The Seneca Gaming Corporation will not appear at tomorrow’s Henrietta Town Board meeting.
The organization, which is the gaming affiliate of the Seneca Nation of Indians, recently purchased a 32-acre property on Clay Road, which it wants to develop for a casino. But Henrietta Supervisor Jack Moore, citing opposition by residents, has said he’ll introduce a resolution opposing a Seneca casino in the town. Residents have packed recent Town Board meetings to voice opposition to the casino plan.
During a March 7 press conference, Moore said he may or may not allow the corporation to make a presentation at tomorrow’s Town Board meeting.
But corporation isn’t listed on a draft agenda for the meeting, and it just issued a press release saying its representatives won’t attend. The press release included this statement from Seneca Gaming Corporation board chair Kevin W. Seneca:
“As Supervisor Moore and his colleagues indicated at their press conference on March 7, the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting has apparently been predetermined. We have explained that our development approach is centered on community feedback and gaining insight from community leaders in order to develop a project that best fit within and complemented the surrounding area. Only after the board’s intention to support a resolution opposing a casino development was made public were we offered the opportunity to make a public presentation at tomorrow’s meeting with less than two weeks’ notice. Under the circumstances, we feel there is little benefit to make that presentation at this point in time.”
Henrietta has no approval authority regarding the casino, but opposition by town officials could influence state and federal approvals.
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2014.
