We normally have our meetings in the Multimedia Room. But this is October, National Book Month. And our host location may have their multimedia room set up for the book fair all this week. In the past we have used either rooms 110 (across the hall from the multimedia center) or 109. Please keep these changes in mind. Signs will be posted.
Meeting Topics:
Casinos – Guest Speaker, Darryl Kelly, for Parx which is one of the three gaming concerns who are in contention for the one gaming license voted to PGC last election.
There are several opportunities for organizations and communities to become informed about the gaming concerns, the law that brought about the current scramble, what your neighbors think about gaming and more. The proposed sites for gaming are: Rosecroft Racetrack, National Harbor and at Rt. 210 and Fort Foote Road in Fort Washington. Rosecroft has over 100 acres available and made the smallest proposal of gaming machines (80+ thousand). While Rosecroft has been in its current location for a good while, a neighborhood has grown up around it. Plus the best way to get to it is by the Beltway. More traffic on the beltway?! National Harbor was built to be ‘the shining jewel on the Potomac’. We don’t believe it was built for Prince Georgians though. This is not necessarily a fact, just a belief. Traffic on the beltway would, again, have to be a concern. The Ft. Washington location is right next to Highway 210 and the Broad Creek Historical Area. That site is 22 acres. It would probably mean an increase to the already overburdened highway. It has been expanded to three and four lanes and still can’t keep up with the traffic. NOTE: There are groups vying to have the gaming options located in other parts of the County. Some say it is for practical reasons (too close to schools, aggravating traffic and NIMBY). Others just want to get rid of it.
New Maryland Laws effective October 1 — The new laws that went into effect in Maryland on October 2, 2013 are appended at the end of this newsletter. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with them.
Input on Legislation for the upcoming Legislative Session – this is the time to get involved. Let’s determine if there is anything we want to support or oppose or do we watch from the sidelines (not always a bad thing).
And more.