HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1995-05-03 Mayor Robert Yee
Council:
Jack Drago
Joseph A. Fernekes
mlohn R. Penna
Roberta Cerri Teglia
MINUTES
City Council
Ponderosa School
295 Ponderosa Rd.
May 3, 1995
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL TOWN HALL MEETINGS
DISCUSSION ON CARD ROOM PROPOSAL
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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California, that
tho City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold Special Meetings for discussion on the cardroom proposal
for the Shearwater site with all meetings beginning at 7:00 p.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m.:
Monday, May 1, 1995, El Camino High School, Cafeteria, 1320 Mission Rd.
Tuesday, May 2, 1995, Alta Loma Middle School, Multi Use Room, 116 Romney Ave.
Wednesday, May 3, 1995, Ponderosa School, Multi Use Room, 295 Ponderosa Rd.
Monday, May 8, 1995, Martin School, Multi Use Room, 35 School Street
Tuesday, May 9, 1995, South San Francisco High School, Cafeteria, 400 B St.
Tuesday, May 23, 1995, Westborough Junior High, Multi Use Room, 2570 Westborough Blvd.
City Clerk
City of South San Francisco
Dated: April 26, 1995
CALL TO ORDER:
ROLL CALL:
AGENDA
(Cassette No. 1)
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
site. 3"~Off
_ACI!QN TAKEN
7:05 p.m. Mayor Yee presiding.
Council Present: Drago, Fernekes, Teglia and Yee.
Council Absent: Penna.
Mayor Yee stated staff will give the audience a
summary of the report which will be initiated by the
City Manager and anyone wishing to speak may
submit a speakers card after the presentation.
City Manager Wilson stated tonight we are going to
be discussing an interesting subject, the Shearwater
proposal and the gaming eardroom which is a part
of it. He stated four staff members participated in
finding out what the state of the art is in gaming as
it applies to California. These folks traveled out of
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the area to Southern California and visited
Hollywood Park and other facilities and went to San
Jose to contact people in gaming operations. They
reviewed the literature and basically tried to
familiarize themselves with what is occurring in the
industry so they could come back and give a report
to Council and the public.
He stated their reports change after every meeting
because they are meeting every night, citizens raise
questions and, if they don't have the answers to the
questions, they incorporate those the next day. He
showed a map of the Shearwater property location
and the six acre City owned site which about 15
years ago the buildings were demolished by fire on
the other side of the freeway; the Shearwater proper-
ty is approximately 43 acres of land mass above the
water line and there is about 110 acres submerged
land. The proposal essentially addresses the land
mass and would likely incorporate the City's proper-
ty because, whatever occurs for this project or an-
other, the City would be involved to lease our land
or sell it. The property has unique features and
there have been two other proposals in the last ten
years for residential, hotels and commercial ideas.
It was discovered there are wetlands to deal with
BCDC and the Corps. of Engineers, as well as
contamination that involves Water Quality Control.
He showed an illustration rather than a firm propos-
al of the project and it is one of three presented to
the City. He stated this is the concept of what the
developer has in mind and the configuration can
change. The major components are 400,000 sq. ft.
of retail and it would probably be designed as big
box, such as a Home Depot, a large Circuit City
or a K-Mart, and maybe have some smaller stores, a
restaurant and other suggestions the developer has
made. The other component is a gaming facility of
100,000 sq. ft. which is designed to house up to 150
card tables. That raised a lot of issues with Council
and staff and they did a due diligent study and are
here in part to explain the state of the art pertaining
to casinos.
There are questions from the last few days, one of
which was are there other options for the site. Yes
they have seen two, but they are no longer in exis-
tence and they have been abandoned. The property
owner approached the City and we have a developer
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who has control over the property and he and Holly-
wood Park came to the City with this proposal. The
other question was who initiated the proposal. The
developer initiated it. Another question was why
Hollywood Park. Well, that is one of the develop-
ers that made the proposal. Why didn't you go out
to bid, again, the developer approached the City
with Hollywood Park and the City did not go out to
bid. Why are we in such a rush to get the project.
Rush is a relative word for this came last year and 8
months later the City is holding these public meet-
ings. The City has a set policy and planning direc-
tives and later tonight you will hear an outline
where the City has to go through the Planning
amendments and any number of steps to follow.
Last night the question was asked if Hollywood Park
could operate the casino. The answer is no, they
can only do the support services but, as far as the
law says as a public corporation, they will contract
the operations. Another question was who is the
operator. That has not been determined because
there is not a project yet. No matter who they select
there will be a background check with the State and
the local Police Department. What happens to the
existing cardrooms. We have two on Grand Avenue
and there are negotiations between Hollywood Park
and the Pascos and a partnership may be or may not
be possible.
He stated the Police Chief will get into the question
of how does the gambling take place for it is differ-
ent than Nevada. Persons under 21 cannot be on the
gaming floor, for you have to be 21 or older to be
in the casino where they play cards. One could be
under 21 and work other than on the casino floor.
As to whether the jobs are union or non-union, the
workers will have to vote on the issue. Last night a
representative of the Hotel & Restaurant Union
indicated they have been in negotiations with Holly-
wood Park and feel there will be a fair opportunity
for the employees to make that decision.
He described the outline the four staff members
would follow in the presentation. He gave the
following disclaimer, the staff will take questions
under advisement, are not going to make a moral
judgment just tell you the state of the art tonight in
gaming and respond to questions.
City Attorney Mattas addressed gaming laws on the
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._Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
State level, gaming regulations at the local level and
then explain the process in terms of public hearings
in the event Council goes forward with the proposal.
City Manager Wilson stated the Council has already
held one work session and there will be an item on
the next agenda in regard to an amendment to the
gaming ordinance. The State Legislature has been
undertaking a look at gaming laws in California to
broaden the regulatory powers or potentially have
the State try to get some of the local revenue. So,
staff discussed working on a draft of a gaming ordi-
nance to implement revenue and regulatory provi-
sions and have that on the books before the State
Legislature moved forward on their own.
Police Chief Raffaelli stated he found the impact is
not that significant and he looked at everything and
the people running the casinos, because staff felt all
that was important along with looking at the activi-
ties and the structures now in law enforcement.
There is nothing in California as large as the Holly-
wood Park proposal for a 100,000 sq. ft. casino,
however, the Bicycle Club is large. Tonight he
asked his grandmother what she thought of card
clubs and she said smoke in the rooms and peanut
shells. The cardrooms he saw were not like that,
staff saw a large club like in Tahoe with valet park-
ing, high ceilings and great ventilation and without a
lot of crowds because the people are at the tables.
He stated it was comfortable and had coffee shops to
the side, so, it was all different than expected.
He stated staff arrived a day early because they
didn't want Hollywood Park to know they were
there and talked to some of the security people.
After looking at the operation they learned people do
not play against the house, that doesn't occur in
California, you play against the other players and
you pay a fee at the tables, however, different clubs
collect differently. The house deals the cards and
does not pay out, so you are playing against other
people.
He stated security people wear plain clothes in the
club and have a work force of about 100. They
want to keep a positive image of the club because
everything negative loses business. The surveil-
lance is difficult up in Nevada with the cameras
above you, that watch you, record you and keep that
recording. The system in Hollywood Park is a state
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of the art system and staff is recommending the
same system in the Municipal Code.
He addressed calls for service: gaming dubs 200,
Kaiser Hospital 250, Price Club 160, Century 8 76,
Hillsdale Mall 450, Tanforan 2,300, Serramonte
890. He stated the question was asked last night
how these calls compare to casino calls as to the
types of crimes. He said it was a mixture of distur-
bances and car thefts.
He addressed other activities associated with
cardrooms: loan sharking, money laundering, pros-
titution, follow-home robberies, skimming, extor-
tion, organized crime (Asian Gangs), drugs, book-
making and cheating. He concluded by saying the
City has the power to revoke a cardroom license.
Interim Director of Economic & Community Devel-
opment Beyer addressed the social and economic
impacts; social impacts - gambling activity can
change behavior, similar to other activities such as
smoking, eating, drinking or drugs, changed behav-
ior affects others, an estimated 300,000 compulsive
gamblers in California, a study found definitive
parental problems from gambling and dysfunctional
behavior of the children because, in part, money is
taken from the budget funds, maybe the home mort-
gage or the food money, and is used for gambling.
Industries creating these activities also provide funds
to assist organizations dealing with addictive behav-
ior; economic impacts - new jobs 1,100-2,000 per-
sons, estimated payroll $24,000,000, business-to-
business purchases $13,000,000, ripple effect (1.5)
in the community $55,500,000.
Assistant City Manager Martel addressed community
revenues and regulatory requirements: card club
operation will generate substantial new revenue -
revenue to City could be $5,090,300-$6,015,806,
sales tax could increase $88,750 + or -, property
tax increment would increase $233,000 through
development of Shearwater and City owned proper-
ty; retail center comprising 4,000 square feet will
contribute additional revenue stream for providing
city services - sales tax potential estimated at
$1,000,000 to $1,600,000, property tax increment
would increase $287,000, combined development
could produce $1,688,750 in new sales tax and
nearly $500,000 in tax increment for future rede-
velopment activity; minimize reliance on speculative
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AGENDA ~TION TAKEN
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Councilman Fernekes Left the Meeting at 7:30 p.m.
gaming revenue as a means to balance budget for
on-going city services by establishing a policy that
directs funds to specific purposes - card club desig-
nated fund will be created to budget and account for
all expenditures related to the gaming operation,
administrative oversight activities involving police
and audit/revenue collection, one-time expenditures
for building renovations and improvements, street
repairs, park improvements, property acquisition,
capital outlay projects and equipment, increases or
decreases in gaming revenue do not impact on-going
city services, only one-time expenditures; strong
administrative and auditing controls are necessary to
insure the integrity of financial transactions arising
from card club operations; card club business regu-
lations will be established by ordinance and define
the city's and card club's responsibilities for finan-
cial activities and auditing.
Mayor Yee stated that due to an emergency Coun-
cilman Fernekes had to leave the meeting.
Ms. Janet Saunders stated there are already two
cardrooms in this City and wanted to know how
many tables they have, how much revenue they
generate, how much competition there is and what is
the population of the current Hollywood Park loca-
tion. She feels this is a larger operation than we can
handle. She questioned what is going to happen if
no one supports it.
City Manager Wilson replied: currently there are
two gaming operations, both on Grand Avenue, both
licenses to operate ten tables or less; to the best of
his knowledge they are only using five tables at each
site; the Police Chief says there are no problems;
they have a business license to operate.
Police Chief Raffaelli stated the calls they currently
get at the clubs for service are sparse, there may be
a disturbance but not significantly so and there may
be a few calls down there a year.
Councilman Penna stated it was mentioned at last
night's meeting about the security in the club and
the type of enforcement in the club has a lot to do
with the number of calls. He stated the Hollywood
Park Security Officer was present and could elabo-
rate on how they prosecute people rather than leav-
ing them out on the street.
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,_Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
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Mr. Alex Aguisti, Director of Security for Holly-
wood Park, related: there are 150 card tables; his
staff consists of 98 plain clothes officers and under-
cover people; his background is law enforcement
and has been on both sides for 25 years in
Inglewood, retired from the police department and
went into private business; his Chief is his retired
Deputy Police Chief and all of his plain clothes
uniformed people are ex police officers and reserves
at the command level; the issue came up last night if
we prosecute, and they do.
He stated when he first decided to go into this oper-
ation, and he was approached to take over, he need-
ed a work ethic because his reputation is not going
to be tarnished nor is that of his staff. They wel-
come their reputation in casinos and the reputation
is, if you go to the Hollywood Park and get caught
cheating you will be arrested and jailed. He stated
cheating does occur and as part of the training they
brought in the District Attorney and Police Chief
and showed them the security. Chief Raffaelli was
there and they showed him the operation where they
give the video tapes to the District Attorney or the
City Attorney from all of the four cameras and they
have not lost a case in Court in the ten months of
operations. Hollywood Park is a publicly owned
corporation and they cannot afford a bad operation.
He stated that if the proposal is accepted here he and
his security officers will work closely with Police
Chief Raffaelli and he does not see any problems.
They have a separate security system for surveil-
lance and have a holding cell to detain people. He
stated he is glad the Police Chief is recommending
having police in the casino, because when there is an
incident all of his people are former police officers
responsible for report writing and can assist the
police. The policeman comes in and takes the re-
port and the defendant into custody.
Mr. Jake Jones, 12 El Campo, stated he lives in
Buri Buri and supports the casino because it is mon-
ey for the City and will be in a location that won't
bother anyone. People will come from the south
and north and we should not sit by and see the other
cities get the revenue. He thanked the Council for
having these hearings because with the regulations
they don't have to, yet they are bringing it to each
of the neighborhoods. He did not think they should
listen to outsiders who represent other businesses,
maybe they are representing another cardroom that
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,_Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
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doesn't want competition.
Ms. Maria D'Alessandro wanted to again state her
position against the cardroom and would not get into
the social issues - perhaps someone else will address
them. She feels a cardroom of this size will impact
a community for a long time to come and she be-
lieves the people should be allowed to vote on this
issue. She asked when Council is going to decide
on this issue, is there a timeframe after the six
meetings.
City Manager Wilson stated the last public meeting
will be on the 23th and then the regular meeting on
the 24th and it could be at that meeting or shortly
thereafter. He indicated staff was anticipating start-
ing the gaming ordinance.
Councilman Penna stated the question is are we
going to be putting it on the ballot and there is
confusion there. These are not hearings to put it on
the ballot, but to inform the public.
Councilwoman Teglia stated Council sets its own
agenda. We are doing the hearings and the last is
on the 23rd of this month, then Council will
agendize it as a regular meeting. So, at that time
when we get back together at a regular session, it
will be a topic. Then everyone will find out what
we intend, but there is no timetable at this time.
Mr. Lou Dell'Angela stated last night Mr. Aguisti
indicated he works for Hollywood Park. He asked a
question and the answer was that Hollywood Park is
only a landlord and other people are operating the
eardroom, because by law Hollywood Park cannot
operate a cardroom. He questioned if it should be
the responsibility of the people who operate the
cardroom to conduct negotiations.
Mr. Aguisti stated Hollywood Park provides nu-
merous services which include security, food and
maintenance, because the property belongs to Holly-
wood Park it is their responsibility to care for the
property but they have nothing to do with the gam-
ing. He stated the security staff works for Holly-
wood Park, they protect the property and that is part
of the agreement.
Mr. Ito stated he is in charge of all new devel-
opment and hopefully this will be one of them.
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Hollywood Park has a contract with PCM and, be-
cause by law a public corporation cannot operate a
card club, that is why you don't see Harrah's or the
Holiday Inn in California operating cardrooms.
He stated Hollywood Park will build the building,
own the property and take on all of the non-facility
operations, PCM runs the casino floor in Inglewood
by a lease they have made with General Manager
Clausman and Ed Leverman, who is a lawyer at
PCM.
He stated Hollywood Park does not have a casino
operator in mind at this time, however, it is possible
PCM may talk to Mr. Poland and the Pasco family,
for PCM has a fine reputation and are legitimate
people.
He stated the law is changing and there are five bills
in Sacramento which address the issue where public
corporations could operate, then Hollywood park
will run the entire facility.
Councilman Penna asked for an explanation of Cali-
fornia gaming vs. Nevada gaming.
Mr. Ito felt this was an important issue to under-
stand. California, Nevada and Atlanta cardrooms
which are fundamental and address whether alcohol
is served on the floor. Hollywood Park does not
allow alcohol at the card tables. The reason it is
legal to play cards, but not craps and other games,
is because we are not participating in the winning or
losing. You are not playing against the house, so all
we are is providers, we have an honest game and
provide surveillance and food service. What is
important is it is based on time or per hand and the
longer you sit at that seat the more money they
make. They are not trying to break you, because
then you will not come back. They want people to
play a long time, come out even and come back the
next day.
He stated Las Vegas wants someone to come, drink,
drop their money and fly away. Hollywood Park
serves coffee, tea and candy at the card tables free.
If someone is drunk or disorderly they ask them to
leave, so all of the things negative to the cardrooms
are different in California vs. Nevada.
Mr. Poland stated he is the developer and will be a
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partner with Hollywood Park and develop the retail.
However, the confusion is that someone thinks it is
going to be "loosey-goosey". It is important to
know there is a business plan and it is highly de-
fined by the owner, there is a budget and the man-
ager has to live within the constraints of that budget.
It is not a nebulous concept of who is going to
manage the facility for there are stringent rules.
Mr. Lee Strieb stated he works with the Hotel and
Employees Union in Northern California and their
members work in San Francisco and San Mateo
County, many live here and are interested in the
affects of this project and the jobs it will create. It
has been said it will create 1,000 jobs and the Union
is in favor because they are fairly confident the pro-
ject will create quality, union jobs and, with the
revenue, make a significant contribution to the com-
munity. Clearly many of these jobs will be entry
level and some will be towards minimum wage, but
the bulk comes from tips to the worker. He stated
the Union will be making sure, providing they rep-
resent them, there are benefits and they support this
project and urge the Council to approve the project.
Mr. Tony Khorezian stated when he heard about this
project and saw the benefits from the project, in so
many jobs being created in this City, and as a busi-
ness man he talked to many of his customers and
60-70% want this project to go on. Many seniors
and wives take the bus to go to Lake Tahoe to play
the games, they want to pass time at such places and
go into Artichoke Joe's because people like to gam-
ble and no one forces them to gamble. As a citizen
in S.S.F. he wants this project to go. He stated that
Wells Fargo is going out of Brentwood, plus other
businesses, yet people want to work, we want people
to work and he does not understand people who
don't want to work. He stated his business is going
down and down because we are not getting activities
as before.
He felt the City should not go backwards, because it
is tough out there and we need to employ people.
He knows people who are losing their houses be-
cause their hours have been cut from 40 to 30 and
there are no other jobs around. He wants the
Council to go ahead with the project, not waste time
and hopes nobody comes out and says it is not good
for the City.
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AGENDA A~TION TA~
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Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
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Ms. May Maite stated she is in favor of the project.
She knows were are in bad times and if we have no
dream we have nothing and she thanked the Council
for dreaming it up. Hopefully it will be successful
and bring more money for the City because there is
a need to improve the streets in the community.
Ms. Madeline Madriaga stated she is against the
casino. Her reasons are personal and something so
good may not be true. She stated her best friend is
selling her possessions to pay off loan sharks. She
does not know what is the cost of life for families,
she can only ask questions and is afraid of what is
coming in.
She stated they did a fund raiser, went to Tahoe and
asked people on the bus if they would go to a card-
room a few blocks from their home and they said
yes. Ten hours later they were on the way back,
she was one of the people who won on the card
tables and the rest of the people lost $400.00-
$600.00. She stated her sister is a social worker
who says gambling welfare recipients spend their
money on gaming and these are her feelings on why
she does not want the casino approved.
Mr. Manny Madriaga spoke of the social cost of
gambling to the State and felt it should be consid-
ered as a total picture. He stated the issue is not
whether it will aid revenue, create jobs, if Holly-
wood Park is qualified, if the Police Chief can do
the job or if the City Manager can handle the new
work load. Nor is it the ethnicity. The real issue is
fundamental and deals with our humanity, how we
treat our fellow citizens with an addiction to gam-
bling. The question to be asked, in the name of
added revenue to the City, is should revenue be
sacrificed or do we open Pandora's box. Should we
let loose an enterprise that is more toxic. What will
it take - a 100 pound block of concrete or how many
families will it take of gamblers anonymous in every
church. He asked Council to examine their con-
sciences for how many babies do you want with
additive parents, how many broken families. So,
give the people a chance to vote on this.
Ms. Bernedette Dubrovich related: she lives in
Danville because it is like S.S.F. was; she has a 12
year old child; she thinks S.S.F. is run down; when
she was twelve Mark Raffaelli was her park and
recreation leader and she thinks he is a good fellow;
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this City is run down and so is she for she is a
former cocaine addict, alcoholic, loved to gamble
and cleaned house for a Madam; she feels it is
within the person himself to stop gambling as she
did; in Candlestick Park and Hunters Point there
are a lot of things that are bad that happen including
murders; she does not like Artichoke loe's because
she has been in there and she had cleaned house for
a madam and she got away from all of that; she was
not talking about a fly by night but a brothel; her
mother lives here and she likes the people and her
childhood, but she will not come back here; if Mark
Raffaelli and Roberta Teglia are for it, she is for it
and feels the Council should consider this very
firmly.
Mr. Lou Dell'Angela read an excerpt from the S.F.
Chronicle, "The people of this community presently
have the right to decide whether or not a cardroom
will be approved in this City by the General Plan of
the City." What the Council is deciding is if they
want to take the right away from you. We are
talking about the largest cardroom in Northern
California and the fourth largest in the State. The
people have the right to vote on this issue and that
right should not be taken away from the people.
He heard the discussion about the Pascos, there is
no comparison, this is big money talking not a mom
and pop operation. This is not Inglewood nor San
Mateo and the land is quite prominent, the gateway
to this City. The question is do we want people
coming down 101 and their impression is this is a
gaming City. Do you sell your image, do you sell it
for money - he does not think so. Let the people
decide, not the three or five on the Council. He
does not understand why certain people on this
Council do not believe the people of this community
can make a wise decision. Council says they don't
want outside money, well Hollywood Park is outside
money. So, he guesses the question is whose out-
side money we listen to.
He stated Councilwoman Teglia says we want local
control, there is no more local control than the
people voting. Local control is the people and they
ought to decide the issue. If one looks at the con-
cept plan, and sees a shopping center and asphalt, a
cardroom, maybe a theater and no ships for the
water and no marinas, this is not an attractive plan.
He looks at that and sees the shopping center and
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Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
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the cardrooms; etc.
He stated the shopping center is not completed, it is
a maybe, the only thing positive is a cardroom,
which the developer already said. The Police Chief
talked about some of the problems such as follow-
home robberies and said that cardrooms, because
they are big money, have to control political elec-
tions through their direct or indirect influence. He
thinks we are seeing an effort on the part of politi-
cians to bypass the people of this community. He
wanted the facts to come out and be discussed and
then be able to decide it.
The image of this City has changed over a matter of
years, when he came in the 1970s the City had
image problems and Mike Wilson was here and we
did a lot to improve the image. Now we have a
cardroom proposal that may send the City in an
opposite direction. The staff people need to go back
and provide information to the people and let them
vote on this issue.
He reiterated: the people have the right to vote;
what the council is trying to find out is how con-
cerned they are about keeping that right or taking it
away; regardless of how the Council feels they have
to respect the people; don't let big money take away
your vote on an issue that has social costs, crime
and land use impacts; the business about local eon-
trol is selling you a bill of goods.
Mr. Richard Garbarino, 400 Avalon Dr., stated
when he first heard of this proposal he felt it would
provide jobs to the City. After listening and seeing
the handout he is convinced of that and strongly
supports this proposal. He feels the pros outweigh
the cons and are for the benefit of the entire City.
He felt that, over the years, Council has done a
good job. This doesn't require the populace to
make a vote. If we listen to some people then we
would vote on every issue.
Ms. Prisilla Dubrovich, 225 Indio Dr., stated she
has been a resident for 35 years and thinks the City
is run well and has faith in the law and enforcement
to close down anything that causes trouble. So, she
is definitely for this proposal for the revenue and the
jobs for the people of this City.
Ms. Diane Morison, 122 Edison, stated she is a
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Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
resident and this is the first time she has ever spoken
publicly at a meeting, yet she has attended many.
She stated she is against this proposal and feels it
should be put to a vote to anyone who cares in this
City. She observed in last night's meeting that it
was a long process, and unfortunately while the
basic people who work for the City were very infor-
mative, helpful, tried to make us understand easily -
staff is putting up a good dog and pony show. Some
of the members of the Council feel their opinions
are very important and that is why it should go to a
vote of the people, then not just a few can make the
decision but then everyone has the right.
Ms. Joy Ann Wendler stated she lives in Avalon and
chose to speak to her neighbors. She thanked the
Council for bringing this into their neighborhoods to
give them the information that they need to hear
about this very important, emotional subject. She
stated she personally has not made up her mind, but
was there to get information and facts for, there are
many both ways.
She stated the issue is not moral nor one that an
army of social works can fix, it is an issue of the
risks and benefits involved. Do you think the bene-
fits outweigh the risks. Clearly there are some risks
but there are a great many benefits to the City and
the people. She stated studies show that 90% of
what you worry about doesn't happen.
She has been in health care for 30 years and knows
that someone who gambles may never be a compul-
sive gambler. This is not an issue of whether we
are going to prevent compulsive gamblers, the great
majority will not be, which she wanted to point out.
Your happiness may not be the same as mine and
yours may take its form in gambling and if it is so-
cialized gaming or drinking it is not harmful. We
need to look at the issue of whether it is going to be
better for the City.
She saw the article in the newspaper about the land
being one of the most toxic, part of the deal is to
clean that up, which the developer will pay millions
of dollars to do, which is a benefit. Otherwise, the
land will stay like it is for years. She has not
made up her mind on the proposal and is grateful
for the opportunity to learn the issues. She stated
the Council brought this to us, took their time for
5/3/95
Page 14
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
'--'~te.
these meetings to say people here are the facts and if
you have questions they will try to answer. Also, if
you don't like what they do you can vote them out
of office.
She encouraged people to call their elected officials
and express their views.
Police Chief Raffaelli stated a woman said, "If the
Police Department is for it, so am I". As the Man-
ager mentioned, we went on a fact finding mission
and the explanation we gave tonight is neither in
favor nor against the card club and a position is not
being taken.
Councilman Penna stated Asian games were men-
tioned rather than Italian or Irish.
Police Chief Raffaelli stated the cardrooms contain
poker and Asian games (paigou). Card clubs where
they have the games are inducive for the criminals
to find the Asian games. It takes a skilled person to
deal the cards, so they are bringing people in to
subcontract or run the Asian games, where on the
East Coast they talk about the Mafai. So, you do
have an element of Asians due to the money laun-
dering and other areas and if the games are subcon-
tracted they come to try to take over the games,
which Hollywood Park does not allow nor will our
ordinance.
Discussion followed: there are 250 card clubs in
California which does not include the clubs on Indi-
an reservations; some clubs are not run in a profes-
sional manner and there are problems with Asian
people subcontracting the games.
Mr. George Colmas stated there is a gaming estab-
lishment named Bay 101 and someone said there
were three follow-home robberies.
Police Chief Raffaelli responded: Bay 101 and
Garden City are in San Jose; Garden City has a
number of problems and has been in the paper with
sanctions against them; the police contacted San Jose
and there have been cases of homicide around the
area and they have been in connection to loan
sharking; follow-home robberies happen with big
winners at the club, they see them leave and follow
them; one of the things that is important is that some
of the victims participate in these crimes; most of
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AGENDA AC_TIQN TAKEN
88
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
~te.
the big clubs like Artichoke Joe's and Bay 101 try to
prevent that by having a players bank and electroni-
cally transfer money to a bank account, and have
their security escort them home if they are big win-
ners; etc.
Mr. David Agressi stated he was in total support of
the cardroom proposal.
Mr. Ito related: he appreciated the speaker who
responded to the social impacts for that is one of the
emotional things on the gaming; addiction to gaming
is not as prevalent as the fear factors, for it is only
2%, which is less than tobacco; he works in a casino
and does not gamble; the speaker mentioned the two
most important things are risk and revenue return
for a decision of the Council, Hollywood Park and
the community; Hollywood Park is taking a $20-30
million dollar risk, that is their investment, and they
think it is a good risk; they think the Shearwater
site, which is one of the hottest toxic hot spots, is a
good return and a risk worth taking; his problem is
to make business owner equity; he feels revenue,
jobs and shareholder equity are important and they
feel they can minimize the risks through tight con-
trols; they will welcome stringent controls and are
not afraid of any regulations of the City or State;
they are actively lobbying to form a Gaming Com-
mission in California like Nevada's gaming control,
because they think with the gaming controls comes
better perception of regulations; in 1972 Suma Cor-
poration bought its first casino in Nevada, since
that time all of Nevada is family owned; in 1982 a
public company brought in security and auditing for
the casinos and from that time onward there are the
big clubs like MGM and others who brought money
into the casino market; etc.
Vice Mayor Drago made the following comments:
these meetings were to make residents have the same
knowledge Council has on the development; he had
not planned to comment until all of the meetings
were completed; there have been some misleading
comments at these meetings; there seems to be an
attempt to intimidate the Council for whatever mo-
tives, but there are a lot of assumptions being made;
what bothers him is that they are trying to create a
fear that they as elected officials, are incapable of
making a good decision; he has not heard these
forms of opposition when Council dealt with multi-
million dollar projects, with fire and police contracts
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Page 16
AGENDA _AC_TIQN TAKEN
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
,te.
89
or the multi-million dollar interchange; he feels his
credibility is being attacked by a minority who will
continue to be vocal and we are only half way
through this process, which bothers him; there is
already gambling in the neighborhoods in the delis
and the grocery stores; the stock market is the big-
gest gamble and more losses than the horse races; he
wants the residents to keep an open mind; he asked
that Mr. Dell'Angela challenge something the Coun-
cil can measure; no one has said it wouldn't be a
vote; he was waiting until Council has all the facts
and finds out what is good for the community; his
credibility is with the community; etc.
Councilman Penna made the following comments:
for the last three nights he has seen people from the
community come up, who are sincerely involved
with the process, and say we think there should be
an election; the reason for the town hall meetings
taking place is that it has never been the intention of
the Council to get a vote of the people, but to get
feed back; this began with he and Councilwoman
Teglia being involved with the various areas of the
City and chose to go out and have meetings to see
what was needed and how they would be taxed;
Council made the decision and it was along those
lines that the concept to come to the community and
allow our staff to explain to you so you would be
fully informed and hear back from you; he is basi-
cally neutral and neither for nor against it and won't
make up his mind until he hears from the public;
with the newspaper articles he feels there is a misun-
derstanding in the community and it is not the inten-
tion of the Council to put this as a vote of the peo-
pie; we expect to make a decision here as we did
with Terrabay; he is hearing there will not be an
effect and there is the moral issue, but he is not here
to acknowledge morals but to be part of the running
of the City, based on the finance and services for
the people; moral issues are decided by you as
individuals and the religious groups; he knows there
are people who don't like liquor or tobacco, but we
don't prevent liquor stores from operating and we
do have two casinos; it is not an issue of whether we
are going to allow it to go on because it is happen-
ing; to him it is a matter of the benefits to the com-
munity; etc.
He continued: he is looking to see whether it is a
safe operation; what can we do to control it; are
there controls we can enforce and what are the
5/3/95
Page 17
AGENDA _AC_TIQN TAKEN
._.Discussion on the eardroom proposal for the Shearwater
itc.
9O
benefits to the community; gambling is a decision
like using alcohol and is up to the individual to
acknowledge and get a cure for it, for it exists and
is part of human nature; etc.
Councilman Drago disagreed and this is the reason
he did not want to comment and felt he was being
put into a box, because he did not want a debate.
He said earlier that Council does not speak for him
and what he learns from these meetings will deter-
mine his vote, and what was needed and one was the
ballot. So, he is not going to be put in a box and is
open minded.
Mayor Yee stated it is clear that Councilman Penna
only speaks for himself, he does not speak for him
nor the Council. We have not decided anything yet
but Councilman Penna said the Council does not
have the ballot option and, as long as the Council-
man is only speaking for himself, that is not a prob-
lem.
Councilwoman Teglia stated each of the Council has
individual ideas and have not had an opportunity as
a Council to discuss the issue of a ballot. She want-
ed to address the issue of credibility: she sees peo-
ple whose doors she has knocked on while cam-
paigning who have voted for her; two different
newspapers had in one, Councilman Drago as the
leader on this issue and the second said she was the
leader; these people do not work for her; a majority
of Council cannot bypass this issue with surface
information; we charged the staff with a due dili-
gence to come back with all of the facts; Council
said we cannot take this lightly, there are risks and
tremendous rewards; six meetings were set to share
what we have learned; she wants to hear from the
people in the community, unfortunately three who
spoke are potential Council candidates doing their
platforms and we need to hear from others; she
assures the public that this is not Councilman
Drago's nor her private project; she has been on the
Council for 17 years and Councilman Drago eight
years; there has been a lot of work to improve the
image of this City; there will not be an Artichoke
Joe's in this City, for that is not an asset, but is
okay for San Bruno; the City has been approached
by many entities wanting to have cardrooms, but
this is the only one she wanted investigated; people
should go visit Hollywood Park in Inglewood, for
she felt this visit could be beneficial to this City;
5/3/95
Page 18
A~ENDA A~TION TAKEN
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
itc.
there are comments this will be huge and there is
big money; Council realizes there are cardrooms
going up and down the peninsula and it was impor-
tant to look closely for an entity who would function
best and be the most successful if there was a com-
petition; this is a business proposal and Hollywood
Park is trying to invest in the community; she spoke
of the divisive ballot for the new baseball park and
charges of violation of State law, and the no side
was money from Sacramento who wanted the team;
those are the kind of things she does not want to
see happen here in an election.
Ms. Cynthia FitzGibbons, 388 Zamora Drive, stated
she came to the meeting to get the facts and hear the
presentation. She respectfully requests that anyone
who is trying to campaign would listen to the facts,
because there is emotion she does not feel is
appropriate at this time. Everyone has a right to
speak but, as a person who comes here to learn, she
would prefer that the campaigning does not go on.
Mr. Manny Madriaga stated he sees the flip side,
which people are not talking about and is greatly
bothered that Councilman Penna essentially has
made a decision. He retracted that he had made a
decision, that there should be a vote of the Council
rather than the people. That was what he thought
was the purpose of the Town Meetings and he is
concerned about some of the comments on those
presenting the proposal. He stated he has an MBA
in Finance and understands all of the numbers of an
on-going enterprise. He stated what cannot be
reduced to numbers is when it is your son who lost
the American dream because he is a gambling ad-
dict.
Mr. Jake Jones stated he has lived in S.S.F. most of
his life, his folks came here in 1898 and, at that
time, people opposed Western Meat coming here.
He is concerned about a certain element coming into
town, infiltrating or trying to, and we have a Lions
Club that has been here for years, yet these people
don't want to join our Lions Club but form their
own.
When people oppose this, which will benefit the
City, he questions their motives and we might be
able to investigate some of these people and see
where they come from, for this came up in August
and, all of a sudden, we have these people coming
5/3/95
Page 19
AGENDA _AC_TIQN TAKEN
Discussion on the cardroom proposal for the Shearwater
re.
ADJOURNMENT:
in and joining the organizations and tdling the peo-
ple what to do.
He stated he is not afraid of an election. He helped
out and drove every bus route on the peninsula with
S.S.F. residents, then went into business for himself
and hauled almost every seniors' kids to Serra. He
has talked to these seniors and he did not think they
had any fears of a casino for they see what is hap-
pening. The few people who are opposing it have
something in mind rather than what is good for the
City. Last year we had a use survey and if we had
money in the General Fund we would not have done
that. He thinks the people are smart enough and
this is not going to harm the people. We have a
very capable Police Department and if you put it on
the ballot he is afraid there are 5 % against it. He
stated there are big signs appearing on Chestnut and
El Camino against the casino and there is big money
behind some of the opposition, however, he thinks
the people are smart enough to see a good thing.
Mr. Dell'Angela stated he agrees with Councilman
Drago, he thinks an election is the way to go. He
thinks something is unclear and we have to say - if
you want to put a cardroom in, the General Plan
says there must be a vote of the people, unless the
Council changes the General Plan you have the right
to vote on it. It appears to him that however one
feels on this issue, for or against, the next election is
only six months away. There is a lot of time to
discuss the pros and cons, so all we are saying is let
us retain the right to vote and discuss it totally and
not have the Council decide - they don't have that
right, and he objects to that. He stated that was his
whole point and he is sorry if Councilman Drago
took offense. He thinks the people deserve to keep
the vote, because it will impact them when this
Council is gone.
M/S Penna/Teglia - To adjourn the meeting.
Carried by unanimous voice vote
Time of adjournment was 9:55 p.m.
5/3/95
Page 20
A~NDA AC!!ON TAKEN
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
APPROVED.
Barbara A. Battaya, City
City of South San Francisco
Robert Yee,'Tvlayor
City of Sout[ San Francisco
The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communica-
tions, arguments and comments are recorded on tape. The tape and documents related to the items are on file in the
Office of the City Clerk and are available for inspection, review and copying.
5/3/95
Page 21