Petition Drive Under Way For New Gambling Referendum

WATERLOO - Voters may get another chance this fall to consider whether expanded gambling activity should be allowed in Black Hawk County.


A group of residents spearheaded by retired Covenant Foundation Executive Director Don Hoth is gathering signatures on a petition calling for a countywide vote on whether to float a riverboat gaming operation.


While voters in 1994 narrowly rejected earlier attempts to add slot machines at the now-defunct Waterloo Greyhound Park --- the second by a mere 72 votes --- Hoth believes the chips will fall in favor of a local gambling facility now.



"I think city and county property taxes are too high and we've got to look for additional sources of revenue," Hoth said. "I think the attitudes have changed in terms of gambling. It's my contention that it would have passed the last time if people knew where the money was going to go."


Hoth's group plans to collect about 5,000 signatures supporting another referendum. The county Board of Supervisors would be required by law to hold the election if presented with a petition signed by slightly more than 4,200 eligible voters.


"There's no reluctance to sign it," said Hoth. "We're very anxious to get this into the hands of the supervisors and get this going as soon as possible."


Petitions are located at Jim Lind Standard and on the first floor of the Black's Building, near Techline, on the corner of East Fourth and Sycamore streets. Hoth and his colleagues also have been bringing the petitions to social gatherings and other events for the past 10 days.


Jack Ketterer, administrator for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said Black Hawk County appears to be joining a growing number of Iowa counties preparing for gambling referendums despite a moratorium that has kept the commission from issuing any new gaming licenses since 1998.


"The concern at the time was that we'd get one from every county," Ketterer said. "The commission was asking if this is really what the Legislature had in mind, a casino in every county."


But Ketterer acknowledged the commission has the authority to change its administrative rules and begin issuing more licenses. None of the current commission members was involved in adopting the moratorium.


"Even if they rescinded the rule, there's still no guarantee the licenses would be issue," he said. "That would be something the commission would consider at the time."


A bill presented during the last regular legislative session, which would have required the commission to issue three more licenses, never made it to the Statehouse floor for a vote.


Meanwhile, Hoth's group is working for a nonprofit corporation, which would hold the gaming license if one is secured. That corporation would contract with a management company to operate the riverboat somewhere in the county. The profits would be used entirely to fund property tax relief, capital improvements and charitable donations, with the money to be allocated proportionately among various local governments based on population.


The two 1994 referendums to add slot machines at Waterloo Greyhound Park, which was owned by the National Cattle Congress, were among the most contentious elections in county history. The track closed in July 1996, and NCC is prohibited from expanding gambling beyond dog racing at the track as a result of the organization's $9.1 million Chapter 11 bankruptcy bailout by the Meskwaki tribe of Tama.


The NCC arrangement with the tribe does not prevent other entities from seeking a gambling operation at another location.


Anti-gambling forces waged a strong campaign against the 1994 elections. Local attorney Jay Nardini, who served as spokesmen for that group, declined to comment on Hoth's petition drive Tuesday, noting that he was not involved in any organized gambling opposition at this point.


Hoth believes Black Hawk County residents now believe there is an economic benefit to a casino after seeing success in communities like Des Moines, Dubuque and the Davenport area. Many of the cities receiving Vision Iowa grants for community attractions used gambling revenues as local matching funds.


"Those cities are all going gangbusters," he said. Based on excursion boat operations in other Iowa communities, Hoth believes a casino in Black Hawk County would employ 800 to 1,000 people and garner an adjusted net income --- the amount of money wagered minus the money won --- of $80 million to $100 million annually.


Hoth, who broached the gambling idea during an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2001, said an excursion boat would also stem the flow of money from Black Hawk County gamblers heading to Meskwaki and other locations each week for entertainment. "The fact is, gambling is here," he said. "The question is whether we're going to take advantage of it."