Joe Drennan
Staff WriterColumbus Town Board member Tom Hefty said he wanted the people of Columbus Township to be involved in the decision making that affects their community when he was elected. Saturday at 1 p.m. residents will have that opportunity when the Minnesota Racing Commission holds a public hearing at the Columbus Town Hall.
The commission must conduct at least one public hearing in the community where a possible gaming site is proposed.
ìIt is the opportunity for the commission to hear from the citizens who live or work in the community voice their opinion on the racetrack,î Dick Kruger of the Minnesota Racing Commission said.
The Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp., the group proposing to build the harness racing track and card room just north of Gander Mountain, will have a small role in the meeting in that they will be presenting an overview of the project so those in attendance will know what their plans are.
ìThis is not our meeting,î Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp. president Jim Druck said. ìThis is the communityís meeting. I think there are people for the racetrack and people against it and this will be a good forum for them to come out and express their views.î
The public hearing will begin with an introduction of the subject matter and overview of the project by Southwest Casino and Hotel. After the overview of the project, a number of people who have called the racing commission and requested that they be heard from will have an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Once the list is complete, anyone who signs up at the door to voice their opinion will be heard. Individual citizens will be given five minutes to voice their concerns while individuals representing a group will be given 10 minutes.
The public hearing with the racing commission is only one step in a long process for the casino group. The three major steps in the application process for a license with the gaming commission include a public hearing, an extensive background check, and an accounts report.
ìWeíre probably between first and second base in the process,î Krueger said. ìWeíve got a lot to do yet.î
A second public hearing has tentatively been scheduled for May 19, in Shakopee. The hearing was requested by the Horsemenís Benevolent and Protective Association.
The racing commission's director of security Par Shannon has been working on the background check of all parties involved with Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp, and the accounts report is in the beginning stages. Kruger doesnít expect the accounts report to be completed until about mid May.
Once all three of the major steps are completed, the nine racing commission commissioners will look through all the information and make their decision.
Progress
As the license application process moves on within the racing commission, the Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp. is still moving forward and confronting issues brought up by area residents.
After some concern over noise generated by a sound system, Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp. worked to confront those problems and keep noise to a minimum.
Traffic has been another issue and the plans for the racetrack would reroute Freeway Drive so that it meets up with TH-97 on the west side of the Conoco station instead of the east side.
ìThatís how you work with a community,î Druck said. ìYou try to understand the real substance behind issues and then try to alleviate that. There are things you can do.î
The racetrack would offer 300 full-time jobs with benefits, with several more jobs available seasonally during the racing season that could be filled with high school and college students during their summer breaks.
ìWe expect to be in the community for a long time,î Druck said, and thatís what we are planning for.î
Top of Page
