Tribe again rolls dice for Calais racino

The Passamaquoddy Tribe is ramping up campaign efforts for the November 8 statewide vote on a tribal racino in Calais. The question on the ballot has the Washington County project linked with a proposed racino in Biddeford. A campaign headquarters for the "Yes on 2" effort is now open at 421 Main St. in Calais, where anyone who has questions about the project can stop in to get them answered.
Passamaquoddy Chief Clayton Cleaves of Pleasant Point observes that, even if voters give the green light to the proposal, the racino may not be constructed, since investors may not be found. He says the tribe does have four or five possible investors identified, but he notes, "They may say we don't have the traffic."
The tribe did have a market study done for its previous racino effort in 2007. That study, which was for a racino with up to 600 slot machines and a 100-unit hotel in Calais, estimated that 65% of the visitors would come from Canada. Only 10% of the visitors are expected to be from the local area. Cleaves admits it would be better to locate a racino in a more heavily populated area, which the tribe had tried to do with its proposed casino in Sanford. That proposal was turned down in a statewide referendum in 2003. The 2007 racino proposal also ended up being turned down in a state referendum vote, by a margin of 52% to 48%, although 70% of the Washington County voters supported the project.
If a tribal racino is approved in the vote this year, a new market study would be commissioned by the tribe. Cleaves says it would be premature to do a market study before the vote, and he notes that the tribe has spent over $1 million on past gambling efforts that were not approved. The tribe has been trying to get a casino or racino for over 18 years, but all of the efforts have been turned down, either in the legislature, through a veto by the governor or in referenda. Proposals for the Bangor racino, Hollywood Slots, and the Oxford County casino, though, have been approved by voters.
A possible location in Calais has not yet been determined, although two or three sites have been identified, Cleaves says. Tribal officials will need to meet with Calais city officials and St. Croix Valley Chamber of Commerce representatives to help in determining a site. He points out that the race track does not need to be adjacent to the gambling parlor and notes that Pembroke has a harness racing track.
If a racino is built, the tribe intends "to spread out the economic opportunity" throughout Washington County, says Cleaves. The racino could help in leveraging other business opportunities and "provide employment county-wide, not just for the tribe." The tribal chief notes that, in addition to the jobs that would be provided, the racino also would help reduce state and federal spending, since the tribal government would be able to shoulder more of the costs for housing and social assistance programs on the reservation. Calais would also benefit from the local revenues, and if both the Biddeford and Washington County racinos are built an estimated $50 million annually would be provided for the state's general fund, college scholarships at the University of Maine and the community college system, agriculture, fairs and harness racing in the state.

Other economic initiatives
Along with the racino, the tribe is continuing to pursue other economic initiatives, including a proposal to produce maple syrup. The tribe owns 28,000 acres around Jackman with some 20,000 maple trees that could be tapped. The sap would be refined at both Pleasant Point and Indian Township, with the product shipped all over the world, according to Cleaves. He notes that financing is still needed for this proposal.
The Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council's wind energy plans are continuing, with a site by Peaked Mountain in Township 19, near Columbia Falls, being eyed for a wind farm. First Wind also is looking at a site just to the west of the tribe's site.
Also the tribe's tidal energy projects are still being considered.