Charleston Gazette Editorial

Resort
Helping seniors

July 31, 2007

In addition to creating 1,000 new jobs to boost Kanawha County’s economy, the proposed Cross Lanes tourist resort also would benefit aging West Virginians greatly.

The new state law authorizing table games at racetracks specifies that each track must pay a $1.5 million state license fee the first year and $2.5 million every year thereafter. The revenue goes to the Bureau of Senior Services.

Each $1 million in license money from the Tri-State resort could pay for 200,000 meals delivered to oldsters and 73,000 hours of in-home care, track manager Cathy Brackbill told reporter Rusty Marks.

After the first year, the license fee would amount to 500,000 senior meals annually and about 180,000 hours of care for infirm folks. Since West Virginia has America’s highest ratio of seniors, this is a significant blessing.

“I’ve got a mother who’s a senior, and she’s had to move back to West Virginia,” Brackbill told Marks. The new windfall of resort revenue could help many oldsters who currently slip through the cracks, she said.

Of course, the biggest reason to vote yes for the new resort in the Aug. 11 special election is to inject much-needed vitality into Kanawha’s economy. If the referendum passes, track owners are pledged to invest $250 million in a high-rise hotel, convention center, spa and other facilities to draw busloads of tourists from many states. Hundreds of temporary construction jobs would be created, followed by 1,000 new permanent jobs paying attractive wages.

Thanks to the “multiplier effect,” each job adds around two more. New working families need supermarkets, movie theaters, doctors, restaurants, clothing stores, bowling alleys, car dealers, dentists, plumbers, schoolteachers, hardware stores — you name it — so 1,000 added resort workers could spawn perhaps 2,000 more service jobs.

This economic boost would be wonderful for the state capital region, which has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs over several decades. For this reason, a yes vote is endorsed by virtually every business, labor and civic group in the Charleston area, along with most public leaders.

Sadly, evangelical churches and their allies are waging an intense drive to kill the resort and the 3,000 potential new jobs. The fervor of their campaign has snowballed to huge proportions. It will be a shame if they destroy Kanawha County’s chance for more prosperity — and block meals and care for a half-million aging West Virginians.

We hope progressive Kanawha residents flock to the polls Aug. 11 in sufficient numbers to overcome the negative onslaught. The tourist resort promises to be the best economic gain this region has seen in many, many years. Losing it would be a dismal blow.