Emailing - McLean Citizens Association

Date: 1/30/2024
Subject: UPDATE - SB675 - CASINO
From: McLean Citizens Association

Dear MCA Board Members:

I wanted to update you on the casino issue - actions and next steps. The bill was sent to a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee which, unfortunately, is chaired by Senator Marsden, the patron of the bill. Below is the letter that was sent to the subcommittee and the full Senate Finance Committee to express MCA's opposition. The bill is not listed on the subcommittee's or the full Finance Committee's agenda of upcoming meetings. We will continue to monitor.

In the meantime, you can still write to the full Finance Committee to express your opinion. Information was sent to all of our members on Sunday with a list of email addresses for the Committee members. If you represent a homeowner or civic association, I urge you to have your association take a position and send a letter to the committee. If a letter is sent from your HOA/CA, please send a copy to Sally Horn (tysons_committee@mcleancitizens.org) so she can track community sentiments.

What else are we doing:

Sally Horn went to Richmond on Monday to lobby Senators. We will continue to send representatives to lobby Richmond.
The No Casino in Reston group has expanded their efforts to No Casino in Fairfax. Sally and I are meeting with the organizers on Thursday to talk strategy. Letters in opposition have been sent by Reston, Town of Vienna, Great Falls, Fairfax Federation, Sully and West Fairfax Associations (similar to MCA) as well as many homeowners and civic organizations. The sentiment seems to be that the citizens of Fairfax want to fight a casino proposal here and now to discourage the introduction of alternative sites in the future.
We have started a conversation with a professor at GMU to produce a county-wide survey - who is in favor, who is not. The goal is to correlate the results with the Supervisor Districts - our power is in the vote.
An MCA member that is a commercial real estate agent in Tysons has reached out and we will explore his opinion regarding impacts on existing commercial and residential real estate values, businesses in Tysons and how it would impact the County's ability to entice additional businesses to relocate to Tysons.

I was interviewed by Tom Fitzgerald, Fox News today. I am hopeful that MCA's position is included in the report tonight. On the bright side, Tom reminded me that Manassas Park had voted no on a gambling referendum this fall and we all know that Richmond has voted down two casino referendums (last one 60% opposed). Tom stated he couldn't imagine that the referendum could succeed in Fairfax County. I am holding on to that thought!

My email box is jammed, so I request that you not reply to this email unless you have a suggestion on strategy. We will allot time at the February Board meeting to discuss further.

Regards,

Linda

Dear Members of the Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee:

The McLean Citizens Association (“MCA”) opposes Senate Bill 675 that would authorize a referendum to allow a gaming casino to operate in Fairfax County, specifically in Tysons, the majority of which lies within the MCA’s general membership area. Our membership and Board are concerned that the funds generated for the County, will not offset the cost of increased infrastructure to include traffic, police, fire and emergency services, and other societal costs that are highly correlated with casinos. Further, the MCA was very involved in the Tysons Comprehensive Plan that allowed Tysons to grow into the economic engine it is today. We do not believe that a casino fits into the plan or enhances it.

Some misinformation has been circulated regarding the opposition to this Bill. I want to assure you that MCA has not been contacted by, lobbied or received funds from MGM. There is overwhelming community opposition to a casino in Tysons or elsewhere in the County. This is evidenced by email traffic and the uptick in MCA's membership as residents clamor to unite and defeat this Bill. Countywide opposition is evidenced by the emerging coalition of civic associations that oppose a casino.

We respectfully request that this Bill be withdrawn due to irregularities and prescribed practices that are not fair, transparent nor consistent with Fairfax County policies and procedures. At a minimum, the following questions should be addressed before this Bill is moved out of this subcommittee:

1. To quote the letter that was sent by Fairfax County Chairman McKay to General Assembly Leaders on January 26, "Unlike other jurisdictions that received the authority to hold a referendum to host a casino, Fairfax County did not seek authority and has not been substantively involved in the development of the casino concept ......." Senator Marsden has stated that discussions and input was had with Fairfax County. Please clarify what discussions were conducted with the county and describe the support that was offered by the Chairman and/or other Fairfax County Supervisors.

2. Senate Bill 675 specifies the site and Senator Marsden has confirmed the location with various journalists. This is highly unusual as it obviously benefits individuals/companies who had previously purchased or had an option to purchase the designated location. Preselection is not consistent with generally accepted procurement practices for governmental entities. Additionally, the language deviates from the language used for other authorized casino cities/localities. Please explain.

Again, MCA requests this Bill be withdrawn to allow further dialogue with the Fairfax County Chair and Board of Supervisors to identified needs and do a feasibility study.

Respectfully,

Linda Walsh
President
(703) 300-0819

cc: Senate Finance Committe
Fairfax County Chairman and Board of Supervisors

Website: mcleancitizens.org Email: Info@mcleancitizens.org

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