Table Games Grants Tabled

Scott Parsons (center) was on the committee that reviewed the table games grants

In what at times resembled a "Who's on First?" skit during their October 15 meeting, Northampton County eventually voted 6-3 to table a much ballyhooed grants program that would have awarded $720,000 for 22 different projects in Northampton County. They'll try again in three weeks.

These grant proposals are part of Executive John Brown's Community Investment Partnership Program (CIPP), which he first announced in January. The plan is to use table games revenue from the Sands Casino for a variety of grants and revolving loans, with an emphasis on aging boroughs and townships. By August, there were 43 grant applications, which were rated by a committee comprised of county bureaucrats, LVPC and Council member Scott Parsons. Those were whittled down to 22 projects, including four facade plans, a stormwater study for Bethlehem Ttownship and Freemansburg, as well as a regional animal control officer in the slate belt.

When the resolution was introduced, Lamont McClure insisted that each project be voted on individually.

The first of these was the stormwater study in Bethlehem Township and Freemansburg, which Mat Benol immediately panned. He slammed Bethlehem Township because "they seem to want to build on every square inch." If the Township wants to solve its stormwater problem, he argued it could simply stop building. "I don't need a stormwater management plan to tell me to shut my window when it's raining," he complained.

Despite Benol's objections the other eight members of Council approved the grant.

The second grant, which would give $10,000 to the Easton Redevelopment Authority for "landlord training" in Easton's West Ward, failed by a 5-4 vote. DCED staffer Mark Hartney explained the money would help educate landlords on city codes. But Seth Vaughn argued that "landlords should have some kind of understanding of what they are undertaking. Joining Vaughn in killing that grant were McClure, Glenn Geissinger, Benol and Hayden Phillips.

After the third grant passed, Hartney suggested to Council that applicants be invited to justify these projects themselves. He told them he would hate to see a good project killed because if his own inability to explain it.

Then Scott parsons suggested that perhaps all 43 of the original applicants should be invited to appear. Someone else countered that only the 22 project applicants picked by the Committee should be invited. Council President Peg Ferraro suggested that Council members could vote "Yes" or "Table" to individual applicants, after which the tabled applicants could be invited.

Finally, Lamont McClure moved to rescind the earlier votes. After that passed, he next moved to table the resolution completely until Council meets again on November 5, when they will try again.

Below is a list of the recommended projects.

Table Game Grants

NorCo Council Takes Control Over Table Games Grants

By a 8-1 vote, Northampton County Council last night voted to require their approval of any grants that might come from the nearly $3 million in table games revenue that is currently sitting in county coffers. An additional $1.2 million in revenue is anticipated this year. Glenn Geissinger was the sole council member to vote against this proposal, which was sponsored by Lamont McClure and Ken Kraft. Even Executive John Brown stated he didn't "really have any concern" with giving Council a say in how that money is spent. "We're just looking to get that money into circulation and put it to good use," he explained.

Brown has established announced a $1 million grants and loan program designed to focus more on the aging boroughs than on Bethlehem and Easton. On the campaign trail, he had argued that "[w]e have to get away from Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, and focus on the rest of the community." His plan, called the Community Investment Partnership Program (CIPP), will actually give priority to applications from the smaller communities. At an economic development hearing, DCED Director Diane Donaher indicated that 80% of the grants and funds awarded will go to what she calls the "aging communities" in contrast to the urban core.

Stating he had no intention of throwing a "wet blanket" on the spending plan outlined by brown. McClure's argument was simply that there's too much money in table games revenue for it to be discretionary." Hayden Phillips likened McClure's ordinance to what goes on in open space, where money is allotted in the budget every year but specific projects are voted up or down. Calling it a "check" on large sums of money, Seth Vaughn also agreed it "sounds good to me."

NorCo Council Acts to Take Control Over Table Games Revenue

Though Pennsylvania has no money trees, it has the next best thing - casinos. Last year, the state's 12 casinos raked in $2.3 billion. Bethlehem's Sands Casino Resort raked in gross revenues of over $280 million, of which $188 million came from table games alone. Northampton County's slots revenue, which is expected to be about $1.6 million this year, is distributed by an independent nine-member Gaming Board headed by Jay Finnigan. But the law relating to table games revenue, which is expected to fill County coffers with $1.2 million this year, is much more lax, and can be distributed for whatever is deemed to be in the County's best interest. There is nothing to prevent any county executive from spreading that money around in a thinly veiled re-election scheme. As a result, Northampton County Council has introduced an ordinance that gives it final say over any project that is to be funded by table games revenue.

When he was Executive, John Stoffa allowed the table games fund to accumulate. Though John Brown dipped into it for a trolley grant to Easton and Council took money for the open space program, this fund has grown to over $3 million.

"I really think Council should look into controlling this money like any other revenue stream and have say over where it goes," Ken Kraft cautioned at a recent committee hearing. Right now, the only person who has that control is Executive John Brown. He has announced an ambitious funding plan called called the Community Investment Partnership Program (CIPP), to promote community and economic development in the County's aging boroughs. DCED Director Diane Donaher told council's Economic Development committee that 80% of the grants and funds awarded will go to what she calls the "aging communities" in contrast to the urban core.