Sullivan signs off on casino agreement

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO — Sullivan County negotiators and representatives of the St. Regis Mohawks and Park Place Entertainment on August 10 announced agreement on a seven-year, $15-million-per-year “host benefit” pact that would pay the county “and the other affected constituencies” should a planned casino-hotel be built at Kutsher’s Country Club.

The agreement was part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which a statement from the tribe characterized as a key to the county Legislature’s “official approval” of the 66-acre land trust to the Mohawks that would come with approval by federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and New York State.

The 11-page draft MOU provides $15 million annually in quarterly installments, from which the Town of Thompson would receive $1.65 million. Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini said the amount was slightly higher than the independent agreement the town negotiated earlier.

Similar agreements, not included in the initial MOU, are likely with the Village of Monticello and the Monticello Central School District.

The tribe agreed to collect sales tax for the county, if it collects for the state. The Mohawks also agreed to limit tax-free sale of cigarettes to pack sales and not to sell gasoline.

Legislative majority leader Leni Binder (D-7) said the project had won Legislative endorsement earlier and the MOU only solidified the financial terms. Despite any other qualms about casino gaming’s impact on Sullivan County’s social structure or environment, she said the overriding reason for supporting the casino was its benefit to the county economy.

Legislator Chris Cunningham (DC-1) has been a vocal opponent, often the only Legislative opposition, of casino gaming. Cunningham said on Sunday that the new MOU did not change his position or mitigate his concerns about the impact of gaming on the new economic growth already taking place in Sullivan County.