Holyoke casino limbo for Paper City Development and Eric Suher with Mayor Alex Morse having shut door again

HOLYOKE ? Ever since the door closed again here on the casino issue on Dec. 13, Paper City Development has been noisy, and Eric Suher has been silent.

Paper City, a limited liability company, and Suher, who owns local entertainment venues, have proposed separate casino resorts for the Mount Tom range.

A partner in Paper City Development, which proposed a gaming venue at Wyckoff Country Club, said the limited liability company will stay in the casino hunt. The company will file the $400,000 nonrefundable fee to the state Gaming Commission by Tuesday's deadline, partner Anthony L. Cignoli wrote in an email on Jan. 3.

"We are still in, working it every day, through Christmas and New Year's with lawyers and others," Cignoli wrote.

Also, the owner of 15.5 acres on Water Street said Paper City officials have discussed buying that site for a downtown casino.

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CIgnoli declined to comment on remarks made to The Republican and MassLive.com by Glenn Shealey of Quantum Properties on the developer's interest in 14-26 Water St. for a gaming resort. The site was formerly the American Writing Paper Co., he said.

Paper City partners Anthony Ravosa Jr. and Joseph A. Lashinger Jr. also have talked about the issue, criticizing city treasurer Jon D. Lumbra. They say Lumbra took too long to release a report that city councilors had sought on the impact a gaming resort could have for the city, such as increased property taxes.

After Lumbra released the report, Dec. 21, Ravosa and Lashinger issued a statement that it was "not worth the paper it's written on."

Suher, who proposed a casino for the Mountain Park music venue he owns, declined to say Thursday whether he will keep his bid alive by filing the state application.

"Sorry, I don't want to comment," Suher wrote in a text message.

Mayor Alex B. Morse announced on Dec. 13 he had reverted to his previous opposition to considering casino projects. Morse stunned the region by declaring on Nov. 26 he had decided to reverse the anti-casino position he took in his 2011 campaign to be mayor.

The public outcry after he opened the gaming door, Morse said, helped convince him a casino was the wrong way for the city to pursue redevelopment, despite at least a $500 million investment and hundreds of jobs.

"At a time when our community needs unity of purpose, a year-long debate over locating a casino within our borders would only sow division and discord," Morse said at the time.

Morse said Paper City Development's interest in property on Water Street for a casino would be a waste of time and money because he has ruled out casino projects here.

"It's out of the question ? and I refuse to meet with (Paper City Development) or any property owner downtown in regards to casinos. It's a dead issue," Morse said.

Lumbra said his casino-impact report was a "hypothetical snapshot of what might be, not what will be." Its estimates were based on "a very high level review with little if any factual details" about any of the city's potential casino developments, he said.

Some impacts, such as upgrades to the municipal sewer system and potential effects on real estate property values, are nearly impossible to estimate, Lumbra wrote in the report.

One positive element from a casino, he said, could hit the tax rolls by 2016. Lumbra's analysis showed the city could see the room between its tax levy limit and its levy ceiling expand from $999,226 in 2013 to $10.6 million. The additional $10 million would let the city provide better services, he said.

Lashinger contends Lumbra was underplaying the revenue benefits of a casino to curry favor with a small, but vocal, group of casino opponents here.

"For purely political reasons, Mr. Lumbra is intent on downplaying the positive tax implications and suppressing enthusiasm for what would be a transformative project for Holyoke. His half-baked response to these prior council orders is both insulting and outrageous," Lashinger said.

Lumbra said on Friday that Paper City's latest criticism is "laughable."

"If anyone is playing politics here, it is Paper City. They are criticizing me over communications with the City Council because they apparently don't like the response. However, my fiduciary responsibility is to the city of Holyoke, not private developers," Lumbra said.

A report about a casino's impact on the city from chief assessor Anthony Dulude was perhaps more positive than Lumbra's, but also was less detailed.

"The economic impact of a casino would be a boost for the city overall," Dulude said.

A $500 million project taxed at the city's commercial rate of $39.97 per $1,000 valuation, he said, would bring in an nearly $20 million in additional property taxes a year.

Still, Dulude said, "The impact of a casino however would be many years away before we started to see any revenue growth."

Source: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/holyoke_casino_limbo_for_paper.html

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