Bangor council puts racino back on track

BANGOR – Signaling that little would stand in the way of the state’s first racetrack casino, the City Council on Monday rejected a planning board recommendation against a new zoning district to allow slot machines in the city.

The council’s 7-1 vote put plans to build a $75 million “racino” at Bass Park back on track after last week’s unexpected opposition from the planning board, which voted 3-2 against the new district.

It is the council, however, which has the last word on the matter, and City Councilor Dan Tremble on Tuesday made it clear that the last word would be “yes.”

“It’s smooth sailing, and slots will be coming to Bangor,” said Tremble, citing local support for the project proposed by Penn National Gaming Inc. “We’re comfortable that the people of Bangor voted for this, and we’re moving forward.”

The new district, the specific boundaries of which have yet to be drawn, is necessary for the project to move forward.

The planning board’s opposition, based in part on perceived vagueness in the zoning amendment’s language, was the subject of curiosity during a break at last week’s meeting of the Gambling Control Board. Some in attendance, including Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers, asked for explanations from the city’s legal counsel.

In a Tuesday call from the company’s Pennsylvania headquarters, Schippers said he was pleased with the council’s vote.

“It’s another step forward, and it’s a step we’re grateful for them to have taken,” he said.

Penn plans a gaming facility with 1,500 slot machines and an attached parking garage for at least that number of vehicles at the Bass Park complex, which is home to Bangor Raceway, Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center and the municipal golf course.

The Penn facility also will include restaurants, a hotel and a conference center. The company plans to begin construction next May.

First, however, the Bass Park area must be rezoned to accommodate the new facility. Monday’s vote defined what activities would be allowed in the new zoning district, but did not establish the size and boundaries of the district. Before that change, which must also be approved by the council, the public will have an opportunity to comment.

City Councilor Annie Allen was the lone dissenter Monday night. She instead proposed allowing the public to comment before the zone activities were defined.

Even if city officials bless the project, gambling opponents have plans to throw up roadblocks of their own. A southern Maine based anti-gambling group, No Slots for ME!, is now collecting signatures in hopes of overturning the law allowing slots at Bangor Raceway.

At last check, however, the group had collected only about half the 50,519 needed signatures and planned on delaying its repeal try until 2006.