Glen Strandberg
Staff Writer

Now that the proposed harness racing track and card room has navigated its way through all of the legal issues, an old question about whether the North Metro Harness Initiative has the funds to build the facility has returned.

At the August 2 meeting of the Planning Commission of Columbus Township, members of North Metro requested an extension on the conditional use permit.

According to the minutes taken during the Planning Commissionís meeting, Tom Fox, president of Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp., a 50 percent partner in the North Metro Harness Initiative, said the ongoing litigation prevented North Metro from going forward with the project. Fox stated that as a result of these delays they were unable to secure the necessary financing.

These comments raised a red flag for Supervisor Tom Hefty, and he addressed them during the August 9 Columbus Town Board meeting.

Afterward, Hefty explained his concerns with references to what Fox said.

ìI have no other issue other than...are you telling me that you have to get an investor? If youíre telling me that, then Iím saying, wait a minute, we shouldnít be issuing a CUP if you donít have your financing in place.î

Fox was contacted later, and he clarified the reasons behind the request.

ìWeíve already got a commitment to provide the financing,î he said.

ìIn order to finalize the financing you need final drawings of the architect, and then you need the contractor to go out and get bids.î

At that point, Fox shared, North Metro can get a gross maximum price, which is necessary to set the amount of the loan.

ìAll of those are just steps in a process,î he said.

The main issue for North Metro was waiting until all of the legal matters were taken care of, and that has slowed their plans.

Fox said that if they had proceeded with the project, and then lost the litigation, ìit would have been wasted costs.î

At the planning commission meeting, Fox stated that North Metro is hopeful they can break ground this fall, but it could be delayed until next spring. He amended those comments during an interview and said he would have a better idea on the actual ground-breaking within the next 30 days.

On Thursday, Aug. 17, the North Metro Harness Initiative will meet with the racing commission, where they will continue to finalize the details.

The Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery Plan is still taking place at the site.

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