The Defeat of Senate Bill 306.
Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 04:30PM The City is Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation, a massive steel manufacturing complex of brick buildings and blast furnaces that forged the U.S. economy. Today, Bethlehem Steel is closed, a victim of global competition and over eight years of low steel prices. The powerful furnaces blast no more, the hand crafted brick buildings stand silent against the howling wind in a place of once invincible and industrial prosperity. Massive unemployment, welfare assistance and boarded up windows serve as stark evidence of what happens when a large employer leaves town. A sad and grim reality that now exists in Berlin, New Hampshire.
Starting in 2009 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania there will be change, and for the better. In mid February executives from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE:LVS) participated in a standing of the steel ceremony which commemorated the use of some 14,500 tons of steel that will be used to transform the Bethlehem Steel Mills into a multimillion dollar casino and tourism destination. “As we continue to forge a new legacy for this historic site, the erection of the first pieces of steel is an important milestone in the building of Sands Bethworks and shows how much closer we are to returning this landscape to its past glory.” said Executive Vice President Bradley Stone.
The Sands Bethworks project is an example of redevelopment that leads to economic development, taxbase expansion and jobs which is clearly good for Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Similar million dollar redevelopment projects have been done recently in Mississippi, Colorado and Iowa.The unfortunate part of this whole discussion and point of this thread on nhinsider.com is why this redevelopment isn’t being done in Berlin, New Hampshire? In mid February the Berlin City Council by a vote of 8-1 announced it support for Senate Bill 306 relative to allowing video gaming in Coos County, building a casino in Berlin, and establishing a fund to assist in payment of property taxes. Sponsored by Senator John Gallus and Rep. Edmond Gionet SB 306 had its first hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee where it opened to the ominous words of Sen. Gallus “In my lifetime, we could see Berlin as well as Groveton become ghost towns. We need a quick fix. We can’t wait any longer.” The hearing continued on and interestingly, not one individual who testified including the New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte offered any substantive financial or economic information on why SB 306 should not be passed into state law. The Attorney General also admitted after questioning by Senator Lou Dellasandro that she hadn’t even checked with Attorney Generals in states like Delaware and Rhode Island states that have passed casino gambling to see what their experiences were with casinos and legislation like SB 306. Then on March 3, 2008 the Senate Ways and Means Committee issued its committee report: Inexpedient to Legislate.
Is this an example of leadership? The Berlin City Council votes 8-1 in support of the legislation, not one opponent at the hearing provides economic or financial information and the committee votes to kill the bill. So I guess what the Senate Ways and Means Committee is saying to the City of Berlin: no taxbase, no jobs and an economy that is based upon welfare, boarded up windows and very limited opportunities at the to be built federal prison. And all for a historic city that has ploughed millions of dollars of economic value into the New Hampshire and New England economies.
The defeat of Senate Bill 306.
Steven J. Connolly
Reader Comments (12)
This is an idea that has certainly been considered by elected officials, DRED and the North Country Council regional planning agency. The closest I've seen this come to be is to develop what is known as CROP zones which basically stands for community reinvestment area as a way to attract and retain all important and imperative taxbase in Coos county.
The problem with CROP zones as I understand it is the issue of fairness. Is it really fair to designate Coos county as a CROP zone while nearby Grafton and Carroll counties pay full market rate and tax liability? the economic fairness question as you might imagine for/against CROP zones can go on for hours. This is before lawyers even get involved. There can be no question that Coos county needs some type of help if it is to survive. But rather than a blanket designation like a CROP zone I think a better route to go would be for Coos county and the state to target the specific economic issues in the region and work on these. For example: SB 306 would have improved the region's now largest industry, tourism. In support of this the state could issue Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), state loan guarntees or even tax credits to encourage taxbase expansion and development in Coos county. I believe blanket designation(s) whatever their purpose can cause more problems than they can help. Lastly, the NH State Constitution also expressly forbids property tax abatments of any kind and giving direct financial aid to corporations, (Part II, Article II) I think is the correct citation. I'm not aware it has been explored legally, but CROP zones might very fall into one or both of these categories. The last thought I'll leave you with is what Lewiston-Auburn, Maine did to develop their taxbase after the closure of their mills. Thanks to the Maine Congressional Delegation they were able to secure the entire cities of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), a designation that carries with it numerous tax and economic advantages.
Somehow and sadly, I don't see the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation pursuing an FTZ for Coos County or anywhere in New Hampshire for that matter.
Thanks for responding to my post!
www.kingabdullahcity.com/en/
Had SB 602 been passed into law the answer to this question would have been resoundingly yes. This would have been similar to what has been done in Tunica, Biloxi, Mississippi, Bettendorf, Iowa and will happpen in the economically depressed Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tourism creates jobs and economic development.
Another selling point for a casino in Berlin is construction costs: availablity of skilled labor, craftsman and the structural steel could have been built at the local, Iassacson Structural Steel which I understand provided alot of the steel for the successful Foxwoods casino in Ledyard, CT.
The best Berlin could hope for is a third rate casino, visited by polyester clad seniors coming in by bus to spend their social security checks - and the locals who could gamble their unemployment checks away, while washing down their sorrows with the free booze.
"Being a resident of northern New Hampshire I spend time in the city of Berlin. I think your statement about casino construction is unfounded. This legislation can only work is there is effective local zoning-- no nice real estate- no casino.
"The best Berlin could hope for is a third rate casino, visited by polyester clad seniors coming in by bus to spend their social security checks - and the locals who could gamble their unemployment checks away, while washing down their sorrows with the free booze."
Consider Niagara Falls, New York and what is being done for economic development. It's my understanding the Senate has tabled this legislation. Certainly better than ITL.
pinko can you please explain what your're driving at here? The point of my thread is to make an arguement that the presence of a casino in northern New Hampshire would lead to increased tourism, economic development and needed jobs. I've also made the argument that local control needs to part of this discussion. Lastly, I believe my position(s) is supported by analysis and quantative information found of the American Gaming Association of U.S. states that have passed casino gambling. With this said I think your question is unfounded and irrelevant.
The thing is, Steven, Berlin is an ugly,depressed city, with nary a decent restaurant or hotel. Berlin is crawling with unemployed folks, addicts, and alcoholics. It has one prison already, and a federal prison in the works. No one in their right mind is going to build anything more than a third rate casino there. The cheap bus tours will be all that keeps it afloat.
A casino (when combined with prison families/gang members relocating) will serve to bring more crime, more substance abuse, more strain on the already strained infrastructure, and more economic misery in the form of gambling addiction.
I'm unimpressed with your source - the American Gaming Association is hardly a disinterested party.
Casinos filled with polyester clad seniors with oxygen tanks gaming their Social Security checks away isn't my idea of a boon to the economy of the north.
I'm sure local control is essential to the project, and I'm sure Senator Gallus will be in favor of it, since he'll benefit substantially from the sale of any property.