North Bay said Yes to the proposed casino venue operated by Gateway Casinos and Entertainment following an extensive meeting at the City Hall this Wednesday. The highly-anticipated congregation held a special vote striving to decide whether or not a gaming venue should be constructed in the region of the city, and the idea received a nod after an 8-3 vote in favor.
The City Council was preparing for this meeting since it had the main objective to shed more light on the gambling future of the region. Officials also had to make sure that once it receives their approval, the casino venue will have all additional arrangements clarified and set in stone, as its future operation depends on them. About two hours were necessary for the public presentations in the City Hall to take place, providing enough time for everyone to learn more about the upcoming Cascades Casino.
Heated City Hall Meeting Holds Vote
A vacant land lot in the vicinity of Pinewood Park Drive is projected to welcome the new casino venue, but one of the avid opposers of the project, City Councilor Mark King was among the first ones to make an attempt to slow down the process of voting. He stated that there are now too many recently joined councilors and they need more time to catch up with the situation and take it all in.
The magnitude of this gambling expansion on a city level is quite a lot to comprehend, which is why he claimed that the individuals need more time before they cast their vote. Mr. King pointed out that the casino developer and operator Gateway Casinos is constantly touting the 200 new job positions provided by the new gaming venue, but there is more to it. At the moment there are about 400 vacant jobs across the city and nobody interested in applying for them.
Neighboring communities could also benefit. When it comes to the voting this Wednesday, it transformed the City Hall into a heated arena of supporters and opposers of the gaming venue construction. It divided the crowd present on site, as official were prevalently in support of the casino venue. As many as eight of them voted with a yes, whereas only three expressed their discontent with the proposed casino development.
Supporters and Opposers Clash
In the meantime, members of the community present as an audience to the vote were vocal about their opposition. A resident of North Bay even went so far as to claim that the officials have failed to do their job and represent the public position on the subject. The entire meeting bore the spirit of discontentment, as about 20 presentations were held in front of the audience.
All of them raised awareness about the negative impact of a casino venue construction near a city such as North Bay. Among the main concerns for the community is, of course, the impact on the community which will be subjected to the negative effect of a gambling facility. Some of the individuals presenting claimed more time for consideration is necessary and the vote should be postponed.
Once it was time for the vote to take place, only Coun. King, Marcus Tignanelli and Scott Robertson maintained their position against a casino venue construction. The latter two participants in the meeting were new to the subject and decided it will be best if they remain an opposition. Gateway Casinos was not present at the meeting in order to present more details about the future casino venue. Nevertheless, City officials felt confident enough to make the decision, as they have the information needed from previous discussions.
