Published: September 05, 2008 09:03 am      

Chamber fails to take position on slots issue

Group says it lacked information on impact at Rocky Gap State Park

CUMBERLAND — It took more than a week for the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce board of directors to debate and decide what position to take in regards to the slots referendum on the November ballot.

In the end, the 18 board members remained neutral — for now.

“The board supports the use of funds from slots, should they become legal, to help fund the educational needs throughout the state,” read a news release from the chamber received late Thursday afternoon.

“However, as a business advocate, and with the best interest of the general public at heart, the board decided it does not have enough information on the positive and negative economic impact on local business or the general public to be able to give support to the referendum. Issues such as payments to the county, placing such an establishment on public ground, negative social effects and possible impact to local businesses will continue to be researched by the chamber.”

The chamber’s board met last week and was expected to vote on the issue then, chamber President Barb Buehl told the Times-News then. But after more than an hour of discussion, there was not a consensus for a position.

“So many questions went unanswered,” Buehl said last week.

The position, or lack thereof, could be perceived as at least a bit surprising. The chamber’s legislative committee voted on Aug. 20 to recommend the board take a pro-slots stance. That recommendation came one month after meeting with Kathy Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, during which Snyder attempted to persuade members of the legislative committee that the slots referendum should pass — and should have the local chamber’s support.

On Thursday, Buehl said there was “an awful lot of discussion” and pros and cons weighed for taking either side on the referendum.

“We all agreed on the ‘no position at this time’ at the end,” Buehl said, “but during the discussion for and against, there was a lot of discussion on both ends. We all came to the conclusion at the end, that we really didn’t have enough information to really understand the impact that it will have on Rocky Gap State Park.”

The state park is the only one of five locations selected to house a slots parlor to be sited on state land. It was unclear the environmental impact a $75 million slots parlor would have on the area. At least $25 million is to be spent on a slots parlor for every 500 gaming machines. Rocky Gap is slated to house 1,500 machines if voters approve the referendum.

In addition, “I don’t think we’ve seen what some of the social implications can be,” Buehl said. “There were a lot more questions than definitive answers.”

Buehl said board members are asked not to discuss their vote with the media because some might interpret their comments as representing the chamber.

“I know some people will think it’s a no position to avoid taking (one), but it was quite the contrary,” Buehl said. “It was far from a rubber stamp.”

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.