Centre Wellington council was unsure how much room it needed to hear comment on an application to increase the number of slot machines at the facility at the southwest end of Elora – so it took no chances.
Council booked the spacious Fergus community centre for the public meeting on the Grand River Agricultural Society’s zone change application which, if approved, would allow the OLG to add more slot machines at its facility.
It turned out council could easily have held the meeting in its council chambers.
The five citizens who attended – one is on the board of the agricultural society – were outnumbered by council, staff (including four township department heads, the township solicitor, and three people representing the society), and two reporters.
Of the five citizens, only two spoke, with one in favour and one opposed to the application.
It was a far cry from the meeting of March 29, 2000, when council was trying for public comments on the application to allow a race track and slots facility.
That turned into the largest public meeting on record in Wellington County, with over 1,400 people jamming the Elora community centre and spilling into the lobby and filling the arena stands. People even stood outside in the parking lot. That meeting lasted until 2:30 in the morning, after a 7pm start.
The meeting on Monday night was over in 45 minutes.
Agricultural society planner Paul Britton, offered one possible reason for the small turnout.
“The principal use is established,” Britton said, noting the issue now is not if the slots should be allowed, but if the OLG can increase the number beyond the permitted 200.
The township did receive a few letters after it first learned of the application and announced the public meeting, but after that meeting was advertised in this Newspaper on Oct. 31, the township received “approximately none,” according to township planner Brett Salmon.
Britton noted the local economy has benefited by the presence of the raceway and slots facility. He cited projections for jobs, visits, and profits made in 2000, and said, “Those projections have been equaled or greatly exceeded.”
The facility is visited by over 650,000 people each year, and it has brought the town over $8-million in revenue.
Britton said the size of the purses is the key to a successful racetrack, and the slots help provide that cash, which in turn attracts better horses and thus larger crowds.
He said since the application was presented eight years ago, there is increased competition at racetracks, particularly from the United States. More slot machines would increase profits, and thus increase racing purse money.
When citizens were asked for comments or questions, Fergus resident Mike Wisniewski spoke in support. He said no level of government should be able to tell people what they can do with their own property, and the OLG should be able to increase the number of slots as it sees fit.
David Copp, of Salem, opposed the bylaw. He said when the slots were approved, there was no indication there would be an increase beyond the 200 in that application. He said he has heard there might be as many as 20 more slot machines, and his concern is “the ongoing pressure” for more and more.
Copp said the municipality gets nearly $2-million per year in revenue, but there is “$40-million being sucked out of the economy of Centre Wellington and Wellington County.”
He added that an increase in the machines would make it tougher for people to make ends meet, particularly in these tough economic times.
“We’re heading into a recession,” he said. “The last thing people should be doing is wasting money …”
Copp added the issue eight years ago divided council, divided the town, and is still having an effect today. He said constant pressure for the slots facility to grow will keep those feelings alive.
He also noted the agricultural society was supposed to pay $800,000 for work at the intersection of County Roads 7 and 21, but used money from the township’s share of the profits because it had to finance construction of the facility.
“They’re going to keep pushing,” he said of the agricultural society. But, looking around, he added, “I wish there were more people here. I figure, eventually, there will be pressure for a casino.”
Councillor Fred Morris asked for a history of the cap set at 200 machines.
Raceway General Manager Dr. Ted Clarke explained that was what was allotted for Elmira when the raceway operated in that community.
Britton pointed out when the facility started, there were 12% fewer racing dates, but the facility is growing in use.
Clarke said the OLG allotted slots according to the size of buildings, for bigger or smaller operations, and, “We didn’t have the resources to build that kind of [bigger] facility.”
Salmon said the application included 200 slot machines and that was carried through the negotiations, which included two court hearings and a hearing at the Ontario Municipal Board before the zoning bylaw was approved.
“There was never any deliberation on the right number,” Salmon said.
Councillor Shawn Watters, who sat on the council that approved the first bylaw and had voted in favour of it, asked if there was a number of slot machines that the OLG can put in “without physically growing.”
Clarke said he had heard 20 to 30 “without growing the building.”
Watters asked if there is a no requirement to come to council for permission for more slots “except if the building grows.”
There is not.
Morris asked if the 200 cap on the slots is inconvenient.
Clarke said there is “a demand for more product than we can supply.” Britton noted there are lineups for the machines.
Clarke acknowledged that “Every time we do this we create unease in the community.” He added that other tracks with slots facilities have no caps on them. He pointed out there is no cap on the growth of any other business in the township.
Councillor Kirk McElwain asked how many of the 650,000 visitors a year are locals.
Clarke said according to OLG tracking, about 10%, and that the bulk of the visitors come from Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo.
Copp asked where the spin-off benefits have been for Elora, something that was promised when the facility was approved.
Britton said the OMB acknowledged much of that business would benefit agriculture. As well, he said, the OMB said the facility would attract “a different kind of tourist,” but they would spend on gasoline and restaurants, and he noted there are other businesses being created at the intersection of County Roads 7 and 21.
He added there are a lot of jobs moved from Elmira to Centre Wellington for the society, and other were created by the slots facility.
Wisniewski pointed out that there had been no money “sucked out” of the township. He said it was “free consumer choice. People chose to spend it there.”
There is no scheduled set yet for the issue to come to council.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj noted in a discussion after the meeting that the township’s share of the slots profits is being used for infrastructure projects all over the township. She added that she was in Ottawa very recently and Prime Minister Stephen Harper had stated municipalities that spend on infrastructure and create jobs will receive federal money.
The township just recently sought a grant of over $10-million from the federal and provincial governments to expand the Elora sewage treatment plant, and there are construction projects currently going on all over the township.
