council [members] have expressed their feelings, and have for a long time, that the racino is good for the region,” Sachs said.

Attending Friday’s meeting was Victoria Scott, mother of Nevada developer Shawn Scott who is planning a $30 million facility that, up to now, was geared for Bangor. Her daughter, Lisa Scott, also attended as did Fred Nichols, chief executive officer of Bangor Raceway.

Victoria Scott did not directly answer a reporter’s question on why her son and his company, Capital 7 LLC, are pursuing Brewer for a racino site at this relatively late stage of negotiations with Bangor.

Instead, Victoria Scott spoke of the advantages to local economic development to build and operate a racino in the region including the creation of many jobs.

“It doesn’t matter what side of the river it’s on,” Victoria Scott said. She added that a portion of proceeds from the slot machines would be put toward statewide initiatives such as prescription drug relief for senior citizens, scholarships for the state’s public university and technical college system,

Tax revenue for Brewer alone would amount to $731,000 a year on a $30 million facility, according to Sachs.

The Brewer City Council approved the slot machine question for local voters without taking a formal position on the issue.

Sachs said the City Council may wish to “meet with the principals and take a closer look at the revenue-sharing arrangement” before taking a position. Beyond tax revenues, facilities like the proposed racino usually provide a percentage of the gross gaming proceeds to the host community to help address external impacts that include traffic and public safety issues, according to Sachs.

The Brewer City Council “needs to get an understanding of that because, obviously, the revenue sharing arrangement matters as it does to Bangor,” Sachs said.

“I know the council members have expressed their feeling, and have for a long time, that the racino is food for the region,” Sachs said.

“Their sense is that some homework needs to be done in the next couple of weeks,” Sachs said.

Efforts failed Friday to reach Bangor officials for comment. Earlier this week, they expressed mild surprise that the racino idea had gone as far as it has in Brewer, but concluded it probably reflects Capital 7’s wish to have an alternative for the project.

In a Sept. 26 press release, Capital 7 said, “In the event negotiations in Bangor are not concluded, prudent business judgment requires that an alternative location for the project be available.” On Oct. 1 the firm optioned a tract of land in Brewer. The location was not disclosed but it is thought to be a large area on outer Wilson Street.