Hartford Business Journal

24 Hartford Business Journal • June 5, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com OPINION & COMMENTARY EDITORIAL No sure bets in expanded casino gaming A s the legislative session nears its climatic end, the fate of one of this years most controversial bills — expansion of casino gaming — remains in limbo. While the Senate passed a bill allowing the Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun joint venture to build a third casino in East Windsor, the House is still toiling with the idea. The biggest hangup, among other issues, is whether the state should assess a licens- ing fee — as high as $250 million — for the right to operate a third casino in the state. The Senate bill didn't include such a fee, but the Democratic majority in the House is vying for one, which we think is a smart move. The casino debate has taken up a considerable amount of attention from state law- makers, but we agree it's an important issue to focus on. Expanded gaming won't come close to solving Connecticut's budget deficits, but there is a need to protect the $267 million in annual casino gaming revenues that fill the state's shrinking coffers. The biggest threat to those revenues is the new $950 million MGM casino under construc- tion in Springfield, which is expected to sap revenues from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The casino debate is a complicated one, and we've been lukewarm to expanded gaming. The casino industry is becoming oversaturated and adding more gambling halls will only make it worse. However, if casino operators are willing to invest their own money to construct new facilities and employ additional workers, we say let it ride. But the East Windsor site, home to a former Showcase Cinemas off I-91, doesn't seem like the ideal location. It will be too close to MGM's much more grand casino and near no major local entertainment venues, limiting its economic development impact. In an ideal world, we'd like lawmakers to approve up to three smaller boutique casi- nos, with guaranteed locations in Hartford/East Hartford and Fairfield County, possibly Bridgeport. We believe gaming facilities in those locations could spur further economic development. Last week, Mohegan and Foxwoods sweetened their bid by agreeing to put slot machines in off-track-betting parlors in Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport and pay an upfront $25 million fee. Gaming could provide another entertainment option for Hartford and we think co-locat- ing a facility within a renovated XL Center makes sense. We'd also require some casino rev- enues to help pay for XL Center's needed $250 million renovation. A renovated facility with additional entertainment and restaurant/retail options could help the XL Center attract more concerts and events, which have increasingly been fleeing to the casinos in recent years. We'd also be open to the former Showcase Cinemas site in East Hartford, which was originally under consideration. We also agree that any additional casinos should come with a hefty licensing fee to help the state close its projected two-year, $5 billion deficit. Some of that money should also be set aside to provide additional funding to problem gambling programs, because there is a societal cost to allowing easier access to slots and table games. Regardless of what lawmakers choose to do, any bill that gains approval by both the House and Senate will likely be headed to court. Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have been lobbying for a no-bid casino license. Outside groups including MGM and the Scha- ghticoke Tribal Nation have been pushing for an open-bid process that would allow all interested parties to vie for another casino. Foxwoods and Mohegan say opening up the bidding to outsiders would threaten their long- standing revenue-sharing agreement, in which they pledge 25 percent of their slot revenues to the state. MGM says it will challenge the constitutionality of any law allowing for a no-bid deal. What's clear is there is no easy bet here. But we hope lawmakers don't view this simply as a gaming expansion but a broader economic development opportunity. n OTHER VOICES U.S. needs more low-cost financing options for infrastructure repairs By Larry Bingaman W e have all experienced the frustration of bone-rattling potholes or traffic back- ups from emergency road repairs. Now keep those potholes and traffic jams in mind, but picture a separate, hidden infrastructure system that is larger and, in some cases, a hundred years older than those roads and bridges. You can't see it, but it ensures we are able to go about our daily rou- tines without a second thought. It keeps our community healthy, our food growing, our manufacturing plants humming and the lights on in our homes and offices. These are our water systems — under- ground, out of sight and out of mind. But they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to bring reliable, high-quality water to us. Unlike the potholed roads you see on your daily commute, these water systems — many of which were built for the America of a century ago, not modern metropolises and sprawling supply chains of today — don't show their age as easily. But, what hap- pens when these sys- tems fail to keep up with our needs? You would not be able to make your coffee or give your dog a bowl of water. Forget about brushing your teeth, flushing the toilet or taking a shower. And that is just residential use. Commercial enterprises, from hospitals to breweries, factories to power plants, car- washes to restaurants, need water to survive. Many communities around America have already experienced how terrible life is with- out reliable, high-quality water. Water con- tamination, epic drought, record flooding and infrastructure failure are stressing our nation's water systems. A recent report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers on the nation's water infrastructure reaffirmed the need to invest in it. Its report card gave our nation's water infra- structure a "D" for not making the investments needed to maintain and repair our water sys- tems. It's reported that federal support for water infrastructure has fallen approximately 80 per- cent since 1980. And, it's estimated that we need to invest $1 trillion over the next 25 years to maintain current levels of reliable, high-quality water service for a growing U.S. population. At the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA), we provide public water service to more than 118,000 homes and businesses, or a population of about 430,000 in Greater New Haven. We operate and maintain more than 1,700 miles of pipe, 11 water treat- ment plants, including wellfields, 27,000 acres of watershed land, 10 lakes, three aquifers and other critical components such as hydrants, pumps, valves and storage tanks that deliver drinking water to our consumers' taps and sup- port fire and emergency services. We address the issues of aging infrastructure each year by preparing a prioritized projection of improvements, additions and renovations to the water system to provide for and protect the water supply, and to meet drinking water standards. We invest approximately $25 million to $27 mil- lion annually in infrastructure improvements. Like the majority of American commu- nities, the RWA uses tax-exempt bonds to finance local infrastructure improvements. All of us who pay for water service absorb the cost of this investment primarily through higher water rates since these improvements are the main driver for rate increases. As such, we need more solutions from Congress and more legislation that lowers the cost of borrowing for infrastructure projects. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Inno- vation Act, as well as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provide low-interest loans and grants to help community water systems upgrade infrastructure to remain in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. We need to encourage our U.S. congressional representatives to stand behind more of these federal programs that provide funding to states to distribute for water infrastruc- ture projects because they directly ben- efit citizens. These programs not only help to hold down the cost of water projects, thereby miti- gating increases in customer water rates to pay for the financing, but they help to boost the local economy, bolster America's workforce and sharpen our nation's competitive edge. Consider these facts: Every $1 invested in water and wastewater infrastructure increases long-term Gross Domestic Product by $6.35, and each job created in water and waste- water leads to 3.68 jobs in the national economy. Studies also show that the U.S. economy would stand to gain over $200 billion in annual eco- nomic activity and 1.3 million jobs over a 10-year period by meeting its water infrastructure needs. When we consider everything that our water services deliver — protecting public health and the environment, providing fire protection, supporting our economy and assuring the high quality of life we enjoy — it's clear that water is too essential to ignore. It's vital that each of us support our local elected officials and community leaders in making decisions necessary to address the infrastructure that connects, protects and supports clean, reliable water. Without strong voices advocating for this work, our water sys- tems will continue to be out of site and out of mind. It is time we uncover this hidden infra- structure and make it a national priority. n Larry Bingaman is the president and CEO of the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL Is Hartford still the insurance capital of the world? ● Yes ● No To vote, go online to HartfordBusiness.com. Last week's poll results: Is Gov. Malloy's $1.6B concessions deal with state employee unions a good deal for taxpayers? 13.6% Yes 86.4% No Larry Bingaman ▶ ▶ Water contamination, epic drought, record flooding and infrastructure failure are stressing our nation's water systems.

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