[*A portion of this video is without audio*]
[2.a. Presentation from The Cordish Group]
[00:00:07]
AH. WE'VE WON SEVEN URBAN LAND INSTITUTE AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE AND THOSE ARE AWARDED TO COMPANIES THAT DO LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE TRANSFORMED CITIES. AND THEN SPEAKING WITH THE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM AS THEY LOOK TO PARTNER WITH THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM. AND WE HAVE TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE IN THAT AREA. UH WITH YOUR GREAT DEALS OF SUCCESS. UH AGAIN, WERE HIGHLY RESPECTED FOR THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. YOU'VE SOME OF YOU THAT WE'RE HERE AT OUR LAST MEETING. WE SHOWED YOU SOME IMAGES OF KANSAS CITY OF ST LOUIS, UH, PROJECTS THAT WE'VE WE'RE DOING IN TEXAS. SO YOU GET A SENSE OF THE QUALITY AND THE SCALE OF THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT THAT WE'RE DOING. AND LASTLY, WE'RE PROVEN COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR ORGANIZATION. WE HAVE SOME FOLKS HERE THAT ARE HANDS ON IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM THEM A LITTLE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION. AND THE SAME THING FOR PHILANTHROPY AND VOLUNTEERISM. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH OUR SITE. WE'RE AT THE CORNER OF WAGNER ROAD AND I 95 IT'S APPROXIMATELY 95 ACRE SITE. WITH DEVELOPMENT PARCELS OF AROUND 70. 70,000 ACRES. AND THIS IS JUST A QUICK FLY THROUGH OF THE SITE ITSELF AND HOW WE ENVISION THE MASTER PLAN FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT. THIS IS AT FULL BUILT OUT OF A TOTAL OF $1.4 BILLION OF INVESTMENT. BUT I HAVE. TO CAN YOU GET PLAY THE ARROW YELLOW ARROW THERE. IT'S NOT WORKING. THERE WE GO.
ALL RIGHT, SO THERE WE GO. AND WE LOST HEART THERE . YEAH. MHM.
SO THAT'S OUR VISION OF FOUR FOR THE CITED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT. JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME PARTICULARS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT. UH AH! WHAT'S IDENTIFIED AS ITEM NUMBER ONE WOULD BE THE CASINO, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 230,000 SQUARE FEET. AH TO THE RIGHT OF THAT ITEM. NUMBER TWO IS THE HOTEL. WE HAVE AN ENTERTAINMENT PLAZA. ITEM THREE, WHICH IS ABOUT 150,000 SQUARE FEET. PLAZA LAGOON, AND THESE ARE PARTS OF THE PHASE TWO DEVELOPMENT.
RETAIL AS YOU GET TO MOVING A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH ON THE PROJECT. UH INTERSPERSED, UH, APPROXIMATELY ONE POINT I'M SORRY. 280,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL. AH AND THE BACK PART OF THE PROJECT GOING FURTHER NORTH , WHICH BE A FINAL PHASE OF FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HOTEL AND MORE RESIDENTIAL. AND THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT PHASES THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF OUR OVERALL MASTER PLAN. PHASE ONE BEING THE CASINO HOTEL PARKING GARAGE, PHASE TWO EXPANSION OF
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THE RETAIL COMPONENTS AND PHASE THREE BEING AGAIN MORE RESIDENTIAL AND AN ADDITIONAL HOTEL. AGAIN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT $1.4 BILLION INVESTMENT OVER MULTIPLE YEARS, AND THAT'S BEEN SOMEWHAT OF OUR PATTERN AS WE'VE DEVELOPED PROJECTS OVER THE YEAR , STARTING WITH THE CASINO AS THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES ALL THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY. THE MIXED USE COMPONENTS IS REALLY DRIVEN BY THAT PHASE ONE. COMPONENT OF GAMING. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE PROJECT WILL ENCOMPASS ROUGHLY FOUR MILLION SQUARE FEET OF OVERALL MIXED USE. THIS IS THE FULL BUILD OUT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OVER 1300 RESIDENTIAL UNITS. 500 HOTEL ROOMS AND ROUGHLY 600,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL, DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT SPACE. THIS IS A RENDERING OF STREET LEVEL. ALL OF OUR DEVELOPMENTS ARE FULLY DEVELOPED. LANDSCAPED YOU CAN SEE RESIDENTIAL IMAGES TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT. YOU HAVE THE DELIGHT CASINO ENTRANCE TO THE LEFT HERE. AGAIN THIS IS A RENDERING OF STREET LEVEL. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ACTIVATE THE STREET WITH TRAFFIC WITH A GOOD MIX OF RETAIL AND ENTERTAINMENT. THIS IS A RENDERING OF SOME OF THE WATER FEATURES. ALL OF OUR DEVELOPMENTS HAVE REALLY NICE WATER FEATURES. YOU CAN SEE THE HOTEL TO THE LEFT. AND MOVING INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON PHASE ONE. THIS IS THE HOTEL. THE DESIGN IS VERY CONSISTENT WITH HOTELS THAT WE'VE DONE IN MARYLAND AS WELL AS PHILADELPHIA BECAUSE OF THE CLIMATE HERE WILL HAVE INDOOR OUTDOOR SORRY. POOLS AND WATER FEATURES REALLY ADDING A LITTLE MORE DRAMATIC FEATURES TO THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT. MORE SPECIFICALLY, UH, THIS WILL BE 670,000 SQUARE FEET OF HOTEL, GAMING AND DINING ENTERTAINMENT . THE HOTEL WILL FEATURE ROUGHLY 200 HOTEL ROOMS. THERE'LL BE 2000 SLOTS AND ELECTRONIC TABLE GAMES WITH 60 LIVE ACTION TABLE GAME OF POSITIONS. THERE'LL BE SPORTS BOOK. AS YOU KNOW MANY OF YOU THAT, UH, SPORTS BETTING HAS BEEN PASSED IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. THERE'LL BE A STATE OF THE ART EVENTS CENTER WITH TOP BRAND TOP NAME, ENTERTAINMENT AND DOZENS OF WORLD CLASS DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS. JUST A BRIEF VIDEO. VISION.THAT CONCLUDES MY PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION. I'M GOING TO ASK TRAVIS TO COME ON UP AND TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. THANKS, ED. THANKS FOR HAVING US TODAY, FOLKS. UH I HOPE I GET EXCITED EVERY TIME YOU SEE A VIDEO LIKE THAT. IT REMINDS US THAT IT'S NOT JUST A CASINO. IT'S ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD AND BEVERAGE RETAIL. THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES ON AT OUR RESORTS OUTSIDE OF JUST GAMING. UM MY NAME IS TRAVIS. I'M THE CFO OF CORDISH GAMING LIKE TO TALK TO YOU TODAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT PROJECT OF THIS SIZE WILL HAVE, UM SO WE CAN SWITCH TO THE. MIGHT BE A LITTLE SMALL HERE, BUT I'LL READ IT ALL
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FOR YOU. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE, YOU HAVE THE ONE TIME UPFRONT CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS OF BUILDING THE FACILITY AND USUALLY LIKE OUR PHASE. ONE OF THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT TODAY. THAT'S TYPICALLY A TWO YEAR TIME SPAN TO BUILD OUT THE PHASE ONE IN ADDITION TO THE ONE TIME UPFRONT CONSTRUCTION IMPACT, THEN WE HAVE THE ONGOING IMPACT OF OPERATIONS ONCE THE CASINO IS OPEN TO CUSTOMERS. FOR BOTH OF THESE. THE UPFRONT AND THE ONGOING YOU HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT EFFECTS ON THE COMMUNITY. YOU HAVE DIRECT EFFECT. INDIRECT EFFECT AND INDUCED EFFECTS. SO SOUNDS KIND OF COMPLICATED, BUT I'LL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT EACH ONE OF THOSE MEANS. THE DIRECT EFFECT ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY THE JOBS THAT ARE CREATED RIGHT ON THE SITE, WHETHER IT'S THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND THE UPFRONT STAGE OR THE ONGOING OPERATION WITH THE THOUSANDS OF JOBS THAT WE HAVE AT THE FACILITY. THERE WAS THERE WAS FOLKS ALL EARNED A NICE WAGE, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO LATER, UH AND THE AND THE PAYROLL AND THE BENEFITS THAT THEY GET IS SUBSTANTIAL. MOVING ON TO INDIRECT EFFECT. INDIRECT EFFECT IS ALL THE COMPANIES THAT WE DO BUSINESS WITH. WE JUST DON'T. WE CAN'T RUN THIS FACILITY WITHOUT INTERACTION FROM THE LOCAL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW THE PAINTERS, THE LANDSCAPERS, THE PLUMBERS THEY WHEN WE HAVE ISSUES THEY COME ON IN AND HELP US OUT TO CREATE A GREAT GUEST EXPERIENCE. SO THOSE FOLKS, THOSE COMPANIES MAKE MONEY. THEY MAKE A PROFIT FOR THEIR COMPANIES. AND THEN THAT GOES BACK INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY, SO THAT'S INDIRECT EFFECT. FINALLY YOU HAVE THE INDUCED EFFECT. SO THE THOUSANDS OF JOBS THAT I MENTIONED BOTH DURING CONSTRUCTION PHASE AND ONGOING OPERATIONS. THE MONEY THOSE PEOPLE MAKE GOES BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY AS THEY BUY THINGS FOR THEIR HOUSE BY FOOD AND BEVERAGE. UH AND ENTERTAINMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THAT'S THE SOME CALL IT SPINOFF IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY. SO YOU TAKE ALL THESE THINGS TOGETHER TO GET THE TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT OF THIS PROJECT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.SO DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD. UH AS WE'RE FINE TUNING BUDGETS FOR BUILDING THIS GREAT FACILITY WERE COMING IN APPROXIMATELY $400 MILLION PROJECT. SO THAT'S THAT'S US SPENDING 400 MILLION AND THEN YOU HAVE THE SPIN OFF OF THAT. THE MONEY THAT IS MADE BY THE CONTRACTORS THAT WE HIRE TO BUILD THE FACILITY. THEY THEN GO OUT AND SPEND MONEY IN THE COMMUNITY. SO YOU END UP HAVING MORE THAN 400 MILLION. WE'RE PROJECTING ABOUT $440 MILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE. SO THEN WHAT HAPPENS ONCE WE HAVE THE CASINO OPEN? UM THE CASINO RIGHT NOW. IT'S LOOKING LIKE AT THE FACILITY ITSELF. IT WILL HAVE ABOUT 1300 JOBS, BUT THEN YOU HAD TO ADD ON THOSE OTHER COMPANIES THAT I MENTIONED THE OUTSIDE FIRMS THAT WE DO BUSINESS WITH TO CONTINUE PROVIDING A GREAT GUEST EXPERIENCE THAT ADDS ANOTHER 200 JOBS. SO ALL IN ALL, IT'S ABOUT 1500 JOBS CREATED FROM THIS FACILITY ON AN ONGOING BASIS. AND THE AVERAGE COMPENSATION FOR THESE JOBS IS AROUND $60,000 AND THAT THAT INCLUDES BENEFITS AND THEIR BASE PAY AND AS WELL AS TIPS THAT THEY RECEIVE. SO PRETTY GOOD PAYING JOBS. UH IN THIS RESORT THAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE? SO ALL THAT TOGETHER AND GOING BACK TO OUR DIRECT, INDIRECT AND INDUCED EFFECT ADDS UP TO ABOUT $220 MILLION IN ECONOMIC OUTPUT PER YEAR FROM FROM THIS PROJECT, AS OUR TEAM MEMBERS SPEND THE MONEY THEY MAKE IN THE COMMUNITY. THE CONTRACTORS SPEND THE MONEY THEY MAKE, AND THEIR COMPANIES SPEND THE PROFITS THEY MAKE TO CONTINUE GROWING AND GROWING. THE PETERSBURG COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION TO THE ECONOMIC OUTPUT THAT WE MENTIONED BEFORE, UH THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE SIGNIFICANT GAMING TAXES, BOTH FOR THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY OF PETERSBURG. YOU CAN SEE HERE THE STRUCTURE AND WE'RE WE'RE PROPOSING OVER THE YEARS THE GAMING REVENUE WILL BE BETWEEN 203 100 MILLION, UH, BUILDING UP, AS AS AS IT GROWS AND BECOMES MORE AND MORE POPULAR, AND SO THE TAX RATE STARTS AT 18% ON THE 1ST 200 MILLION AND THEN 23% OF THE GAMING REVENUE ON THE NEXT 200 MILLION, AND THEN ANYTHING ABOVE THAT IS 30.
THAT THAT. GOES TO THE STATE. HOWEVER 66% OF THE 18% SO 11 3RD OF THAT GOES TO THE LOCAL
[00:15:08]
COMMUNITY OF PETERSBURG. AND THAT ADDS UP ON A DOLLAR PERSPECTIVE. WE'RE PROJECTING THAT THAT WILL BE ABOUT $12 MILLION A YEAR, UH AND GROWING OVER THE YEARS TO THE CITY OF PETERSBURG, RIGHT FROM THE GAMING GAMING REVENUES, THE PERCENTAGE THAT THE CITY KEEPS.THAT ADDS UP. I THINK WE LOOKED SOMETIMES WE LOOK AT THINGS ON A 15 YEAR BASIS. UH, THAT ADDS UP TO $214 MILLION OVER THE 15 YEAR PERIOD, SO SUBSTANTIAL DOLLARS, UH, TO GO BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY ABOVE AND BEYOND ALL THE OTHER ECONOMIC OUTPUT FROM THE JOBS THAT THIS, UH, FACILITY WILL CREATE. SO THOSE ARE THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS NEXT UP. I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE BILL MIKUS, OUR SENIOR VP OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AND HE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT OF MORE ABOUT THE JOB OPPORTUNITIES, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND SO FORTH. ADDRESS. COUNCIL MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT. THANK YOU, TRAVIS. WITH ME. I HAVE OUR DIRECTOR OF TALENT ACQUISITION NIKKI LEWIS AND TOGETHER WE'RE PROUD TO, UH HOW THE CONVERSATIONS AS TRAVIS SAID THE IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THE $60,000 COUNT TOTAL COMPENSATION AS WELL AS THE 1500 JOBS. 1500 JOBS 13 INDIRECT, 1300 DIRECT AND 200 INDIRECT AND THE ADDITIONAL $15 EFFECTIVE WAGE RATE. WE'RE VERY PROUD TO BE ABLE ABLE TO OFFER THAT TO THE AREA, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT WE DO HAVE SOME LIFE LIFE. ENHANCING BENEFITS THAT WE ARE VERY PROUD OF AS WELL AT LIVE.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE LISTED HERE. NOT ALL BUT AGAIN, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT OUR BENEFITS. BUT WE DO OFFER FULL TIME AND PART TIME. NOT MANY ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE TODAY OFFER PART TIME BENEFITS AND ONE OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES IS TO OFFER PART TIME BENEFITS TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND TEAM MEMBERS. FOUR OH, ONE K WITH A COMPANY MATCH, NO COST LIFE INSURANCE TO OUR TEAM MEMBERS AS WELL AS NO COST, SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE IS MANY OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH AN R GAMING INDUSTRY HAVE A CHARGE FOR THAT, OR ARE YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S COSTING TEAM MEMBERS OF PREMIUM TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE TYPES OF BENEFITS. WE ALSO OFFER FLEXIBLE PART TIME FLEXIBLE, PAID TIME OFF FOR PTO FOR USE DURING, UH, FOR A SPECIFIC TIME OFTEN NEEDS SERVICE AND ATTENDANCE AWARDS AND BONUSES. WE DO OFFER CASH AWARD BONUSES, WHICH IS ANOTHER NICE OPPORTUNITY AS THE LIVE ORGANIZATION MOVES FORWARD AS WE LOOK AT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. WE DEFINITELY WANT TO KEEP THAT CASH. IN HAND BONUS FOR OUR TEAM MEMBERS, WHICH IS GREAT. ADDITIONALLY CAREER ADVANCEMENT IN TRAINING. UH PART OF OUR CORE VALUE IS THAT WE ADVANCE OUR TEAM MEMBERS THROUGH SEVERAL PROGRAMS, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO IT A LITTLE BIT. WE ALSO OFFER DISCOUNTED MEAL PROGRAMS, AMENITIES FOR UNIFORMS AND VENDOR PARTNER OFFERS SO MANY OF THE VENDOR PARTNERS THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH OFFERS CERTAIN BENEFITS TO OUR TEAM MEMBERS AND WE ARE VERY PROUD TO BE ABLE TO OFFER. SOME OF THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING OF THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE OFFERING TEAM MEMBERS. OBVIOUSLY OUR JOBS OR WHAT MAKES US TICK, RIGHT? THE PEOPLE AND OUR CULTURE AND PART OF OUR OPPORTUNITY EXISTS TO BE ABLE TO OFFER MULTISERVICE HOSPITALITY ROLLS ALL UNDER ONE ROOF. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT GAMING IN GENERAL, DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOU KNOW, DEALER OR YOU THINK ABOUT A SLOT ATTENDANT, BUT WHAT YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT OUR THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES SO YOU CAN SEE UP TOP HERE. GAMING WE HAVE DEALERS. CASHIER SLOT ATTENDANTS GET SERVICES, FOOD AND BEVERAGE. WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AS YOU CAN READ THERE. THE HOTEL AS ED SAID, A VERY LOVELY HOTEL, FRONT DESK, HOUSEKEEPING FACILITIES, GUEST RELATIONS. BUT MANY OF YOU DON'T REALIZE THE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS THAT WE ALSO HAVE AS WELL AND THEY INCLUDE THE FINANCE AREAS INCLUDE MARKETING, HUMAN RESOURCES, INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY, SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE, COMPLIANCE AND AUDIT. AND THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF WHAT NIKKI AND I DO TOGETHER, WHICH IS CREEPY ENVIRONMENT WHERE THESE ARE SUCCESSFUL THAT WERE THESE ROLES ARE SUCCESSFUL AND WHERE WE CAN DEVELOP TEAM MEMBERS, SO THE LAST POINT HERE IS ABOUT TEAM MEMBER DEVELOPMENT. SO AS WE COME TO GET TO KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY AND TO KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT DEFINED CAREER LADDERS AND HOW WE APPROACH EACH JOB AND UNDERSTAND THE LEVELS OF COMMITMENT THAT LIFE HAS TO YOUR CAREER ADVANCEMENT. THOSE ARE VERY CRITICAL THINGS, ESPECIALLY SPECIALTY SKILL DEVELOPMENT IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO US. WE HAVE A MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, WHICH WE AGAIN LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY TO
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SUPPORT AND TO GROW, SO THESE ARE VERY CRITICAL ITEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE ARE VERY PROUD OF IT LIVE. ADDITIONALLY AND MOST IMPORTANT IS OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE CONNECTIONS WITH YOU GUYS. AND THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO TO OUR CORE VALUE AT LIVE, WHICH IS WE BUILD RELATIONSHIPS TO GROW AND DEVELOP OUR WORKFORCE. WE'RE HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS MULTICULTURAL CHAMBERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKING WITH JOB CORPS'S CAREER LINKS. OTHER WORK FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATIONS ARE VERY CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS. SO IN THAT MY EXPERIENCE AS AN OPENING UP MANY OF THE PROPERTIES FOR LIVE I'VE ENGAGED IN MULTIPLE DIALOGUE AROUND HOW WE COMMUNICATE VIRTUALLY OBVIOUSLY, DURING COVID. THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN OUR WORLD, SO WE NEEDED TO DO THINGS VIRTUALLY. BUT WE HAVE JOB FAIRS. WE HAVE JOB INFORMATION SESSIONS WERE PEOPLE GET TO KNOW UH, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE FOR TEAM MEMBERS. AND FINALLY FOOD AND BEVERAGE AND TECHNOLOGY . WE PARTNER WITH SCHOOLS IN THE AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS CONNECTED TO A LOCAL INSTITUTION. THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THAT. SO THAT SAID. AH I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER FOR VENDOR OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, AND ROB NORTON, OUR PRESIDENT AND AT EVANS ALRIGHT, ED. COUNCIL. HELLO. HELLO, EVERYBODY, UH, MEMBERS OF PETERSBURG. HELLO IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, I LOVE THE BRAND. I WEAR IT EVERYWHERE I GO . I WANT TO SHOW OFF SOMETHING REALLY QUICK. IF I MAY, YOU MIGHT CAN'T SEE THIS. BUT DO YOU SAY IT AGAIN ALL THE WAY DOWN TO MY SOCKS ARE WEAR THE BRAND OKAY , BECAUSE I LOVE THE BRAND JUST THAT MUCH. UM AND THE REASON WHY I LOVE THE BRAND THAT MUCH AS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO.FROM A COMMUNITY STANDPOINT, WHICH I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU AND HOW WE PULL MY PANTS DOWN. OKAY SORRY. SORRY UH, READY. YOU KNOW YOU SAW THAT RIGHT? NO LOTION. THANK YOU. AND HOW WE GET INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITY. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL WAY OF PARTNERING WITH UH, VENDORS. EVERYTHING CAN'T BE COVERED. OBVIOUSLY THROUGH THE CASINOS, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO REALLY FLOURISH. WE SPENT ABOUT $10 MILLION OUTSIDE OF OUR CASINO WALLS, OKAY, AND THAT GETS SPREAD OUT. THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND LOCAL BUSINESSES, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES. SIX MILLION OF THAT WILL MOST LIKELY COME FROM THINGS YOU SEE ON THIS WALL HERE. FOOD AND BEVERAGE. CARPET CLEANING VEHICLE MAINTENANCE OFFICE SUPPLIES. SO IF YOU KNOW PEOPLE TO HAVE THOSE TYPES OF BUSINESSES, THEY WILL REAP THE BENEFITS OF THAT $6 MILLION INFLUX AND NOW FROM THE SERVICE SIDE, WHICH IS WHEN I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL GET THIS THIS FOUR MILLION ROUGHLY THAT SITS AROUND LOCKSMITHS, DEEP CLEANING, LANDSCAPING AND ETCETERA. RIGHT THESE ARE ALL OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO REAP BENEFITS FROM WHAT WE DO. VERY PROUD OF THAT.
WE BELIEVE AND PARTNERING WITH MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES. ANNUALLY. WE WILL HOST MINORITY VENDOR FAIR WHERE EVERY MINORITY BUSINESS IN PETERSBURG IS TO COME AND SHOWCASE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES AND THEIR BUSINESSES TO OTHER PEOPLE AND WORK TOGETHER TO HELP BUILD THEIR BRANDS. IF YOU WILL. NOW THE THING THAT I'M MOST PROUD ABOUT IS THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF HOURS THAT WE PUT INTO WHAT WE CALL SWEAT EQUITY, WHICH IS BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE DO COMMUNITY WORK AND HOW WE GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND HELP BUILD UP COMMUNITIES. I'M STANDING HERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG.
CRIME SOLVERS. THESE ARE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. WE WORK HAND IN HAND.
THOUSANDS OF HOURS WE PUT IN AND THIS VIDEO WILL JUST DEMONSTRATE A LITTLE BIT. AND I DO MEAN A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE DO IN THE COMMUNITY. THE VALUE. MY HEIGHT MOMENT IN THE COMMUNITY IS OUR WAY OF BRANDING OUR COMMUNITY EFFORT. IT'S REALLY WHAT WE DO. IT'S IN OUR DNA. IT'S MORE THAN JUST WRITING A CHECK AND HANDING OUT MONEY TO LOCAL NONPROFITS. IT'S OUR WAY OF GETTING PERSONALLY INVOLVED BRINGING THE PEOPLE OF OUR WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION TO THESE FANTASTIC NONPROFITS WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE LIVE. AND GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY WITH NOT ONLY OUR MONEY BUT OUR SWEAT AND OUR SWEAT EQUITY WITHIN THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS A BIG PART OF OUR ORGANIZATION. I THINK THAT DOES COME BACK TO THE PEOPLE. WE LOOK TO OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO ENGAGE WITH US IN THAT AREA. WE WANT TO BE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE DO BUSINESS IN, SO WE PLACE A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON VOLUNTEERISM IN TERMS OF HOURS COMMITTED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP. WE WANT TO WORK ALONGSIDE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOING
[00:25:01]
GOOD WORK IN THE COMMUNITY. WE LITERALLY TAKE PART IN DOZENS AND DOZENS OF EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS WE TAKE PART IN ITS EVERYTHING FROM LOCAL CHAMBERS, TWO MAJOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S EVERY YEAR DOING THE TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE. WHERE NOT ONLY DO WE DONATE THE TOYS AND WORK WITH THE MARINES TO GATHER THE DONATIONS, BUT IT'S ALSO SENDING HUNDREDS OF TEAM MEMBERS DOWN TO THE WAREHOUSE TO PUT TOGETHER THE BIKES. IT'S EVERY THANKSGIVING, DROPPING OFF HUNDREDS OF TURKEY'S TO OUR LOCAL FOOD BANKS TO BENEFIT THOSE THAT MIGHT BE FOOD IMPOVERISHED, BUT IT'S ALSO TAKING PART WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND LOCAL FESTIVALS LIKE THE PRIDE FEST, SO IT'S REALLY TAKING PART NOT JUST IN A SINGULAR VERTICAL OF THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS, BUT IT'S MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REPRESENTING THE LARGER COMMUNITY AND HOW WE TAKE PART. LET'S GO BY FOR THE LADY. THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAVE BEEN VERY CHALLENGING, AND IT'S BEEN YET ANOTHER REMINDER OF HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GET BACK.IT'S REALLY LET US AS A FAMILY. YOU DON'T WANT TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS AND OUR COMMITMENTS, PARTICULARLY ON HELPING YOUNGER PEOPLE IN BOTH EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. WE'VE CERTAINLY TAKING AN ATTITUDE THAT IT'S ALL THE MORE INCUMBENT ON US TO DOUBLE DOWN TO AUGMENT WHAT WE'VE DONE SO ANTHROPIC LEE, AND IT'S JUST REINFORCED OUR DESIRE TO TRY TO BE HELPFUL AND WAYS THAT WE CAN AND THOUGHTFUL WAYS THAT WE CAN FROM THE TROPICS STANDPOINT. WE'RE OUT HERE ON THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY AT MAMMOTH PARK, WORKING WITH THE UNITED WAY TO BUILD A BIKE. WE'VE CREATED THESE INCREDIBLE DESTINATIONS IN THE COMMUNITIES OF WHICH WE LIVE AND JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CONSTITUENTS AND WHERE WE LIVE. WE WANT TO SEE OUR COMMUNITIES THRIVE. WE WANT TO SEE OUR COMMUNITIES IMPROVED. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SUCCESS HELPS TO LIFT UP EVERYONE AROUND HIM. ONE LITTLE WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT IS BY GETTING INVOLVED WITH THE DIFFERENT NONPROFITS BECOMING PART OF THE BOARD MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE PROVIDE FUNDS TO GO TO THESE NONPROFITS. WE ALSO PROVIDING GUIDANCE AND STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT AND TIME AND EFFORT AND REAL SWEAT EQUITY IN MAKING SURE THAT WE DOING THINGS TO LIFT UP THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH WE WORK AND LIVE. AND. TURN THIS. I'M ONLY GONNA JUST ONE QUICK CORRECTION BECAUSE READING IS AN EXCITEMENT. BUT IF IT DIDN'T YOU DIDN'T DO A GREAT JOB. BY THE WAY. YES HE DID SO AND IN AND IN HIS EXCITEMENT REFERENCE THE COMMUNITY SPEND AT ABOUT $6 MILLION. IT'S ACTUALLY MORE LIKE 20 MILLION. PLUS UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPEND THAT WE ANTICIPATE FROM THIS MARKET ON AN ANNUAL BASIS GOING FORWARD, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THE BIGGER NUMBER GETS OUT THERE SINCE WE'RE RIGHT. AND ROB ALSO LIKE TO SAY THANK ED AS WELL BECAUSE I LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW. ED WAS IN PETERSBURG LAST THURSDAY AND SOCIAL SERVICES GIVING OUT TOYS TO OUR KIDS HERE IN PETERSBURG, HE WAS OUT IN THE RAIN SOAKED LIKE TO THANK ED AND THE LAB. THANK YOU FAMILY FOR BURYING THE RAIN TO DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR THE CHILDREN HERE IN PETERSBURG. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO INTRODUCE I CANNOT LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF HOURS. ALRIGHT I'M ONLY GONNA TAKE ONE MINUTE AND TALK ABOUT THE LIBRARY AND I'M SUZANNE TROUT. I'M THE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER FOR CORDISH GAMING. AND THE REASON WE WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LYBRAND IS IT'S REALLY THE ESSENCE OF WHAT WE DO. IT'S WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT THAN OUR COMPETITION.
IT'S HOW WE BRING GAS BACK OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS THROUGH OUR LIBRARY AND SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I THINK IS REALLY DIFFERENT ABOUT WHAT WE DO IS WE BELIEVE IN OUR DESIGNS HAVING HUGE ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT. WE ARE REALLY DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE AND DESIGN. AND I THINK YOU SAW THAT RIGHT WITH THOSE RENDERINGS. THIS IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPANY AND A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROJECT. WHEN YOU COME TO LIVE, YOU CAN EXPECT TO FEEL ALIVE. THAT'S THE NAME OF OUR COMPANY, SO WE HAVE A VARIETY OF ENTERTAINMENT. EVENTS PROMOTIONS. IT'S NOT JUST MUSIC . IT'S NOT JUST COMEDY. IT'S EVERYTHING. IT'S THE WHOLE PACKAGE. IT'S DINING. AND WE ARE A FAMILY RUN BUSINESS. SO WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? I'VE WORKED FOR A LOT OF BIG PUBLIC COMPANIES, AND I'LL TELL YOU THIS IS DIFFERENT. IT'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE TREAT OUR TEAM MEMBERS LIKE FAMILY. AND OUR TEAM MEMBERS TREAT OUR GUESTS LIKE FAMILY. A WARM WELCOME. WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND LASTLY, AS I JUST REALLY TALKED ABOUT
[00:30:05]
ILLUSTRATED, WE WANT TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY. AND WE WANT TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH WE ALL LIVE AND WORK. SO ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE DO THAT RIGHT BUTTON. RIGHT? IT IS TRUE OUR LIVE REWARDS PROGRAMS. THIS IS A LOYALTY PROGRAM. SO WHEN CUSTOMERS COME TO US, AND THEY PLAY WHERE THEY HAVE CASH PURCHASES, WE GIVE THEM REWARDS . THEY GET POINTS THAT THEY CAN USE FOR THINGS. THEY HAVE SPECIAL BENEFITS. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS WHILE YOU CAN USE SOME OF THESE BENEFITS THAT ANY LIVE CASINO OR PROPERTY WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE BUT THERE'S BENEFITS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE IN WITH THIS CASINO. SO IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS PARTNERING WITH LOCAL RESTAURANTS WHERE YOU COULD USE YOUR POINTS IT COULD BE PARTICIPATING IN LOCAL FESTIVALS . IT COULD BE PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO COME UP WITH FESTIVALS AND OCCASIONS THAT BRING TOURISTS HERE TO PETERSBURG. AND LASTLY, WE PROMOTE THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE IN. WHEN YOU CHECK INTO THE HOTEL IN MARYLAND, YOU'LL GET A BROCHURE THAT TALKS ABOUT ALL THE LOCAL THINGS THAT YOU CAN SEE AND VISIT FOR TOURISM IN THAT REGION. SO WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU A VIDEO THAT I THINK BRINGS THE LIVE BRAND AND CORDISH DEVELOPMENT TO LIFE. SO THIS IS REALLY JUST SHOWING YOU THE HEART BEAT OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO. AND THEN AFTER THIS WILL BE OPEN FOR QUESTIONS.THANK YOU. MR MAYOR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. WE LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR UP QUESTIONS FIRST TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. I WANT TO INVITE ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM UP IN CASE WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE AS WELL. BUT I THINK WHAT YOU CAN GATHER AS WE'VE BEEN VERY THOUGHTFUL AND TRIED TO. WE LISTENED VERY WELL. THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ABOUT TRAINING ABOUT STAFFING ABOUT VENDORS. SO WE BROUGHT THE EXPERTS THE FOLKS THAT ACTUALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN IN THOSE AREAS HERE WITH US TODAY. SO THESE ARE THE FOLKS, THIS IS A LIVE BRAND. THIS IS THE TEAM.
THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT REALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN. THIS IS FAMILY FOR US. SO AGAIN IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, UH, WOULD BE HAPPY TO GET OUR TEAM MEMBER TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS. AND THEN AFTER YOUR QUESTIONS WE'D LIKE TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO THE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE. OKAY THANK YOU SAID AND HIS TEAM. GREAT PRESENTATION. AND NEXT, WE'LL GO TO THEIR ANY WE'LL GET INTO. ANY QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WHEN THEY HEAD STRAIGHT INTO THE BUBBLE, COUNSELOR HILL. I THINK WE SHOULD HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC FIRST, AND THEN SOMETIMES WE GET OUR YOU KNOW, GET THEIR RESPONSES THAT WE CAN WRITE DOWN THE QUESTIONS THEY HAVE. THEN WE CAN IF WE NEED TO DIG DEEPER IN IT THAN WE CAN. SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC FIRST, IF THAT'S OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. NEXT WILL GET TWO QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC. IF EVERYONE THEY WANT TO SPEAK, WE'RE GOING TO USE THE PODIUM RIGHT HERE.
[00:35:04]
AND IF YOU CAN JUST STATE YOUR YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS HERE AND THEN YOUR QUESTION TO THE CORDISH COS. IF YOU WANT TO RAISE HANDS, WE'LL START OFF WITH MISS BARBARA RUDOLPH. WELL, LET ME INTERRUPT. FOR ONE. SECOND WE HAVE OUR HEAD OF PURCHASING AND PROCUREMENT IN OUR GAMING DIVISION. MICHELLE VIDOVIC HERE IN CASE ANYONE HAS ANY VENDOR RELATED QUESTIONS.THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BARB, RUDOLPH, 16, 75 MOUNT VERNON STREET AND THANK YOU, CORDISH FOLKS. THE PRESENTATION WAS REALLY INTERESTING. AND YOU DID ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS FROM LAST WEEK. UM I WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT ASKED ABOUT THE ACTUALLY, UM THE TAX REVENUE THAT 6% OF THE TOTAL THAT COMES TO PETERSBURG. SO THIS WAS GOOD TO GET TRAVIS TO GIVE THOSE DETAILS. IT'S ACTUALLY VERY CLOSE TO THE J LARK. PROJECTIONS EVEN CLOSER THAN WHAT I THOUGHT FROM LAST WEEK, SO THAT'S UM THAT'S YOU'VE ANSWERED SOME OF MY QUESTIONS. I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL WOULD BE UM, THIS IS FOR FUTURE NOT FOR TONIGHT, BUT SOME KIND MORE LIKE A TIME PHASING OF YOUR PROJECT. UM RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE COMING TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAS TO APPROVE A REFERENDUM, AND THEN THAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT NOVEMBER , AND THEN THAT WOULD KIND OF LAUNCH THE PROJECT FROM THERE AND HOW MANY YEARS IT WOULD TAKE AND WHERE YOU WOULD BE EVEN WITH THE DIFFERENT PHASES, AND I REALIZED IT'S ONLY PLANNING AND PROPOSED. YOU CAN'T PREDICT BUT TO GIVE US AN IDEA, BECAUSE I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THAT, UM, CHRONOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE THIS IS SO, UM, 22 QUESTIONS. UM I KNOW YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE RICHMOND. CASINO. UM, THE WHOLEU ALL WERE INVOLVED IN IT AT ONE POINT I BELIEVE THAT THE WINNING PROPOSAL THERE, UM THE CASINO OPERATOR WAS GOING TO OFFER AN UPFRONT PAYMENT OR INCENTIVE PAYMENT. I THINK MAYBE IT WAS $50 MILLION. I DON'T REMEMBER. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY KIND OF THING LIKE THAT THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING DOING HERE. I'M ASKING BECAUSE THE ACTUAL REVENUE BEING PRODUCED WHILE IT'S CERTAINLY SIGNIFICANT AND HELPFUL TO THE COMMUNITY, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE TO BUILD UP ENOUGH TO BUILD NEW SCHOOLS AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO DO FOR PETERSBURG AND THAT PETE THE CITIZENS BRING UP A LOT. SO IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF UPFRONT ABILITY TO HELP TO HELP US OUT HERE. THAT WOULD BE A POSITIVE THEN MY OTHER QUESTION , AND THIS KIND OF RELATES NOT TO SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID LAST WEEK, BUT WAS REPORTED FROM CONVERSATION WITH, SAID SMITH. AFTER THE MEETING, AND THAT WAS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? MY QUESTION IS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN TERMS OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT IF THE UPCOMING GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECIDES THAT THEY WANT TO, UM, ALLOW REFERENDA IN BOTH LOCALITIES, RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG, YOU KNOW, PAVING, POSSIBLY PAVING THE WAY FOR THERE TO BE COMPETING CASINO PROJECTS HERE AND ENRICHMENT. BELIEVE THAT YOU'VE BEEN YOU WERE QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THAT QUARTERS DOES NOT INTERESTED IN THAT SCENARIO . BUT LET'S SAY THAT HAPPENS.
WHAT DOES THAT HOW DO YOU HOW DO YOU ALL RESPOND TO WHAT HAPPENS ? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? IF INDEED THE. DISTINCT POSSIBILITY EMERGES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE TWO CASINOS. OKAY THANKS. AND I DON'T MEAN TO TAKE UP SO MUCH TIME, BUT THANK YOU WILL DO IT. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU YOU GAVE US A PASS AND SAID THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO ADDRESS THE TIMING CONCERN, BUT WE CAN ACTUALLY SPEAK FAIRLY INTELLIGENTLY THROUGH THE TIMING OF PHASE ONE, AND THEN IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT PHASE TWO AND PHASE THREE BECAUSE THAT IS SO DEPENDENT UPON THE SUCCESS OF PHASE ONE AND HOW THINGS ARE SO FOR PHASE ONE. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THERE ARE A COUPLE OF KEY MILESTONES IN FRONT OF US THAT WE MUST FOCUS ON IMMEDIATELY.
THE VERY FIRST IS GETTING THROUGH THE STATE LEGISLATION WE HAVE. PETERSBURG IS NOT CURRENTLY, UM, IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THIS FIVE CITIES WITHIN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA THAT IS ALLOWED TO HAVE A CASINO. WE NEED TO GET THAT LAW CHANGED. UM IF WE'RE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT THAT WILL BE KNOWN. BY LATE FEBRUARY EARLY MARCH. UM ONCE THAT'S SUCCESSFUL, LET'S ASSUME THAT SUCCESSFUL FOR THE SAKE OF THE CONVERSATION. THEN WE HAVE A SHORT EIGHT MONTH WINDOW, UM, TO BE ABLE TO PLAN FOR AND PASS A REFERENDUM IN NOVEMBER OF 2023, WHERE WE WOULD GET THE APPROVAL FROM THE COMMUNITY. THAT THEY WOULD LIKE THE PROJECT THAT WE JUST PRESENTED, AND SO WE'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT. AT THAT POINT, WE CAN PRETTY DEFINITIVELY SAY WE'D BE WITHIN
[00:40:03]
IT WILL BE WITHIN A TWO YEAR WINDOW TO BUILD, DEVELOP, TRAIN AND OPEN. UM THAT FACILITY SO WE'D BE LOOKING AT WE DO THAT MATH. THAT'S 23 34 LOOKING AT THE FIRST QUARTER OF 26 AS THE OUTSIDE DATE. FOR PHASE ONE, AND THEN AGAIN PHASE TWO. PHASE THREE. UM YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE THAT THE SUCCESSES IS SUCH THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO MOVE QUITE QUICKLY INTO THOSE, BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TODAY CAN TALK THROUGH. YEAH. JUST TO ADD TO WHAT ROB WAS SAYING ABOUT THE PHASING. I MEAN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY PHASING IS ALWAYS WITHIN OUR GAME PLAN. A GREAT EXAMPLE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT MARYLAND LIVE IF YOU'VE BEEN TO MARYLAND LIVE WE STARTED. THERE WAS JUST A CASINO. WITHIN TWO YEARS. WE BUILD A HOTEL, AND WITHIN ANOTHER TWO YEARS WE'VE BUILT A LIVE PERFORMANCE VENUE.SO THE TRACK RECORDS THERE AND I THINK IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD BE LOOKING AT A COMPANY THAT'S DEMONSTRATED. YES THERE'S PHASING, BUT THEY'VE ACTUALLY DELIVERED ON THAT. PHASING. UH WITH RESPECT TO THE DECISION ON WHETHER A CASINO IN RICHMOND OR CASINO AND PETERSBURG A LOT OF THAT IS OUT OF OUR CONTROL, I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SCALE AT $1.4 BILLION AT FULL BUILD OUT, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME CERTAINTY. THAT THEY WILL BE REVENUE TO REALLY SPARE TO SPARE HEAD AND PROVIDE THE IMPETUS FOR THIS LARGER SCALE DEVELOPMENT. THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH TWO CASINOS IN THE REGION. THEY'LL JUST BE COMPETING WITH ONE ANOTHER. YES THEY POTENTIALLY BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT NOT TO THE SCALE THAT WE WOULD NEED THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL TO DELIBERATE WORLD CLASS DESTINATION. FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. WHEN WE FIRST STARTED MEETING WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR. IT WAS THEIR EXPECTATION THAT THERE WOULD BE A ONCE IN A GENERATION OPPORTUNITY. HERE IN PETERSBURG. CASINO STAND ALONE DOESN'T DO IT. IT'S NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE VISION THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR HAVE FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. THEY CAME TO US WITH A VISION OF WHAT THEY WANTED. UH OUR EXPERIENCE IS DELIVERING THE KIND OF WORLD CLASS DESTINATIONS THAT THE CITY OF PETERSBURG HAS PUT OUT AS A VISION FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. I BELIEVE WHAT WAS THE LAST THE SECOND QUESTION? DID I MISS THAT? CERTAINLY, YEAH. WELL, I. WELL AGAIN. I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF REALITY. UH WE WOULD I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT WE WOULD NOT BE INTERESTED IN THIS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY. CERTAINLY NOT AT THE SCALE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TODAY. SO I WOULD HOPE THAT AS THE STATE LEGISLATORS AND THE GENERAL SOMETHING THAT LOOKS AT THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR PETERSBURG IS ONE THAT THEY CAN SUPPORT. OUR VISION IS TO GO BIG HERE, AND WE CAN'T DO THAT IF WE HAVE A COMPETING CASINO IN THE CITY OF RICHMOND. OKAY OKAY. AND IN RESPECT TO UPFRONT PAYMENTS, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION. A LOT OF NUMBERS FLOATING AROUND, UH, BELIEVE ENRICHMENT. IT WAS AS HIGH AS 100. MILLION TO 25 MILLION.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF NEGOTIATING THOSE NUMBERS WITH THE CITY. I WILL SAY THAT WE WILL BE COMPETITIVE. WITH WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE OFFERED, BUT KEEP IN MIND. THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT DESTINATION FROM RICHMOND. SO THAT'S GOING TO GETTING THERE AND WE HOPE TO HAVE IT RESOLVED WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. OKAY, MR STEWART. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS RICHARD STEWART AND, UH, A FRIEND OF MINE'S THE NAME GIRL. FLOWERS ON FM AM 99 TO THE FIRST QUESTION TO ASK WHEN YOU AWARD THEM CONTRACTING BILL, HOW MUCH OF THEM CAN'T WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE CONTRACT AND BE FROM MINARDI'S CONTRACTORS. AND NOT A QUESTION MAC. CONCERN IS WE LOOK AT PETERSBURG 80% BLACK HAIR. WHAT ARE THE HOUSE EMPLOYEES? IT BONDS A CORE PETER'S VERY HOSPITAL. VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY. POPULAR SPRING. AND THE TRAIN INTO THE MENTAL HEALTH. SO MY THING IS WITH ALL THIS MENTAL HEALTH AND THINGS WE HAVE IN PETERSBURG. WELL, THIS AND SEEN A BRAIN CRIME INTO THIS AREA. WHY DOES LANG CITY CLOSED? AND WHY DID UM TRUMP. AH CASINO CLOSED DOWN, WHILE LAS VEGAS CRIME RATE IS SO HIGH. IS THIS GOING TO ADD TO THE CRIME RATE? HOW HOW ARE THEY GOING TO WORK WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF SECURITY, TOO? SURE THAT PETERSBURG CRIME THAT INCREASE THANK YOU. YEAH ON THE ON THE QUESTION OF MINORITY
[00:45:10]
PARTICIPATION, AND I'D LIKE TO BROADEN IT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LOCAL PARTICIPATION. AGAIN I THINK TRACK RECORD HERE IS EVERYTHING. UH SO IN PHILADELPHIA, WE DEVELOPED THE CASINO THERE $700 MILLION CASINO 50. OF THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OUR CONSTRUCTION COSTS WENT TO MINORITY AND LOCAL CONTRACTORS, SO AND I CAN I'VE BEEN WITH THIS COMPANY 20 YEARS. I SPEARHEADED THE PROGRAM, UH, WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. EVERY YEAR. WE HAVE EXCEEDED THE GOALS THAT WE'VE SET FOR OURSELVES. AT A MINIMUM, IT WOULD BE 25% MINORITY PARTICIPATION, AND WE TALKED ABOUT LOCAL PERSISTENT PATIENT WORKING WITH LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES. THAT'S THAT'S HOW WE LIFT UP THE COMMUNITY. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE VERY, VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT WORKING WITH MINORITY CONTRACTORS AND WORKING WITH THE LOCAL CONTRACTORS. AS IT AS IT RELATES TO THE QUESTIONS AROUND CRIME, AND SOME OF THE TYPICAL ARGUMENTS THAT YOU HEAR ARTICULATED WHEN IT COMES TO CASINOS COMING INTO A MARKET. UM YOU KNOW THE FACTS JUST DON'T SUPPORT THE SENTIMENT . YOU HEAR THIS. IF YOU GO ACTUALLY STUDY THE NUMBERS AND LOOK AT THE NUMBERS WHEN CASINOS HAVE COME INTO COMMUNITIES, YOU'LL ACTUALLY FIND NEARLY THE EXACT OPPOSITE. OF WHAT, UM, PERPETUATED TO TRY TO PLAY OFF OF FEARS. UM TYPICALLY AND OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE CRIME RATES ACTUALLY REDUCE. WHY DO THEY REDUCE WELL BECAUSE WE ARE ACTUALLY EMPLOYING HUNDREDS OF OFFICERS. WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF CAMERAS. WE BUILD A WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND OTHERS WE ACTUALLY GET TO KNOW THE LOCAL FBI DEPARTMENT.UM OUR OFFICE I SHOULD SAY, AND WE ARE CONSTANTLY WORKING TO MAKE SURE OUR PLACES AS CLEAN AS IT CAN BE AS SAFE AS IT CAN BE. AND AS FUN AS IT CAN BE. IF IT'S NOT THOSE THINGS PEOPLE WON'T COME TO VISIT OUR ESTABLISHMENT AND WE WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL. SO IT'S IN OUR BEST INTERESTS.
IF YOU DON'T TRUST ANYTHING ELSE , TRUST THAT IT'S IN OUR SELF INTEREST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OUR COMMUNITY OUR CASINO IS AT THE TOP NOTCH. UH AS FAR AS SAFETY, CLEANLINESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH WE CREATE AND IF YOU DON'T TRUST ME, PLEASE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS.
THEY'RE OUT THERE AND THEY'RE EASY TO FIND. UM I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO LOOK AT THE ANNA RONDELL NUMBERS FROM WHEN WE OPENED UP AND YOU'LL FIND THAT WE ACTUALLY DID REDUCE CRIME RATE IN OUR IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY. UM, FOR YEARS AFTER WE OPENED. HAVE A GENTLEMAN TALKED ABOUT. YOU KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER INSTITUTIONS HERE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO. IS HIGHER LOCAL SO THE MORE PEOPLE WE CAN PUT TO WORK, THE MORE PRODUCTIVE THEY CAN BE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AGAIN WE WANT TO BE VERY, VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT. WILL BE WORKING WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES. I HAD A MEETING RECENTLY WITH SOME FOLKS AT VIRGINIA STATE WOULD BE WORKING WITH LOCAL WORST FORCE AGENCIES . UM THIS IS GOING TO BE VITAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT AND THE SEX OF PETERSBURG FOR THE MORE PEOPLE THAT WE CAN HIRE LOCALLY. THAT WE CAN GET THEM TRAINED THEM LICENSED AND WORKING AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
THAT'S GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR THIS COMMUNITY AT LARGE. I LIKE FOR SOMEONE ON THE ON THE HIRING TEAM, NIKKI, I THINK IT'S YOUR TURN. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN PART OF THE LIVE TEAM FOR JUST OVER SEVEN MONTHS, AND IN THAT TIME FRAME WE HAVE DONE IN OUR TALENT ACQUISITION TEAM A LOT TO OFFER SECONDARY POSITIONS. HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY WORK TWO JOBS. RIGHT OKAY, SO HOW COOL WOULD IT BE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO COME TO WORK? WORK YOUR REGULAR JOB, CHANGE YOUR UNIFORM AND GO PICK UP YOUR SECOND JOB RIGHT THERE. THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HERE 7.9% WHERE WE WILL HELP GET THAT NUMBER DROPPED, SO EVERYBODY IS WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY TO GET BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO.
THE TYPE OF PEOPLE AND. ACTUALLY HE MADE A REALLY GOOD POINT. THE SKILLS THAT ARE NEEDED, WE'RE GOING TO TRAIN YOU ON WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. SO I'M GOING TO TELL YOU GUYS I CAME FROM HEALTHCARE.
I WAS IN HEALTHCARE. REALLY, REALLY? LONG TIME. I JUMPED OUT AND SAID OKAY, I'M GONNA TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND I WENT INTO THE CASINO. I'M TELLING YOU, THEY TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING THAT I ABSOLUTELY NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CASINO. YOU'RE GONNA LEARN THAT WE'RE GOING TO HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS, WHATEVER THAT IS. IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED GREAT, YOU'LL BE COMPENSATED FOR IT. IF NOT, THAT'S OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO TRAIN YOU AND TEACH YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. AND IT'S A COMMUNITY. I WANT YOU GUYS TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IN A CASINO. WE HIRE FOUR. SO WHETHER IT IS SOMEONE LIKE ME
[00:50:05]
WHO WORKS IN HUMAN RESOURCES. WHETHER SOMEONE WHO IS IN THE HOTEL THAT HEALTH KEEPING ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF SECURITY AUDIT EVERYTHING. WE HAVE EVERYTHING IN THE CASINO.IT IS A SMALL COMMUNITY AND THERE'S JOBS FOR EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. LET ME MR LENNY CURRY. WORKING BACK. MY NAME IS LEONARD CURRY, 11 PETERSBURG ON WOODLAND ROAD. AND I WAS SECRETARY OF THE BOARD. FOR MAIN STREET, PETERSBURG. I WAS AT A CONFERENCE ALONG WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER MAINSTREAM PEOPLE WITH THE STATE. AND THE LOCAL CONTRACTORS HERE, PAVING MAN SAID THE ONLY TIME HE KNOWS IS A JOB AVAILABLE IN PETERSBURG IS WHEN HE SEES THE RICHMOND TRUCKS LAYING DOWN THE PAVEMENT. THAT'S WHAT ADVICE TO YOU. I'M ASSUMING THAT THIS IS GOING TO GO THROUGH. LET'S BE OPTIMISTIC. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A TREMENDOUS OUTREACH DIVIDE PAST THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PETERSBURG BECAUSE THEY DON'T EAT THIS CITY COUNCIL AND THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT REACH OUT TO HIS OWN PEOPLE TO TELL ME ABOUT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE. I ASKED THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, WHY ARE PAVING MAN HERE WHEN BANK STREET DIDN'T GET THE JOB DOWNTOWN? WE HAVE A COMPLICATED PROCESS. SO YOU SAID, YOU REACH OUT REALLY GONNA HAVE TO REACH OUT AND YOU GET YOU CAN'T RELY ON THE CITY TO HELP YOU. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO REACH OUT TO OTHER OTHER PEOPLE. UM THE BUSINESS PROCESS LICENSE PROCESS HERE. BAKERY WAS GOING TO OPEN. AND IN MAY THEY FINALLY GOT THE LICENSING PROCESSES. THROUGH AND THEY OPENED UP AUGUST. ANOTHER RESTAURANT MOVING INTO AN EXISTING RESTAURANT SPACE. THEY SHOULD HAVE ADVERTISED TURNED OVER A DAY. MONTHS LATER, THEY'RE STILL WAITING FOR THE LICENSES. WHEN YOU APPLY FOR A LICENSE IS A FIVE STEP PROCESS AND PETERSBURG YOU MAY NOT GET THAT LICENSE FOR MONTHS MONTHS.
ONE CHAP SAID HE GOT HIS LICENSE AND PRINCE GEORGE IN 45 DAYS. I MEAN, IN 45 MINUTES AND PETERSBURG IT TOOK 45 DAYS. SO MY APPEAL TO YOU IS, UM, REMEMBER MY ST PETERSBURG, WHERE NON PROFIT THAT WORKS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DOWNTOWN. YOU REALLY HAVE TO REACH OUT TO THE LOCAL PEOPLE, AND I'LL GIVE YOU MY BUSINESS CARD. I'LL TAKE IT. ALL RIGHT, MAN. ONLY CARPENTERS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET IT FROM THE CITY. ALRIGHT WELL, UH, USUALLY IT'S TRUE. YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR OWN CITY. ALRIGHT OF THAT SINCE I DIDN'T 11 ST. SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME. ALRIGHT, MR CITY MANAGER, ALRIGHT, I JUST WANT TO RELAX. UNDERSTAND WHAT MR CURRY SAYING? BUT I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND. WE CANNOT RECOMMEND PEOPLE BECAUSE THAT BECOMES A FAVORITE EMISSION FAVORITISM ISSUE. WE CAN'T RECOMMEND BUSINESSES TO PEOPLE. WE HAVE TO STAY ABOVE THAT SO I JUST WOULD SAY, MR CURRY. I MEAN , WE WILL WORK WITH PEOPLE, BUT WE CAN'T RECOMMEND CERTAIN BUSINESSES TO THEM OR ANY OTHER PEOPLE. WE'RE NOT SAYING YOU RECOMMEND IT. JUST TELL THEM THE JOBS AVAILABLE. I MEAN, THE CITY IS DIFFICULT TO GET INFORMATION OUT OF THIS CITY. YOU CALL PEOPLE AND THERE THEY DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE. NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO, THEIR VOICEMAILS FILLED UP. THE PREVIOUS SET A MANAGER SAID THERE WERE 6000 UNANSWERED PHONE CALLS IN THIS CITY. 6000 SO I MEAN, AGAIN. I DON'T MEAN TO BE CRITICAL, BUT I'M JUST SAYING FACT OKAY. WELL THANK YOU, MR CURRY. I JUST JUST WANT TO GOING TO SET THE STAGE. I'M GOING TO HELP WITH SOME OTHER TEAM MEMBERS RESPOND, BUT I THINK WITH THIS KIND OF OPPORTUNITY TO SCALE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY, I WOULD ENTER THIS SAY THAT WE COULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL. AND WORKING WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT MAY BE LOCAL CONTRACTORS ARE FACING. UM WE'LL HAVE LEVERAGE. OKAY WE'RE WE DO BUSINESS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. WE GET THINGS DONE. SO AT THE TOP OF OUR MINDS IS HOW DO WE WORK WITH THE LOCAL BUSINESSES? HOW DO WE WORK WITH LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS? WE WANT TO BE ON THE BOARD OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. WE WANT TO BE ON THE BUSINESS CHAMBERS. WE WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CITY. THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE. SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING THE BEST OF WHAT WE DO THE BEST OF WHAT WE KNOW. TO HELP GROW PETERSBURG, SO THAT'S GOING TO BE AT THE CORE OF OUR MISSION HERE IS TO HELP GROW PETERSBURG NOT JUST FOR OUR OWN SELFISH REASONS. BUT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE IMPROVE MAIN STREET. HOW DO WE DIRECT SOME OF OUR GUESTS TO MAIN STREET TO
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EXPERIENCE ALL THAT PETERSBURG HAS TO OFFER? SO THAT'S PART OF OUR AGENDA HERE, OKAY, BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO OUR MICHELLE. HI GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS MICHELLE VIDOVIC AND I CAME FROM THE LIVE CASINO IN PITTSBURGH. AND I'VE BEEN WITH LIVE FOR TWO YEARS AND I AM IN CHARGE OF TAKING CARE OF FINDING THE VENDORS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR. UM WE DO SET GOALS FOR OURSELVES AS A COMPANY TO SPEND CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF MONEY WITH LOCAL VENDORS, SMALL VENDORS, MINORITY VENDORS, WOMEN VENDORS , AND WE ARE HELD TO THAT, UM, ACCOUNTABILITY EVERY QUARTER AND THEN YEARLY. UM I KNOW THAT WE TURN IN A LOT OF REPORTS TO LIKE THE GAMING CONTROL BOARD AND THINGS LIKE THAT. WHO WATCH OUR SPEND, AND ALONG WITH OUR OWNERS WHO REQUEST US TO HOLD TRUE TO THAT I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR PURCHASING TEAMS AT ALL THE CASINOS SEEK OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, UM, WE LOOK AND WE RELY VERY HEAVILY ON THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY TO HELP US AS WELL. UM WE HAD SOMEBODY SERVICING OUR ELEVATOR, AND HE WAS LIKE THERE'S THIS LITTLE LADY DOWN THE STREET WHO MAKES THE BEST CHEESECAKES. HER CHEESECAKES ARE NOW IN OUR CASINO. SO WE DEPEND ON PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY TO HELP US WITH THAT VERY THING THAT YOU'RE REQUESTING THANK YOU. NEXT, MR JEFF FLEMING AND THEN REVEREND BELINDA BALL. REALLY QUICKLY WHILE YOU'RE COMING UP. WHAT'S GONNA PIGGYBACK ON SOMETHING? SHE TALKED ABOUT CHEESECAKES. IN MARYLAND LIVE. WE HAD A WE HAD A TIP ANNIVERSARY WITH A CUPCAKE COMPETITION. AND THE WINNER OF THE COUPLE OF COMPETITION WITH LOCAL BAKERY WHO NOW SUPPLIES CUPCAKES FOR OUR ENTIRE CASINO. BUT ALSO TO QUOTE WHO WE ARE. WE REALIZE WE RISE AS THE COMMUNITY RISES WITH US, AND THAT'S JUST A TRUE CORE VALUE OF WHO WE ARE.AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT. I LIKED IT. IF SUZANNE CAN TALK JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT THE PROGRAM THAT WE WORKED WITH LOCAL. WE'RE USING YOUR POINTS OR TO GO TO A LOCAL THING. BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT HERE. YEAH FIRST OFF, I THINK, UM ONE VERY KEY THING THAT WE DO. THE RAB TOUCHDOWN IS WE REQUIRE OUR KEY MANAGERS AND DIRECTORS TO BE INVOLVED IN SOME ORGANIZATION IN THE COMMUNITY. IT IS NOT OPTIONAL. YOU ALL SET EITHER ON A COMMITTEE OR ON THE BOARD, SO YOU KNOW FIRSTHAND. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE, SO IT'S NOT AN OPTION. THE SECOND THING WE DO IN MARKETING IS WE WILL IMMEDIATELY GET WITH TOURISM YOUR GROUP. LOCAL GROUPS TO SAY , HOW DO WE EFFECTIVELY WORK TOGETHER TO BRING TOURISM AND BUSINESS TO THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT BENEFITS US THAT BENEFITS YOU. SO IT'S SELFISH ON OUR PART. IT GETS MORE VISITORS. BUT WHAT WE REALLY LIKE IS WE THINK IT ADDS A LOT OF VARIETY TO OUR BRAND, RIGHT. THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH THAT WE CAN OFFER WILL HAVE GREAT DINING WILL HAVE GREAT. ATTRACTIONS BUT YOU GUYS HAVE WONDERFUL HISTORIC LEGACY HERE AND LOTS OF THINGS TO VISIT AND SEE. SO HOW DO WE INTEGRATE ALL THAT INTO OUR PROGRAMS TO SAY, HOW ARE WE LETTING GUESTS KNOW ABOUT THIS? AND HOW CAN WE INCORPORATE LOCAL BUSINESSES? SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL? LOOK AT BUSINESS NEEDS. AND WE'LL LOOK AT OUR CUSTOMER MIX.
AND SAY WE HAVE LOCAL RESTAURANTS WILL PARTNER WITH THEM. AND WE ALLOW OUR CUSTOMERS TO TAKE THE POINTS THEY EARN AND NOT SPEND THEM. ANARCHIST YOU KNOW THEY CAN GO SPEND THEM FOR GIFT CARDS OR MEALS AT OUR PARTNER DINING FACILITIES SO THOSE COULD BE LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE THERE. WELL LOOK AT WHAT FESTIVALS ARE GOING ON. WELL, LOOK AT YOU KNOW WHAT'S THE DNA AND THE COMMUNITY? AND HOW DO WE BEST FIT IN? UM SO THAT'S REALLY A BIG PART OF HOW WE COME UP WITH OUR MARKETING PLAN. BASED UPON THE PROJECTIONS WE HAVE WE EXPECT THAT THAT THAT COMPLEMENTARY OR THAT POINT SPEND IN THIS MARKET TO BE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF BETWEEN 12 AND 15 MILLION AND THAT'S SEPARATE FROM WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, SO THOSE WOULD BE UP FOR GRABS FOR ANY OF THE BUSINESSES WHO WANTED TO TAKE PART IN OUR LOYALTY PROGRAM. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR JEFF FLEMING. HOW YOU DOING? JEFF FLEMING, 18 19 CHUCK CHUCK AVENUE. HAVE A QUESTION, BUT FIRST I HAD TO MAKE A STATEMENT.
WE'RE HERE TO SEE WHAT THE CASINO WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BRING TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITY. I DON'T THINK THE TIME TO BASHAR CITY GOVERNMENT SHOULD YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING OR CITY OPERATIONS? YOU CAN SEE THE CITY MANAGER. I'M QUITE SURE HE'S WILLING TO TALK TO YOU. BUT IT'S NOT THE PLACE FOR THE VENUE FOR THAT. GETTING BACK TO THE MATTER AT HAND. I ASKED THE QUESTION LAST WEEK. AND I GOT THE NUMBERS THIS WEEK, BUT I STILL DOTTED
[01:00:03]
AROUND THE QUESTION. THE TIMELINE. I GOT THAT QUESTION ANSWERED A LITTLE BETTER. FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. WE'RE ABOUT A YEAR TO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE CITY CAN REALIZE THE BENEFITS.OF THE CASINO COMING WE'RE JUST GETTING OFF OF VERY FINANCIALLY HARD TIME. WE'RE COMING BACK BIG AND STRONG, BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME ISSUES. WE HAVE SOME THINGS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH. BRINGING CASINO OR PROJECT OF YOUR SIZE TOWARD JURISDICTION IS GOING TO CAUSE SOME IMPACT OR INFRASTRUCTURE. PUBLIC SAFETY HAS MR STEWART SMOKER HORN? FIRE. N. E. M S RIGHT NOW WE'RE STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT. YOU GET A BIG HOTEL? THAT IS COMING OFF THE HIGHWAY. I MEAN, THAT'S A BIG IMPACT. WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS WHAT IS CALLED A SH WILLING OR READY TO DO IN ORDER TO HELP OFFSET THAT IN INITIAL IMPACT UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO REALIZE THOSE TAX REVENUES THANK YOU. WELL. THAT'S A PRETTY BROAD QUESTION AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH MULTIPLE DEVELOPMENTS MOST CITIES THEY WILL CHARGE WHAT I'LL CALL QUOTE UNQUOTE IMPACT FEES. AND WE'RE JUST GETTING INTO THE PROCESS OF GETTING DEVELOPING THAT. THE SPECIFICS OF THAT WITH THE CITY. BUT IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR A DEVELOPER TO PAY IMPACT FEES. SO IF WE'RE CAUSING HARDSHIP AND FIRE OR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COMPENSATE THE CITY FOR THOSE IMPACTS THAT WE HAVE. I THINK ONCE WE GET INTO FULL DEVELOPMENT, THE CITY'S GENERATING REVENUE OUR OPERATIONS IS PRETTY MUCH SELF CONTAINED. YES, WE WILL BE PUBLIC SAFETY WILL BE A BIG COMPONENT. IF WE HAVE TO BRING IN, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY. THAT CHARGE WILL NOT BE ON THE CITY.
THAT WILL BE OUR EXPENSE. I BELIEVE FIRE ANYTIME THERE'S YOU GUYS CAN SPEAK TO OPERATIONS MORE THAN I CAN. UH BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IF THERE ARE CHARGES THAT WERE INCURRING THAT ARE DIRECT EXPENSE TO THE CITY. WE PAY OUR OWN FREIGHT AND I'LL LET ROB AND MAYBE TRAVIS CAN SPEAK TO THAT. AND I'M SURE SOME OF THAT HAPPENS IN MARYLAND AND PHILADELPHIA AS WELL. YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S THIS, UH, COUPLE COUPLE OF THINGS TO THE QUESTION. UM YOU KNOW, ONE THAT THE IMPACT OF ON FIRE POLICE AND THOSE TYPES OF COMMUNITY IMPACTS , YOU KNOW, IN THEORY WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL THE FACILITY OPENS . WHEN THE FACILITY OPENS. THERE WILL BE AN IMMEDIATE REVENUE STREAM AND THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE REVENUE STREAM WILL BE IN PLAY. WHICH IS THE GAMING TAX.
UM COMING BACK TO THE CITY AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY AND NEGOTIATING WITH THE CITY. WHAT ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS MAY BE MADE, BUT WE'RE NOT IN A POSITION TO SPEAK ABOUT THAT TODAY.
UNFORTUNATELY, UM, BUT REMEMBER, BY THE TIME THE MAJORITY OF THOSE IMPACTS COME IN, WE'LL BE HAVING THAT 12 YEAR THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, WHICH IS THE DIRECT GAMING TAX WILL ALREADY START TO BE ROLLING IN ON A MONTHLY BASIS TO THE TUNE OF ROUGHLY ABOUT A MILLION A MONTH. UM WHICH IS A SIGNIFICANT AND THAT COULD THAT WILL CONTINUE. THAT HAPPENS ONGOING ALL THE TIME. UM WE ALSO TWOSIES POINT, UM, TO THE EXTENT AND I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE. I HAVE NOT STUDIED THE ETHICS ISSUES AROUND THIS NEXT STATEMENT YET HERE, UM AND SO WE JUST BE BLUNT. WE WILL ALWAYS DO THINGS ON THE VERY, VERY ETHICAL SIDE OF EVERYTHING. IN SOME PLACES. THIS IS A GOOD PRACTICE IN OTHER PLACES. THEY FROWN ON IT, BUT IN LOCATIONS WHERE WE'RE ALLOWED TO WILL WORK WITH THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ACTUALLY BRING THEM INTO THE CASINO ON OUR DIME FOR EXTRA HOURS OVERTIME PAY TO ACTUALLY HELP WITH THE SECURITY OF THE CASINO. IT'S PART OF OUR NORMAL PRACTICE AGAIN. THERE ARE SOME PLACES WHERE THEY'RE ALSO THE LIQUOR ENFORCEMENT WHERE THEY THINK THAT THAT'S A PROBLEM. AND SO WE WON'T DO IT THERE. BUT AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T TRIP THAT ETHICAL WILL DO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS CONSTANTLY. WE WILL WORK WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. UM, WE HAVE MADE DONATIONS TO LOCAL FIREHOUSES AND OTHER THINGS TO HELP THEM GET TO A POINT IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS WHERE THEY COULD SUPPORT US IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY, SO THERE'S SO MUCH THAT THAT IS HARD TO WRAP UP IN ONE SINGULAR RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION OR YOUR CONCERN, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH WE WILL BE ON TOP OF WITH THE COMMUNITY. CASINO, RIGHT? CORRECT, RIGHT? SO WE JUST CAN'T SAY. RIGHT I'M SAYING SO. SO WHAT I WILL. WHAT I WILL SHARE WITH YOU IS THAT WE ARE, UM UH IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS , AS I SAID, AND THERE IS THERE IS A COMPONENT OF THAT. THAT WOULD BE SOME SORT OF PAYMENT UP FRONT. UM BUT AGAIN, THOSE DETAILS ARE NOT READY TO BE SPOKEN ABOUT. OKAY? OKAY? NEXT, MISS BELINDA BALL. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE.
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MY NAME IS BELINDA BALL. I LIVE AT 36 50 BEECHWOOD COURT HERE IN PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. I KNOW THE MAYOR INTRODUCED ME AS REVEREND. WHICH I WON'T GO SAY THAT AND THE REASON WHY I WON'T GO SAY THAT IS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT MY ME ADDRESSING YOU TODAY IS BASED ON A SPIRITUAL OR BIBLICAL CONCERN. UM I'M ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE OF LISTENING TO YOUR PLAN, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL PLAN. THERE'S A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. I FEEL THAT IT PROBABLY WOULD BE WONDERFUL IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. IN THE FUTURE. RIGHT NOW. IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY PETER SPURRED AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. I JUST DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE ARE READY. FOR SUCH A GRAND PROCESS PROJECT. AS IT WOULD REFLECT BACK ONTO WHAT MR FLEMING STATED WITH THE FIRE ISSUES. WITH POLICE ISSUES. WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR THESE THINGS IN ADVANCE. WE CAN'T SET UP SOMETHING. AND THEN WE ALREADY STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE. THEN I HEARD YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE RESORT. BEAUTIFUL RESORT AS I TRAVEL AN AWFUL LOT, SO IT'S GORGEOUS. BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE YOUTH. WHEN FAMILIES COME INTO THE CITY TO BRING TO THIS GRAND RESORT. WHAT ARE THEIR CHILDREN GOING TO BE DOING? WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN GOING TO BE AT WHEN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY IS IN THE UNSEEN. OH, AND IF YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR HISTORY, YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO A LOW POVERTY. COMMUNITY. SO THAT MEANS THEY'RE GOING TO BE PEOPLE AND PARENTS AND I LOVE YOUR ENERGY, SIR OF GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGING THAT'S WONDERFUL. THAT'S WHAT WE DO ON A REGULAR BASIS. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO WHEN WE ENGAGING ALL OF YOUR PICTURES THAT YOU PRESENTED. NONE OF THEM HAD CHILDREN IN IT. THAT MEANS THAT THE CHILDREN WERE NOT EVOLVED. AND IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG, WE HAVE NUMBERS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WITH BABIES STARTING FROM PRESCHOOL KINDERGARTEN, ALL THE WAY TO HIGH SCHOOL, SO THE CHILDREN HAVE LEFT OUT. I HEARD YOU ALSO SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO CATER TO THE VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY. VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY IS PART OF OUR PARTNERSHIP, BUT THEY ARE IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS. WE HAVE HAD SCHOOLS HERE. IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG WITH CHILDREN ARE GETTING READY TO GRADUATE AND GO OFF TO COLLEGE. WE DID NOT ADDRESS THEM, WHO IS A VITAL PIECE OF THIS? COMMUNITY. SO THE REASON WHY I'M NOT FOR BRINGING THE CASINO HERE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG NAIL IS BECAUSE WE'RE NUMBER OF REASONS AND ONE OF THEM IS OUR YOUTH. AND WHEN YOU BRING PEOPLE INTO THIS CITY YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER THEM. AND NOT JUST GAMBLING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. BUT THANK YOU. LET ME START. OKAY THERE'S A LOT OF CRAP BECAUSE, UH, WELL, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. UH I WANT TO START BY SAYING THAT WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN JUST DOING A CASINO HERE. THE CASINO MAKES UP ABOUT A THIRD OF THE LANDMASS OF WHAT WE'VE SHARED WITH YOU. AH! I'M CERTAINLY VERY SENSITIVE TO THE CONCERNS OF YOUNG PEOPLE. I LIVE IN BALTIMORE CITY. AND YOUNG PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING IN OUR CITY. AND IN MY VIEW, AND IN OUR VIEW, I BELIEVE THE ONLY WAY WE BEGIN TO CHANGE THAT DYNAMIC IS TO OFFER THEM OPPORTUNITIES. YES LITTLE CHILDREN WILL NOT BE IN A CASINO THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN HERE. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR DEVELOPMENT, MOST OF IT OVER 60% OF IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GAMING WHATSOEVER. BUT WHAT IT DOES DO IS OFFER YOUNG PEOPLE. THAT WANT TO WORK EXPERIENCE STARTING VERY YOUNG, WHETHER IT'S 16 17 YEARS OLD, WHERE THEY CAN WORK AND SOME OF THE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS THEY CAN WORK IN SOME OF THE OTHER HOTELS OR BUILDINGS. BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE OF THE CASINO. UM OUR OUR BIGGEST MARKET WILL NOT BE FROM I WOULD HAVE BELIEVED FROM FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS WERE RELYING WERE ON 95. THAT'S GONNA BE THE BIGGEST BULK OF OUR AUDIENCE. NOW THAT ROBIN THE TEAM SPEAK TO THAT, BUT I THINK THE FACT THAT WE ARE HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS. WE CAN HELP SOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DEMONSTRATED, AND EVERY DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH, STARTING WITH. UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE CHALLENGES ARE AND HOW WE CAN HELP. THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE IN MARYLAND. THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE IN PHILADELPHIA, TEXAS, KANSAS CITY. UH, IT STARTS WITH THIS DIALOGUE. IT STARTS WITH THE PARTNERSHIP. IT STARTS IN BELIEVING THAT WE CAN CHANGE THINGS. I THINK THAT'S GOT TO BE FUNDAMENTAL HERE. I KNOW THAT.SPEEDERS PETERSBURG HAD STRUGGLED OVER MANY, MANY YEARS. BUT WE SEE THIS AS AN
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OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THE CORNER. THIS IS WHAT THIS PROJECT REALLY REPRESENTS. I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE ARE. THE FOUNDATION OF OUR COMPANY IS TRANSFORMATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A MOMENT THAT'S TRANSFORMATIONAL. AND I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PARTNERSHIP EXPERIENCE OVER MANY, MANY YEARS AND DECADES OF DOING THIS, YOU GOT TO SAY TO YOURSELF. IS THIS THE RIGHT PARTNER? FOR US, GIVEN THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE TOGETHER. HARD IS THE COURT IS COMPANY THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIP. TO BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE OFFERING. THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THE CORNER. TO ENGAGE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE TO BREATHE LIFE. INTO THE CITY OF PETERSBURG THAT SETS THE STAGE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. I'M GONNA LET MY TEAM I'LL. YEAH. BUT YEAH, BUT THAT'S IT.YEAH. SOMEWHERE TO GO OUTSIDE OF JUST JAIL. SO THAT'S YEAH, THAT'S THAT WAS MY FIRST COMMENT THAT THE CASINO WAS JUST A SMALL PORTION OF THIS DEVELOPMENT EVERY EVERYTHING EVERY EVERYTHING ELSE IS FAMILY FRIENDLY. EVERYTHING YEAH, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE SAW EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. WE CAN BRING UP THE PLAN. UM AND I CAN SHOW YOU BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS FAMILY FRIENDLY. YOU CANNOT BY LAW, WHICH WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY THE BUT VIRGINIA GAMING AUTHORITY OR WHATEVER, UM THEY WILL DICTATE WHO GOES IN THE CASINO. BUT I CAN TELL YOU WE DON'T. IT'S ALREADY BEEN DICTATED SO CHILDREN WON'T BE GOING IN THE CASINO. SO EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING HERE ON THIS SITE IS FAMILY FRIENDLY, SO YOU CAN BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO GO TO THE STORES. IF WE HAVE A MOVIE THEATER. ALL THOSE THINGS WILL BE OPEN TO FAMILIES. OKAY. PERFECT. NEXT, MISS EBONY LEECH. JUST JUST REALLY QUICKLY BECAUSE YOU'RE YOU'RE YOU'RE YOU'RE TALKING MY PASSION AND MY LOVE. OKAY I WANT TO START OFF BY SAYING WE RECOGNIZE IT TAKES A VILLAGE. TO RAISE ONE CHILD. THIS IS A VILLAGE. KIDS CANNOT COME TO US. THAT'S WHY WE GO TO THEM. WE MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE. THAT IS MY IT'S PART OF OUR COMPANY CORE VALUE. SO I'LL GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE. FOR THOSE OF YOU DON'T KNOW. I'M GONNA BRAG FOR ONE SECOND. INDULGE ME HERE, PLEASE. EVERYBODY INDULGE ME AND I KNOW I'M SORRY. I AM A GOOGLE PERSON AS MY DAUGHTER ONCE TOLD ME, OKAY. I WAS THE SHEPHERD THE CASINO FOR NINE YEARS. AND THIS WONDERFUL MAN RIGHT HERE DECIDED. IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA. TO PUT ME ON THE FOOD NETWORK. ON CHOPPED. OKAY SO I GO ON CHOPPED TO WIN $10,000 BECAUSE I TOLD ROB I SAID, ROB, I HAVE A VISION. I WANT TO TAKE A $10,000 AND I WANT TO TAKE IT AND WE STARTED SOMETHING CALLED AROUND THE WORLD ON A PLATE TOUR FOR KIDS WHERE WE EXPOSE CHILDREN TO DIFFERENT CULTURES THROUGH FOOD, AND I WANTED TO WIN THE MONEY TO DO THAT. AND I DID NOT WIN. I DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH THE WHOLE SHOW. BUT I DID NOT WIN. WHEN I GOT BACK, ROB SAID TO ME WE'RE STILL GOING TO GIVE YOU THE $10,000. TO DO YOUR EVENT. BUT I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHEN INTEGRITY AND WHAT INTENTIONALITY REALLY FEELS LIKE IN THE COMMUNITY. WE TOOK A $10,000 AND WROTE A CHECK. TO THE Y WHERE I SIT ON THE BOARD, AS SUZANNE HAD MENTIONED. FOR THEM TO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO.
WITH THAT MONEY, AND THEN WE TURNED AROUND IMPORTANT NUMBER 20,020 EVENT. FOR 350 KIDS SURROUNDING THE AREA. THAT'S INTENTIONAL. WE WANT TO DO THAT . WE MEAN TO DO THAT, AND WE UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE IS A NEED TO DO IT AND WE ADDRESS IT. SO I'M LETTING YOU KNOW THERE'S AN ALLY HERE IN AN ADVOCATE FOR WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING ABOUT. AND I'LL JUST ADD JUST ONE SECOND ON TOP OF THAT, AND SO YOU YOU RAISED SOME EXAMPLES OF THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE KIDS IN ANY OF OUR PHOTOS. WE DON'T HAVE KIDS IN YOUR EVENT THAT'S ACTUALLY INTENTIONAL. UM AND IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE PART OF THE BUSINESS WE'RE IN. BEING IN THE CASINO BUSINESS IS THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY, UM, REGULATIONS AND SOME PLACES LAWS THAT ACTUALLY GOVERN US ON HOW WE REPRESENT OURSELVES TO DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AND THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING THAT WE'RE HELD TO A STANDARD ON AND SO WE CAN NEVER BE VIEWED. AS TARGETING KIDS IN OUR ADVERTISEMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO GAMBLE. AND SO WHEN WE DO THINGS FOR KIDS BENEFITS LIKE TOYS FOR TOTS , WE DO IT IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE IT'S ALL ADULTS. EVEN
[01:15:03]
THOUGH THEY'RE GETTING THE BENEFIT. WE CAN'T GO DO IT IN A WAY THAT CAN BE SEEN AS US TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHILDREN. AND SO IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE SIDE EFFECT. PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED THAT WE MIGHT PRAY ON VULNERABLE FOLKS. WE THAT'S THAT'S THE REASON YOU DON'T SEE KIDS. KIDS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO WHAT WE DO. WE ARE A FAMILY IN OUR CORE, AND YOU CAN HAVE A FAMILY WITHOUT THE CHILDREN, SO OKAY, MISS EBONY LEECH. I THINK SOME OF THE CONFUSION COULD BE CUT DOWN IF A BETTER TIMELINE WAS PUT OUT. SOME PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT CERTAIN LEGISLATION HAS TO BE PASSED. BEFORE YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT THOSE THINGS IN PLACE. ONCE EIGHT IS DONE, THEN WE KNOW B AND C CAN BE DONE. SO IF YOU PUT THAT OUT, MAYBE YOU PUT IT OUT IN PRINT, PUT IT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND THEN TIMELINE, THE PROGRAMS AND THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE PLANNED AS AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO FOR THE SCHOOLS. THESE ARE HOW WE'RE GONNA PARTNER. THIS IS HOW THIS TRAINING IS GOING TO BE SET UP. THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH LOCAL VENDORS AND SMALL BUSINESSES. I DON'T THINK ANYONE HEARS NECESSARILY HERE TO BET, BUT I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS BECAUSE THE INFORMATION IS NOT VERY FORTHCOMING AND IT'S NOT SIMPLIFIED. SO. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THE LINGO OR THE LANGUAGE OR HOW THE PLANS WORK. ONE THING I WILL SAY AS FAR AS I GO TO VEGAS VERY OFTEN. I'VE NEVER GAMBLED I'VE SPENT ABOUT $8. I DON'T GAMBLE, BUT WHEN I GO TO VEGAS, I HAVE A BALL. THE REASON I DO IS BECAUSE OF THE THINGS AROUND THAT ARE FAMILY ORIENTED. WE DO A LOT OF FAMILY STUFF THAT IS OUTSIDE. SO MAYBE IF SOME OF THAT STUFF WAS HIGHLIGHTED MORE PEOPLE WILL BE WELCOMING OF WHAT'S GOING TO GO ON. THERE'S A HAIR SALON AT THE SCHOOL. YOU COULD PARTNER WITH THEM THE HAIR SALON. IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE CASINO. UM THEY'RE DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES HERE THAT WANT TO KNOW. HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET IN HERE? IS IT GOING TO BE A BIDDING SITUATION ? ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO APPLY? THAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT WE REALLY WANT, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THE LEGISLATION HAS TO BE PASSED FIRST. WELL, WELL. OKAY WELL, EBONY RAISE SOME VERY GOOD POINTS. AND BY THE WAY, I BELIEVE I ONLY SPENT ONLY SPENT $20 IN A CASINO. SO YOU AND I ARE THE SAME HERE. UH SO WE DO WANT TO BE VERY SPECIFIC. A LOT OF IT'S SOME OF US. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS. WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AS A YOUNG LADY HAD MENTIONED THAT WILL HAPPEN BEGINNING OF JANUARY THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY. THAT IS THE MOST PROMINENT HURDLE THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US, SO THAT'S NUMBER ONE. IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY? ONE THING I'VE ALWAYS SAID IN MY 20 YEARS, WE DON'T WANT TO ASSUME ANYTHING HERE. THERE ARE THINGS THAT THAT MIGHT WORK IN BALTIMORE OR PHILADELPHIA OR IMPORTANT TO THOSE OTHER CITIES. AT SOME POINT, THERE HAS TO BE A SIT DOWN DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY , SO WE KNOW HOW WE CAN BEST PARTNER AND WILL WORK ALONGSIDE. PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING GOOD WORK HERE. WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN BALTIMORE OR IN MARYLAND. DICTATING WHAT WE DO IN PETERSBURG. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. SO WHAT WE WILL PROPOSE AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IN OTHER CITIES IS WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THAT WE WORK WITH THAT COULD START AS EARLY AS THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL WANTS US TO START. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT ONCE WE GET THE LEGISLATION PASSED, THAT WILL BE THAT REALLY DOES SEAL THE DEAL FOR US IF I MAY. AND THEN WE CAN FULLY ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY HAVING THESE WORK SESSIONS DETERMINING WHAT'S THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN PARTICIPATE AND PARTNER. ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING GREAT WORK HERE. WE DON'T WANT TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. BUT WHAT WE WILL DO IS BRING YOU THE BEST OF WHAT WE'VE DONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND YOU CAN SAY THAT DOESN'T WORK HERE. UH BUT TELL US WHAT DOES AND WILL ENGAGE WITH YOU 100. I JUST WANTED TO MENTION WE DID PUT UP A WEBSITE. UM THAT YOU CAN GO TO JUST GOOGLE LIVE CASINO VIRGINIA. BEHAVE. DR AND I'M THERE. IT'S WWW DOT BE A LIVE ADOPTED DARK CASINO. SORRY. A LOT OF STUFF WAS TAKEN. BUT OR IF YOU JUST GOOGLE IT UP, BOSS WILL COME UP AND SEARCH SO UM, WHEN YOU GO ON THERE, WE HAVE TRIED TO PUT THE FACTS THAT WE KNOW ON THE SITE. UM WE DIDN'T PUT WHAT? WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE PUT WHAT WE KNOW. AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A LINK THAT YOU CAN CLICK TO YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION. AND WE HAVE SOMEBODY[01:20:01]
SET UP THAT WILL ANSWER AND RESPOND TO YOU WITHIN 24 HOURS ON ANY QUESTION THAT YOU HAVE.SO THAT IS LIVE. AND WE'LL KEEP UPDATING THAT AND SOON WE'LL BE ADDING, UM, SOCIAL SITES AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN KEEP EVERYONE INFORMED. BUT THE PROCESS FOR OUTWARD COMMUNICATION HAS STARTED. OKAY. NEXT UP. WE HAVE MR GARY TALLY. AND THEN MARCUS OMAR SQUIRES.
NOT REALLY SO MUCH QUESTIONS. UM I WORKED AT GOLD STRIKE CASINO RESORT AND MY JOB WHEN I WAS HIRED, WE WERE HIRING 1500 PEOPLE. ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES WE HAD WAS TRANSPORTATION FOR THESE PEOPLE . WE DO NOT HAVE GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THIS AREA.
PETERSBURG AREA IS GREAT, BUT NOBODY AROUND US HAS ANY SO GETTING OUR EMPLOYEES HERE, YOU KNOW, TO WORK AND BACK IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR Y'ALL. UM JUST THE SHEER NUMBERS YOU'RE TRYING TO GET. WE'RE GOING TO COME FROM ALL OVER. SO TRANSPORTATION IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTIONS ONE AT A TIME, OR WHICH I'M NOT REALLY QUESTIONS. UM BUT SOME OF THE OTHER THE SERVICES THAT WE NEEDED THE 24 HOUR DAY CARE. WE DON'T HAVE THESE RIGHT NOW. AND TO GET THEM TO RUN A 24 HOUR BUSINESS AND THE BUSINESS THAT'S NOT SET UP FOR THAT IS GOING TO BE CONTINUE TO BE CHALLENGES CAN BE MET. UM I THINK I'M FOR THIS. I MEAN, HAVING THE EXPERIENCE THAT I'M NOT A GAMBLER, EITHER RANDY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE YOU GIVE ME 100 BUCKS AND TELL ME TO GO PLAY IN THE CASINO THAT LOOK AT CUSTOMER SERVICE. UM, WHICH WAS CHALLENGING SOMETIMES. WE HAD 10 CASINOS, ONE OF THEM WENT OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. OLIVE CAPRI JUST DIDN'T MAKE IT. BUT ROBINSON VILLE SUPPORTS NINE DIFFERENT CASINOS. IT'S NOT IMPACTING THE COMMUNITIES THERE AT ALL, THOUGH. PEOPLE GO THERE AND THEN THEY LEAVE. SO CONSIDER THAT ALSO. OKAY SO I'M GOING TO ANSWER THE TRANSPORTATION QUESTION. WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED RIDESHARE. RIGHT. SO WE HAVE MULTIPLE VANS. I THINK WE'RE AT SEVEN RIGHT NOW, AND THEY'RE ON EVERY SINGLE SHIFT. THE COOL THING ABOUT RIDESHARE IS AS A TEAM MEMBER, YOU ACTUALLY DRIVE. YOU HAVE A STOP IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. DIFFERENT SHIFTS YOUR TEAM MEMBER. YOU HAVE THIS VEHICLE. YOU'RE PICKING UP YOUR PEERS. YOU'RE BRINGING THEM TO WORK. AND THEN YOU GUYS ALL RIDE BACK HOME TOGETHER, AND IT HAS WORKED EXTREMELY WELL. SO IT SAVES YOU THE PERSON WHO IS THE ACTUAL DRIVER. IT SAVES YOU WEAR AND TEAR ON YOUR CAR. BUT YOU'RE ALSO PROVIDING A SERVICE TO YOUR TEAM MEMBERS, RIGHT? AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED WAS ABOUT DAYCARE RIGHT NOW AGAIN. THIS WORKS IN IN MARYLAND, SO WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT HERE. BUT WE PROVIDE VOUCHERS FOR OUR TEAM MEMBERS FOR DAYCARE, SO THAT HELPS WITH THE COST OF COVERING YOUR DAYCARE FOR DIFFERENT SHIFTS AS WELL. YEAH AND, ADDITIONALLY TO ADD TO THAT. YOU KNOW WHAT ZEDD SAID. IT. EVERYONE'S SAYING IT AS WE COME IN AND TALK TO YOU GUYS ABOUT WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE.
IT'S NOT JUST THOSE TWO ITEMS. THERE'S A LOT MORE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME TO YOU GUYS AND SAY, HEY, WHAT IS IT? WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DO WITH YOU TO SUPPORT OUR WORKFORCE? SO IT IS THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT WE BUILD WITH YOU PRIOR TO GETTING THINGS STARTED AND OPENED THAT REALLY CREATE THAT? STRUCTURE SO THAT THAT HAPPENS SO AGAIN GREAT SUGGESTIONS, BUT WE WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE FROM A WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVE, AND WE'LL WORK WITH YOU ON THAT. OKAY? MARCUS OMAR SQUIRES, FOLLOWED BY MR MEDIA, MARTIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS MARCUS SOMEWHERE, SQUIRES. MY ADDRESS IS 1701 MONTICELLO STREET HERE IN PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. SO I'M VERY INTRIGUED BY YOU ALL AND THE FACT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE PICKED PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, SO I SPONSORED A FACEBOOK POST AND I GOT ABOUT 5000 INTERACTIONS. I SPECIFIED IT JUST TO PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, AND MANY, MANY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE CONCERNED REGARDING PUBLIC SAFETY HERE IN PETERSBURG. CURRENTLY BUT THEN THEY'RE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT WHAT IMPACT THE CASINO WILL HAVE ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY. I'M HOPING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. UM MY SECOND QUESTION OR REMARKED. TOWARDS YOU ALL WOULD BE IN REGARDS TO FLIGHT HERE IN PETERSBURG. I SAW THAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING WITH DIFFERENT NONPROFITS. WHEN YOU COME INTO A COMMUNITY, THERE IS A AWESOME NONPROFIT HERE IN PETERSBURG CALLED THE CAMERON FOUNDATION. THEY'RE WORKING TOWARDS THE PARTNERSHIP FOR NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION HERE IN PETERSBURG. UM AND TOURISM IS A BIG THING THAT YOU GUYS DO AS WELL. PETERSBURG WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT SPOT HERE IN AMERICA DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT , ONE OF OUR IMPORTANT LANDMARKS WAS ACTUALLY THE DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR SAFEHOUSE ON HARRISON STREET. IT'S CURRENTLY BLOODED BUILDINGS FALLING DOWN, SO I'M HOPING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE LOOKED INTO HELPING PRESERVE SOME OF OUR HISTORY HERE IN PETERSBURG, AND THAT MIGHT HELP WIN. PETER POLITAN IS OVER. IF YOU COME HERE AND TRY TO HELP SAVE OUR CITY OUTSIDE OF THE
[01:25:04]
CASINO. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA LET ROB TAKE THE PUBLIC SAFETY QUESTION, BUT THE GENTLEMAN RAISES AGAIN. THESE ARE OPPORTUNITIES AS I SEE THEM, AND I THINK, AS WE SEE THEM THAT WE CAN PARTNER ALONGSIDE OF THE COMMUNITY OF PETERSBURG AND THIS IS NO DIFFERENT FOR US. I THINK IT REALLY DOES START WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. AND THAT WOULD BE A VERY PUBLIC PROCESS. I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO JUST BE MINDFUL OF THAT COMING DOWN THE ROAD AT THE RIGHT TIME. BUT THAT'S WHERE WE GET TO KNOW THE COMMUNITY OF PETERSBURG. WHERE WE ARE FULLY ENGAGED. TEAM MEMBERS ARE ENGAGED. THERE'S A DIALOGUE. THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP AND THAT'S WHERE WE START. THE MORE WE LEARN, THE MORE WE CAN HELP. AH, SO I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT WE'RE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO THIS. UH, IT'S NOT NEW. WE DO IT IN EVERY SINGLE COMMUNITY THAT WE DO BUSINESS IN. SO WHAT I'M SHARING WITH YOU. TONIGHT IS AGAIN NOTHING NEW. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO CONSISTENTLY AT EVERY DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.YEAH AND I ADDRESS THE CRIME ISSUE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, SO I WON'T GO BACK INTO THAT AGAIN.
OTHER THAN TO SAY, UH, THAT YOU KNOW, WE WILL LIKE WE HAVE IN IN EVERY CASE IN EVERY PROJECT THAT WE'VE DONE. WE'LL WORK VERY, VERY CLOSELY WITH THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PLAN, UM HAS A TRICKLE OUT EFFECT. JOBS EMPLOYMENT MONEY INTO THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THE LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS. AND THE WAY WE RUN OUR OPERATION. I EXPECT THAT WE'LL SEE AN OVERALL REDUCTION IN CRIME IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA, NOT AN INCREASE.
AND ROB. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IN MARYLAND AND ALL THE JURISDICTION THAT WE DO GAMING, WE HAVE TO REPORT UH, ANY CRIMINAL INCIDENTS SO EVERY MONTH IT'S PUBLIC. YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SAFETY AT THE CASINO? IS THAT IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH WE HAVE TO. WE HAVE TO REPORT TO OUR REGULATORS, ALL OF THEM ALL OF THE INCIDENTS THAT HAPPEN AND YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE VERY MANY SIGNIFICANT INFANT INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED. THE INCIDENTS THAT NORMALLY HAPPEN ARE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THAT YOU WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH AN ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENT. SOMEBODY GETTING HAVING A FEW TOO MANYAND HAVING BEEN ASKED OUT UH, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WOULD WOULD BE KIND OF AN EXPECTED NORMS, SO IT'S NOT USUALLY OF ANYTHING OF SIGNIFICANCE. OKAY, MISS CYNTHIA MARTIN. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL.
GOOD EVENING, CORDISH GROUP. THANK YOU. ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING. AND SPEAKING WITH US, UM I AM VERY IMPRESSED ABOUT YOUR PRESENTATION. I'M EXCITED AT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY, UM, WITH THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE GIVEN US AS FAR AS PERTAINS TO THE YOUTH, BECAUSE THAT IS A AREA IN WHICH WE COULD USE SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT MY QUESTIONS OR HAVE TWO QUESTIONS ONE WHEN YOU ALL SAY LOCAL AH! WHAT TYPE OF MILE RADIUS ARE WE? SPEAKING OF TO DEFINE LOCAL FOREST? UM YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE THINK YOU KNOW LOCAL CAN CAN VARY DEPENDING ON WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO. AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS, I KNOW YOU ALL MENTIONED THE LOYALTY REWARDS PROGRAM. BUT DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY MORE SPECIFIC OR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.
UM, AND AS IT PERTAINS TO THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE OFF SITE IN THE LOCAL AREAS. YEAH. SO UM. THE LOCAL IMPACT AND THE DEFINITION OF LOCAL I THINK WE PROBABLY WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH WITH THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT THE DEFINITION OF LOCAL IS AND SO PART OF PART OF THE AGREEMENT THAT THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH WITH THE COUNCIL IS TO COME UP WITH GOALS JUST AROUND THAT. WHAT WHAT? WHAT SHOULD OUR PERCENTAGE OF SPEND BE BOTH IN CONSTRUCTION, ONGOING HIRING? WHAT PERCENTAGE SHOULD BE MINORITY LOCAL BASED, UM, THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COMMA BETWEEN THOSE TWO. SORRY MINORITY AND LOCAL BASED, UM AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS ARE TO WORK OUT. SO I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME GUIDANCE ON EXACTLY THAT. WHAT IS THE LOCAL THE LOCAL RADIUS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO TARGET? UM SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT QUESTION. UNFORTUNATELY DON'T HAVE A PERFECT ANSWER FOR YOU YET, BUT WE'LL GET THERE. UM AS IT RELATES. TO THE IMPACT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SURROUNDING BUSINESSES. LOCAL BUSINESSES NOT SO MUCH ON SITE OR THE TAX REVENUE GENERATED BY THE DIRECT LOCAL IMPACT, RAJNEESH. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A TOUGH THING TO, UM TO ARTICULATE OTHER THAN BY USING SOME REAL LIFE EXAMPLES. UM AND SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE THE BOOKS OR THE REVENUE NUMBERS FOR THE FOR THE OTHER BUSINESSES THAT ARE NOT INSIDE OF MY ORGANIZATION. HOWEVER I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN TWO OF THE THREE CASINOS THAT WE HAVE THE OTHER ONE. I'M GOING TO LEAVE OUT
[01:30:04]
BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A STADIUM DISTRICT, SO IT'S HARD TO DRIVE THE SAME COMPARISON THAT'S REALLY SURROUNDED BY A LOT OF PARKING. BUT THE OTHER TWO ARE RIGHT IN IN COMMUNITIES. AND IN BOTH OF THOSE CASES, WE HAVE SEEN HOME VALUES INCREASE. WE HAVE SEEN INCREASED NUMBER OF RESTAURANTS , BARS, ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES , RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS COME INTO THE AREA AROUND THE CASINO . UM AND WE'VE SEEN FROM THOSE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS THAT WILL SHARE THEIR NUMBERS. THAT THEIR VOLUMES HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AND THAT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THE NATIONAL TREND IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW, WITH RETAIL THAT SAYS A LOT THAT THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING NOT ONLY A DEPARTURE FROM THAT, BUT WE'RE SEEING RETAIL INCREASE AROUND US. UM SO WHAT? I WOULD INFER FROM THAT, AND I'M SORRY. I CAN'T GIVE YOU NUMBERS ON THE SPECIFICS, THOUGH, IS WHEN YOU SEE THAT KIND OF GROWTH. UM THAT COMES IN AROUND THESE DEVELOPMENTS AND BY THE WAY THAT GROWTH IS RESIDENTIAL THAT GROWTH IS HOTELS THAT GROWTH.IT'S NOT JUST RETAILS BARS, SO THE OVERALL AREAS HAVE BECOME AN ECONOMIC BOOM. IF YOU WILL, FOR THE FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES, UM AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. AND I'M IN A LOCATION LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT LOCATION FROM AN ACCESS STANDPOINT OFF OF THE HIGHWAY. UM SO HOPEFULLY THAT'S THAT. ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. IF NOT, I'LL TRY AGAIN. WELL, I JUST WANT TO SPEAK ON, UH, ON THIS A LITTLE MORE IN TERMS OF I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT LOCAL ENGAGEMENT. I THINK WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS FOCUS. SOMETIMES THERE'S VERY SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IN AN AGREEMENT THAT REALLY IDENTIFIES A CERTAIN AREA, ETCETERA. I LIKE TO THINK THAT WE START WITH PETERSBURG. WE START WITH LOCAL CHAMBERS. WE START WITH LOCAL MINORITY RELATED BUSINESSES. WE START THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. OFTENTIMES THERE'S A DATABASE OF LOCAL CONTRACTORS, LOCAL MINORITY CONTRACTORS. WE START THERE. I THINK THE KEY IS JUST BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE OUTREACH, WHICH IS, UH, WE DO THAT VERY CONSISTENTLY WITHIN. OUR ORGANIZATION. SO AGAIN, I THINK IT'S REALLY SETTING DOWN WITH THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, SETTING DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER SITTING DOWN WITH THE LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, IDENTIFYING IT WAS BUSINESSES WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES AND THEN WE TRY TO ALIGN OURSELVES SO I CAN SAY THAT WILL COMMIT TO PETERSBURG FIRST. AND THEN THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO START. THAT'S THE CITY THAT WE'RE DOING BUSINESS IN SO THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED. NOW LET'S PICK SUZANNE WANTED TO YEAH. I THINK SOME OF YOUR QUESTION WAS DIRECTED AT REALLY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND HOW WE INTEGRATE WITH US SO TO THAT , AND I APOLOGIZE. I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER OF THE TOP OF MY HEAD BUT SAY IN MARYLAND ABOUT 12% OF OUR POINTS THAT GUESTS EARN THAT THAT THEY CAN USE FOR THINGS. THEY USE OFFICE. SITE OF OUR PROPERTY, AND IT GOES TO LOCAL BUSINESSES. EXAMPLES OF THOSE ARE A BUNCH OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS THAT ARE RIGHT IN OUR SURROUNDING AREA. THEY CAN REDEEM THEIR POINTS THERE. THEY CAN ALSO BUY GIFT CARDS FOR A SERIES OF LOCAL BUSINESSES THROUGH THEIR POINTS. SO MY GUESTIMATION THERE IS THAT'S PROBABLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND $3 MILLION FOR THAT PROPERTY. ANNUALLY THAT GOES TO THOSE LOCAL BUSINESSES DIRECTLY. IN THOSE POINTS. IS THAT WHERE YOU'RE GOING? LET ME BE. I MIGHT JUST BE MORE SPECIFIC. I OWN A BIT OPERATE A BUSINESS AT OLD TOWN. PETERSBURG SO, UM, RELATIVE TO AS FAR AS FROM, ESPECIALLY FROM A FOOT TRAFFIC PERSPECTIVE. THAT'S NOT CLOSE TO YOU ALL, BUT I AM VERY EXCITED FOR YOU ALL TO COME. SO MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS HOW ARE YOU ALL GOING TO CONNECT WITH US THAT ARE IN OLD TOWN BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY AND THE A LOT OF VERY SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THERE, BUT THEY ARE VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIFIC TO PETERSBURG BUT ALSO CAN HELP WITH OUR IDENTITY. SO WE DON'T WANT THAT TO GET LOST, BUT WANT TO KNOW, AND I'M SURE THAT WILL BE FURTHER DOWN THE LINE. ONCE WE MAKE YOUR PLANS, LEGISLATION THAT WE GENERALLY SEE WITH THIS AND THE FIRST IS THAT JUST LIKE WE SAID, WE WOULD GET WITH YOU GUYS AND B. PART OF YOUR PARTNERSHIP, SO WE'D HAVE TO GET TO KNOW YOU GUYS AND SEE UM THERE'S A BROCHURE THAT WE GIVE TO EVERY GUEST THAT CHECKS IN TO OUR HOTELS. THAT BASICALLY SAYS HERE'S ALL THE COOL PLACES THAT YOU CAN GO RIGHT AROUND US. YOU KNOW, YOU GET NEED TO GET YOUR HAIR DONE. YOU WANT A BAKERY YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU NEED? HERE IS A LIST OF ALL THE COOL LOCAL PLACES THAT YOU CAN GET. SO THAT'S ONE WAY THAT WE DO IT. UM SO AGAIN. I'M NOT SURE SPECIFICALLY AND THAT THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENS IS WHEN YOU HAVE THIS NUMBER OF TEAM MEMBERS. SOME ARE GOING TO BE RIGHT FROM HERE. SOME ARE PROBABLY GONNA BE FROM THE ADJOINING NEIGHBORHOOD. ONCE YOU GET THIS KIND OF CROWD. THEY WILL GO TOGETHER AND FREQUENT THESE LOCAL BUSINESSES. YOU KNOW
[01:35:01]
, THERE'S THIS KIND OF JOB MASS. WHAT WE FIND IS THAT FROM CONSTRUCTION THROUGH OPERATION.YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM MEMBERS THEMSELVES ARE HUGE, YOU KNOW. UM PART OF THE LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, BIG CONSUMERS, BECAUSE NOW YOU HAVE A GREAT CHECK AND GOOD BENEFITS, SO IT REALLY HELPS. AND WE RECOGNIZE EARLY ON THE VALUE AND THE, UM THE STRENGTH OF THE DESTINATION OF THE HISTORIC DOWNTOWN AREA. PETERSBURG AND WE DEFINITELY WANT TO SEE THAT AS PART OF THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF PARTICULARLY THOSE COMING FROM OUT OF TOWN THAT WANT TO VISIT AND COME INTO THIS AREA, SO WE WILL WORK TO GET, UM, THAT DOWNTOWN AREA AS PART OF SOME SORT OF TOUR, FINDING A WAY TO CREATE A LOCAL FLAIR TO OUR BRAND. IS THAT AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR SUCCESS, SO THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE PART OF IT. SO I'M SORRY. I WAS OFF THE TARGET OF WHAT? YOU'RE ASKING TO BEGIN WITH. IT'S OK. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, UM, NEXT UP. I'D LIKE TO BRING FORTH OUR SENATOR JOSEPH MORRISSEY JUST WALKED IN. I KNOW HE CAN GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND BECAUSE I KNOW PART OF THE BIG PIECES. THE LEGISLATION AND SENATOR MARCY IS THE DRIVER.
BEHIND THE LEGISLATION. YES, THANK YOU, MR MAYOR, SO THAT I DON'T HAVE MY BACK TO PEOPLE AND RESPECTFULLY CAN I COME OVER HERE AND CHAT? THANKS. IS THAT? HOW ARE YOU? GOOD EVENING, FOLKS. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN HERE AND YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE PRESENTATION, SO I WANT TO PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. THESE FOLKS WANT TO BUILD A CASINO. THEY WANT TO BUILD A DESTINATION CASINO. THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY. THESE FOLKS UP HERE WOULD LIKE THAT CASINO TO COME IN BECAUSE IT RAISES TAX REVENUE. THAT'S THE TWO. THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT I'VE SEEN. AND I'LL GIVE YOU MY THOUGHTS. I'VE SEEN EVERY CASINO PROJECT THAT HAS COME THROUGH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. THERE'S BEEN ABOUT NINE OF THEM. NOT ONE OF THEM HAS BEEN A DESTINATION CASINO. THEY HAVE ALL BEEN REGIONAL CASINOS. A REGIONAL CASINO IS SOMETIMES DESCRIBED. MAYBE INDELICATELY AS A BOX WITH A SLOT. ALL BOX A GLAMOROUS BOX WITH LOTS OF SLOT MACHINES. THERE ARE FOUR OTHER CASINOS THAT ARE GOING TO BE BUILT IN VIRGINIA. THEY ARE REGIONAL CASINOS. IF CORDISH COMES IN, IT WILL BE THE ONLY DESTINATION CASINO. IN VIRGINIA.
AND INDEED, FROM SAVANNAH TO PHILADELPHIA. WE WON'T HAVE ONE ON THE I 95 CORRIDOR. HERE'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS CASINO AND THE OTHER FOUR IN VIRGINIA. IT IS NOT JUST A GLAMOROUS BOX AND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL BOX. BUT IT IS PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. ONE OTHER CASINO HAS A POOL. THE ONE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO PUT IN . RICHMOND HAD NO POOL. THIS WILL HAVE SIX POOLS. IT WILL HAVE RETAIL. HUNDREDS OF 1000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL SPACE. IT WILL HAVE. IN ADDITION TO RETAIL SPACE ROOM FOR UP TO 2000 UNITS FOR BUT I THINK I HAVE THAT CORRECT 2000 APARTMENT UNITS, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT. IT HAS A MUSIC VENUE. SO PEOPLE THAT WILL COME INTO PETERSBURG LIKE OTHER VENUES IN THE STATE. THEY WILL COME HERE FOR A CONCERT. PEOPLE THAT WILL COME TO THIS DESTINATION CASINO WILL COME FOR THE 300 ROOM HOTEL. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE HAVE TRIED TO GET A HOTEL? INVERTED AND PETERSBURG YOU WILL HAVE ONE HERE NOW AND NOT JUST A HOTEL THAT WILL CATER TO THE PEOPLE THAT CASINOS WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT THERE SO THEY SPEND MORE MONEY. IT WILL BE A FIVE STAR HOTEL. WE DON'T HAVE ONE LIKE THAT. HERE THE ONLY HOTEL IS THE ONE THAT WE'RE TEARING DOWN RIGHT NOW. OKAY, THAT'S ONE THING. AND OUTSIDE THAT IN THAT HOTEL WILL BE SIX POOLS. THEY'LL HAVE RETAIL SPACE AROUND IT. THERE WILL BE A PROMENADE. AND I THINK YOU SAW THAT WITH THAT WILL BE LIKE NONE OTHER PEOPLE WILL COME FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. OTHER SISTER STATES ALONG THE EAST COAST FOR THIS DESTINATION, AND I DON'T SAY CASINO, I SAY RESORT. HEIGHT. NOW THAT'S THE FIRST THING. THE OTHER THING IS I'VE SEEN IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. NO OTHER CASINO OUTFIT MESHES THEMSELVES. INTO THE FABRIC OF THE COMMUNITY, LIKE THE CORDISH GROUP. IF YOU IF YOU GO ONLINE, YOU'LL SEE THEY ONLY BUILD THEIR BRAND IS LIVE. THEY ONLY BUILD CASINOS WHERE THEY ARE ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY OF ALL OF THE CASINO GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY. OF ALL THE CASINO GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT GET ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY. WHAT DO WE WHY DO WE NEED THAT? WE NEED PEOPLE FROM VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY TO HAVE A NEW CURRICULUM, ARTS AND CULINARY AT THAT SCHOOL SO THEY CAN FEED
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THEM INTO THE CASINO. WE NEED INTERNSHIPS. WE NEED JOBS, NOT JUST CASINO DEALERS. WHO BY THE WAY THEY DO PRETTY WELL. THEY MAKE ABOUT 120,000 YEAR, BUT WE NEED DOCTORS FOR THE CASINO. I MEAN, DOCTORS. WE NEED LAWYERS. WE NEED ACCOUNTANTS. WE NEED WAIT. STAFF WE NEED PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BECAUSE THERE WILL BE CONCERTS COMING THERE. AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME TO PETERSBURG AND THEN THEY WILL SEE THE OTHER ATTRACTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS ICONIC AMERICAN CITY. NOW MONEY. WHEN THE J LARK STUDY CAME OUT, THEY SAID. PETERSBURG AND RICHMOND. HAS CAN SUPPORT TWO CASINOS. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THAT MEANS. IF THERE ARE TWO CASINOS, THEY WOULD BE TO REGIONAL CASINOS. A BEAUTIFUL BOX WITH SLOT MACHINES, GAMING MACHINES, AND THAT'S IT. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THAT IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AND I'M NOT INTRODUCING LEGISLATION THAT WILL ALLOW TO CASINOS. I WANT THE DESTINATION RESORT TO BE HERE IN PETERSBURG, AND HERE'S WHY. IF THERE ARE TWO CASINOS, THEY WON'T COME. THE COURT IS GROUP HAS A BRAND IT'S CALLED LIVE THAT BRAND WOULD BE DELUDED IF IT WAS SIMPLY A REGIONAL CASINO. YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT CASINOS ARE? YOU GOT THE BOTTOM TIER ROSES. ANYBODY BEEN ROSES? IT IS A CASINO. WITHOUT AND 700 SLOTS IN THERE, BUT IT'S A CASINO. LOOKS LIKE ANY OTHER ONE. NEXT LEVEL IS THE REGIONAL AND THEN YOU HAVE THE DESTINATION RESORT. THAT'S WHAT THIS IS A WILL NOT COME HERE. THEY WOULD MAKE MONEY IF THEY CAME HERE AND EVERY OTHER CASINO OPERATOR IN THE COUNTRY. THEY'LL COME HERE BECAUSE THEY'LL MAKE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. CORDISH WILL NOT COME HERE IF THERE'S TWO CASINOS. THE OTHER THING IS WHEN THEY HAD THE PROJECT IN IN RICHMOND. THE ONE THAT GOT THE SELECTED EVERYONE WAS AROUND 550 TO $650 MILLION.QUARTERS GROUP IS BUILDING A $1.4 BILLION DESTINATION RESORT. OKAY THAT'S BECAUSE THE OTHERS DIDN'T HAVE ALL OF THE BELLS AND WHISTLES THAT THIS HAS AND THEN LET ME JUST END AND I APPRECIATE YOUR ALLOWING ME TO CHAT AND I'M GONNA BUT HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. J LARK RECOMMEND SUGGESTED THAT PETERSBURG WOULD HAVE 12.5 TO $13.5 MILLION OF REVENUE FOR THE JUST FOR THE CITY, NOT FOR THE STATE. IF THIS PROJECT COMES IN AT THIS PROJECT COMES IN. IT'S DOUBLE WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO IN RICHMOND. IT'S A IT'S A $50 MILLION A YEAR TAXES FOR THE STATE AND THE CITY. THAT'S 25 YEAR. THEY ESTIMATE ABOUT 200 QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT DECADE. AND THE JOBS. AND IT'S NOT JUST PETERSBURG JOBS, BUT IT'S YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT LIVE IN SURREY AND SUSSEX AND CHARLES CITY, COUNTY AND COLONIAL HEIGHTS. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE PROUD OF. IT IS NOT THE THEY WILL IMPROVE THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, THE ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE AND IMAGINE HAVING $25 MILLION A YEAR TO PUT INTO THINGS LIKE SCHOOLS. I HEARD THAT THE FOLKS BEHIND ME SAID THEY NEEDED A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A FIRE TRUCK. IT'S A BIT EXPENSIVE FIRE TRUCK, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY NEED DONE. SO, FOLKS, HERE'S WHERE I'M GOING. I AM NOT. I'M NOT GONNA BARGAIN THIS AWAY. I'M NOT GONNA I'M NOT GONNA LET LEGISLATORS SAY LET'S GET ONE FOR PETERSBURG AND ONE FOR RICHMOND. NO I'M ALL IN JUST FOR PETERSBURG AND, UM, THAT'S IT. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GO INTO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY? THAT LEGISLATION WILL SAY ONE FOR PETERSBURG AND NOBODY ELSE AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA FIGHT FOR. UM, I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH LEGISLATORS FOR THE LAST 30 DAYS. I'VE TOLD THEM WHAT'S COMING HERE. I TOLD THEM WHAT WE CAN HAVE. I KNOW YOU'VE SEEN THE PICTURES, AND HERE'S THE LAST THING I'LL SAY. I LOOKED THEM AND I SAID THE PICTURES THAT I'M SEEING IS THAT THAT WHAT YOU'RE DEVELOPING? AND THEY SAID YES. YES NOTHING SHORT OF IT. SO MR MAYOR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SHARE WITH YOU. I HOPE WE GOT TWO THINGS AHEAD. WE GOT TO GET THROUGH THE GENERAL LAWS COMMITTEE. WE'VE GOT TO GET THROUGH SENATE FINANCE. IT'S GOTTA GO THROUGH THE HOUSE. BOTH SIDES HAVE TO APPROVE ON IT APPROVED THE BILL. REMEMBER, THE BILL IS ONE CASINO RESORT. AND THEN HE GOES TO THE GOVERNOR AND IT GOES TO THE GOVERNOR. THEN IT GOES TO A REFERENDUM IN NOVEMBER HERE, IT'LL BE SIGNED INTO LAW IN JULY ONE GOES TO A REFERENDUM HERE IN NOVEMBER BREAKING GROUND. I GUESS FEW MONTHS AFTER THAT. OKAY? OKAY I GOT KIDS TO GO HOME AND BATHE. SO I'M GONNA LEAVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. CHEERS. THANK YOU, SENATOR MARCY. RIGHT? BY ANY MORE HANDS. UM, YES, MA'AM. BRANDY JARMAN,
[01:45:23]
458, DEERFIELD DRIVE. PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. SO I MUST SAY I'M A I'M A LIKENESS TO, UH YOU GUYS DID A GREAT PRESENTATION. I LOVED IT. I LOVED THE BELLS AND WHISTLES LOVED EVERYTHING. THERE'S THIS OLD BILL COSBY EPISODE. WHEN HE CLAIRE AND BILL AWAITING ON VANESSA TO COME HOME WITH THEIR BOYFRIEND. AND HE COME IN, AND HE LOOKS NICE, BUT THE WAY HE PRESENTS HIMSELF THERE A LITTLE BIT PUT OFF. SO CLAIRE, THE VANESSA COME AND SHE TRIED TO CONVINCE HER PARENTS HE'S A GOOD MAN AND CLIFFS, CLIFFS SAYS. HE'S A PIECE OF STEAK, BUT YOU BOUGHT THEM ON A TRASH CAN LID. SO WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG IS YOU HAVE A GREAT PRESENTATION A GREAT PLAN , BUT IT'S A VERY VULNERABLE CITY. WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES THAT WE WANT TO JUMP ON BOARD, BUT WE WANT TO BE A SHORT OR OTHER ISSUES ARE TAKEN CARE OF. AND PART OF THAT IS FIGURING OUT HOW YOU GUYS ARE GONNA FIT INTO IT. A LOT OF BIG THINGS I HEARD AND IT'S GONNA BE A STATEMENT IN THE QUESTION AT THE END, UM, THAT I'VE GOTTEN FROM FROM BEING OUT AND PART OF THE PETERSBURG AREA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS. ONE BIG THING WAS ROLE STRUCTURE. WE ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH OUR ROLES AND HIGHWAYS WITH THAT ADDED TRAFFIC. HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF? A LOT OF THINGS IS YOUTH. WE ALREADY HAVE LIMITED IN THINGS THAT ARE YOUTH HAVE TO DO. SO. HOW ARE WE GOING TO INVEST SO MUCH IN SOME STUFF FOR ADULTS, BUT NOT SO MUCH FOR OUR YOUTH? UM ANOTHER THING THAT WE REALLY WANTED, AND THEN THAT'S GONNA GO TO MY QUESTION BEFORE I STATE THAT I LOVE. THE FACT IS THAT WAS WRITTEN DOWN AND SAID, SUGGEST A CITIZENS COMMITTEE. AND THIS ASSESS A JUSTICE IN THIS COMMITTEE BEFORE LEGISLATION. UM I LOVE SENATOR JOE MERCY CAME AND SAID, BUT HE RAN THROUGH IT LIKE IT WAS ALREADY DONE. AND THE BIG THING WE'RE MISSING IS THE COMMUNITY DID NOT GET THIS OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW, BEFORE IT WAS ALREADY LAID OUT THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE DONE, AND THAT HURTS US. AND IT PRESENTS A TRUST FACTOR IN ENSURING THAT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT. PETERSBURG IS AWARE THAT WE NEED THINGS LIKE THIS. WE'VE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE IN THE PAST . WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT STAYS FOR LONGEVITY AND IT TRULY BENEFITS ARE PEOPLE. SO THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE THING I WANTED TO TOUCH ON NOW, MY QUESTION BECAUSE I SAID IF I'M GONNA DO ALL THAT I'M GONNA GIVE SOME SOLUTIONS. SO I'M GLAD YOU SAID A CITIZEN CAN BECAUSE THAT WAS MY BIGGEST SOLUTION. NOW CITIZEN ACADEMY CITIZENS COMMITTEE, BECAUSE ALL IN ALL, LIKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE SAID, WELL, LITTLE BIT WEARY ABOUT HOW INFORMATION GETS BACK TO A CITIZENS. I CAN'T PUT IT ALL ON COUNCIL. SOMETIMES THE POSTAL MAIL MESSES UP. BUT EITHER WAY, WE DON'T BELIEVE LEERY ABOUT HOW TO INFORMATION GETS BACK TO US. SO WORKING WITH A CITIZENS, TRUE CITIZENS COMMITTEE WILL BE ABLE TO GET YOU THAT THAT VOICE ON THE GROUND AND THEN WHEN YOU HEAR SOME OF THIS. I DON'T LIKE TO CALL IT JUMPED DOWN ON SOMEBODY. I LIKE TO CALL IT HEALTHY DIALOGUE AND DEBATING FIVE STEPS BEHIND FIVE STEPS TO THE FUTURE. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST? HOW CAN WE AVOID THIS IN THE FUTURE AND BE BETTER? SO THAT WAS MY OVERALL STATEMENT. UM ONE QUESTION I HAD BEING THAT WE'RE VULNERABLE CITY CRIME IS THE BIGGEST THING AND I TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD AND SOMETIMES STATISTICS CAN BLOW US. ONE THING I WANT TO TOUCH ON. THIS IS A GAME AND FACILITY. I DON'T I DON'T GAMBLE TOO MUCH BECAUSE I LOSE $20. I'M NEVER GETTING UP FROM THE TABLE. WE'RE GOING TO SIT HERE TO OUR WINDOWS $20 BACK. THAT'S NUMBER ONE. BUT WHAT HAVE STUDIES HAVE YOU DONE AND WHAT ACTIVE PROGRAMS DO YOU HAVE TOWARDS GAMBLING ADDICTIONS AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THESE TYPE OF CITIES AND OF ALL OF THE FAMILIES THAT WE HAVE I LET THE TEAM TOUCH ON THE GAMBLING ADDICTION. UH, BUT YOU KNOW WHEN IT I APPRECIATE, UH LEVEL OF CONCERN THAT YOU SHARED UH, LOOK , WE ARE NEW TO THIS CITY. BUT. IN THE CASE OF BILL COSBY IN THAT SCENARIO. UM WHO WAS THAT YOUNG MAN? WHAT'S HIS TRACK RECORD? HOW LONG IS VANESSA KNOWN? THIS GUY? YOU KNOW, UM AND WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS. ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE'RE STANDING HERE TODAY IS BECAUSE OF OUR TRACK RECORD. AND WE'VE GOT A VERY LONG HISTORY OF DELIVERING THE GOODS. AND NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF THE BELLS AND WHISTLES. BUT ALSO WHAT WE DO FOR THE PEOPLE THAT THAT WE WORK WITH DAY IN AND DAY OUT AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE DO BUSINESS IN WE TOOK THE TIME WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SHARE WITH YOU. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. IT'S NOT A FARCE. IT'S REALITY FOR US . WE'RE NOT SUCCESSFUL AND LESS. WE ARE ENGAGED IN THIS COMMUNITY. WE WOULD REALLY FALL SHORT AS A COMPANY AS A BRAND IF WE DON'T ENGAGE WITH YOU FOLKS. WE TALKED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY.ADVISORY BOARD. AS I SAID EARLIER. WE'VE PROBABLY GOT 10 OF THEM IN EXISTENCE RIGHT NOW.
[01:50:04]
SO AGAIN, IT'S GOING BACK TO TRACK RECORD WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US TO DO WE'VE DONE BEFORE. SO I JUST WANT TO ASSURE EVERYONE THAT I GET IT THAT PROOFS IN THE PUDDING. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. THAT'S WHAT WE BROUGHT THE WHOLE TEAM HERE. SO YOU COULD NOT ONLY HEAR IT FROM ME. BUT HERE IT FROM OUR TEAM MEMBERS THAT ARE FULLY ENGAGED WITH OUR TEAM MEMBERS WITH THE COMMUNITY WITH LOCAL VENDORS. UH SO THIS IS THIS IS REAL FOR US, AND PEOPLE ARE VERY, VERY COMMITTED. TO DELIVERING THE BEST THAT WE CAN FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. SO WE'RE ALL FOR A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THAT'S ON OUR AGENDA. THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD DO. ANYWAY THERE'S NO MAGIC TO IT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE DO IN EVERY CITY, SO THAT WILL HAPPEN HERE. AND I'LL ADD ON THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM WE DON'T NECESSARILY PUT JUST OUR FRIENDS ON THERE, AND WE PUT THE FOLKS THAT ARE SOME OF OUR BIGGEST ADVERSARIES AT THE BEGINNING. UM AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD, YOU KNOW, WELCOME ANY OF YOU WHO MAKE IT UP TO MARYLAND OR PHILADELPHIA TO VISIT WILL CONNECT YOU WITH SOME OF THOSE FOLKS THAT USED TO BE THE ONES SITTING IN THE ROOM LIKE THIS EXPRESSING THEIR CONCERNS AND LET YOU HEAR FROM THEIR MOUTHS.WHAT WE DID AND HOW HOW WE FULFILLED THE PROMISES WE MADE AND NOW WHERE THEY STAND AS IT RELATES TO THEIR OPINION OF US AND HOW WE INTEGRATED IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT YOU KNOW WE COULD PLAY ANOTHER 20 MINUTES OF VIDEO WHERE WE CAPTURED ALL THAT, BUT IT'S BETTER WHEN IT COMES RIGHT FROM FROM THE MOUTH OF THE FOLKS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE WHOLE PROCESS. UM ON THE RESPONSIBLE GAMING. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, AND I COULD HAVE ANY ONE OF THESE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION, OR I COULD GO TO ANY OF THE 10,000 TEAM MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE AND HAVE THEM ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR YOU BECAUSE WE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. RESPONSIBLE GAMING THAT SERIOUSLY, UM YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE WE ARE A PLACE OF ENTERTAINMENT. WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME AND HAVE FUN. THERE IS A SMALL FRACTION OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE AN ADDICTIVE RESPONSE TO GAMING AND WE WANT TO BE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TRAINED OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO IDENTIFY AND TO STEP IN. WHEN WE SEE THOSE AND WE HAVE, WE WILL WORK WITH. THE STATE. WE HAVE OUR OWN PROGRAMS ON HOW WE INTERACT WITH THOSE FOLKS. WE HAVE EXCLUSION PROGRAMS SO THAT WE CAN REMOVE THEM FROM THE CASINO AND KEEP THEM OUT OF THE FACILITY. THERE'S MONEY FROM THE TAXES THAT WE PAY INTO THE STATE OF VIRGINIA THAT WILL GO INTO CREATING IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. UH HOTLINES AND SUPPORT CENTERS FOR PEOPLE WITH RESPONSIBLE GAMING. IT'S FUNDED AS PART OF THE LEGISLATION. UM SO WE HAVE WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE COMMITMENT TO THIS. THIS IS NOT , YOU KNOW, OUR OUR INTENT IS TO CREATE THAT ENERGY OF THAT LAST VIDEO THAT YOU SAW THAT HAPPINESS THAT THAT THAT VIBE OF THE LIVE BRAND AND HE'D YOU DON'T CREATE THAT BY PREYING ON THE VULNERABLE AND SO YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THAT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY. EACH AND EVERY DAY. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING ELSE THEY'D LIKE TO COMMENT ON THAT. BUT ALL OF US THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE GAMING ORGANIZATION ARE TRAINED ON RESPONSIBLE GAMING WHAT IT MEANS HOW TO REACT TO IT, HOW TO HOW TO ENGAGE WITH THE CUSTOMER AND HOW TO GET THEM HELP. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN EVERY YEAR, EVERY EMPLOYEE TOP DOWN. MANDATORY. YOU DON'T PASS. YOU RETRAIN YOU DON'T WORK. SO WE HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNALS OF SOMEONE IS GIVING US SIGNALS ARE TALKING TO US OR EVEN NOT TALKING TO US. ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY MAY YOU KNOW, HAVE A PROBLEM WITH GAMING. SO WE ARE TRAINED ON THAT WE FOLLOW THE AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION GUIDELINES ALSO FILED THE STATE GUIDELINES. NOW WE ALSO SUPPLEMENT IT WITH OUR OWN GUIDELINES. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UM YES. OVER THERE. GOOD EVENING. SHARON L. JOHNSON I LIVE IN FIFTH WARD PETERSBURG. I'VE LIVED IN PETERSBURG ALL MY LIFE. AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THE MORAL ORDER STORY IS THIS. YOU CAN FIND GOOD AND BAD IN ANYTHING IF YOU LOOK FORWARD. WE CAN STAY HERE FOR THE NEXT YEAR FOR HOURS AND EVERYONE CAN GIVE THEIR OPINIONS AND THIS GROUP OF THE HERE IS GOING TO SAY, WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT AND OVER HERE, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY YOU SHOULD DO IT. WHAT WHAT? WHY CAN'T WE JOIN FORCES TOGETHER? AND HELP PEOPLE COME TOGETHER AND SAY WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN? WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE? BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE THESE KIND FOLK HAVE BEEN HERE AND THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING. SLACK US GIVING
[01:55:05]
THIS RESORT TO PETERSBURG. EVERY QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED. IN MY OPINIONS OF EFFICIENTLY. THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE FOR YOU TO SAY HERE. YOU TAKE THIS. YOU CAN'T PEOPLE IN PETERSBURG YOU.YOU JUST SOLD YOUR YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL ANYTHING ENOUGH OF IT? THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT PETER'S BRO HAS GONE LACKING, BECAUSE WE CAN'T COME TOGETHER AND BE UNIFIED. I'VE LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE. I'VE NEVER SPOKEN ON THIS LEVEL. MY GIRLFRIEND SAID TO ME COME ON, AND I'M GLAD THAT I DID. BECAUSE I WANT TO LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE. I WANT TO LOOK AT THE POSITIVE. I WANT TO LOOK AT THERE'S PROS AND CONS AND EVERYTHING YOU GO IN THE GROCERY STORE THEIR SODA.
THERE'S NOTHING GOOD AND SODA, BUT YOU BUY THEM YOU GO. THERE'S NOTHING GOOD IN BEER, BUT YOU'RE DRINKING. THERE'S NOTHING GOOD IN CIGARETTES, BUT YOU'RE SMOKING. SO DO YOU NOT GO TO THE STORES FOR THOSE REASONS? I DON'T GAMBLE, BUT I'M GOING TO SUPPORT THE CASINO BECAUSE THERE'S A BRIGHT SIDE. LOOK AT THE JOBS $25 MILLION A MONTH. YOU CAN PAY SOME PUBLIC SAFETY FOR YOU CAN HAVE SOME POLICEMEN . YOU CAN FIX SOME STREETS. TAKE CARE OF THE WATER PROBLEMS. PIECEWORK CAN GET BACK TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE IF YOU JUST STOP LOOKING AT THE NEGATIVE IS ALWAYS GONNA BE THERE. BUT LET'S COME TOGETHER AND THEN GET TASK FORCE. YOU KNOW, GET GET SOME COMMITTEES TOGETHER AND COME TOGETHER AND SAY, WELL, WHAT CAN I DO? HOW CAN I MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN? THIS IS A DREAM YOU SAY OKAY. PETERSBURG IS COMING BACK. YEAH THE REDEVELOPMENT CAMERA FOUNDATION. ALL THAT'S WONDERFUL . THEY'RE DOING REMARKABLE DRIVE AROUND EVERY DAY. I'M LOOKING AT THESE NICE HOUSES AND THE RUNDOWN SHACKS AND NOW THEY'RE COMING TOGETHER AND LOOKING GOOD . SO THIS LIKE MANY SENATE TOMORROW, SHE SAID, THIS IS A DESTINATION. THIS IS NOT GETTING MARRIED IN A CHURCH. THIS IS GOING OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
HAVING A DESTINATION WEDDING. I'M I'M I'M MAKING THE COMPARISON. YOU'RE NOT GETTING MARRIED IN THE CHURCH. WE HAVING A DESTINATION WEDDING. THIS IS A TOP OF THE LINE THING FOR PETERSBURG. YOU SAY YOU WANT TO COME BACK, LET'S COME BACK. BUT THAT'S COME BACK WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. THAT'S COME BACK TOGETHER. LET'S BE UNIFIED AND NOT LOOK AT AND SAY. ALL OF THE NEGATIVES WERE SAY, WHAT CAN I DO? HOW CAN I HELP? OKAY? IF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS MESSED UP AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS MR. HOW CAN I MAKE A DIFFERENCE? I'M JUST ONE PERSON. I WANT TO HELP AND I WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND WHATEVER I HAVE TO DO YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. MAYBE MAYBE MAYBE I COULD BAKE A PIE OR CAKE. AH MAYBE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT I WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THAT'S MY STATEMENT. THANK YOU. I THINK I'LL DROP THE MICRO. SHE SHOULD DROP THE MIC ON THAT ONE. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S THE DROP THE MIC MOMENT RIGHT THERE. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. NOW WE'LL GO TO BECAUSE WE HAD TO SCHEDULE FOR SEVEN. WE RIGHT ON TIME FOR ENDING ANY COMMENTS BY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. I JUST WANT TO SAY THIS GROUP. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT CITY COUNCILORS. WE BELIEVE ALL RIGHT. AND WE'VE HAD OUR STRUGGLES, BUT WE KNOW WHAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY THIS IS NOT JUST FOR RIGHT NOW, BEFORE THE MANY GENERATIONS TO COME HERE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG JUST PROVIDES HOPE IT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES AND WE'RE ASKING EVERYBODY TO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN BE VIRGINIA LIVE. WE CAN BE THE DESTINATION OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND IT STARTS HERE TODAY. THIS IS JUST THE FIRST OF MANY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS. WE HAVE A REFERENDUM THAT WE WANT TO GET GET ON TAP FOR NEXT YEAR. SO THEREFORE JOE MORRIS CAN BE DOING THIS THING. BUT KEEP TALKING UP WHAT PETERSBURG CAN BE. AND I NEED YOU TO BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THE, UM WHAT? WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT YOU JUST HAD THE FAITH OF A MUSTARD SEED, RIGHT? I MUST HAVE SEED RIGHT? ALL RIGHT THERE. THERE. WE CAN DO THIS. AND PETERSBURG AND THRIVE AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO NEW JOURNEY TOGETHER. THANK YOU SAID THE CORDISH TEAM AGAIN. SAFE TRAVELS BACK UP TO MARYLAND. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT THERE'S A MOTION TO ADJOURN. SOMEONE LEFT THEIR GLASSES AT THE PODIUM IN FAVOR.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.