Residents of South Baltimore were invited on Saturday to participate in the process of advising the city about what neighborhoods should receive as much as $20 million a year in “local impact” funds from the casino now rising on Russell Street.

And just as quickly as you could say “jackpot,” politics reared its head.

Why, asked a member of the Hollins Roundhouse Neighborhood Association, has the map of communities eligible for the funds been extended southward to Cherry Hill, while his community – almost two miles closer to the casino – is without a seat at the table?

“Our proximity to the casino should make our neighborhood part of the master plan,” Chris Redwood reiterated after the meeting.

He and community activist Bill Marker noted that expanding the benefits area to Cherry Hill – as well as east to Riverside and Port Covington – benefits the 46th legislative district whose state senator, William C. Ferguson IV, chairs the local casino development council.

As much as $20 million a year (depending on future casino revenues) could be earmarked to compensate communities for the casino’s negative effects, such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution and crime.

In addition to these funds, rent paid by the casino to the city will be used to help reduce the city’s property tax rate and to aid in public school construction.

Southwest Communities Excluded

Among those communities excluded as eligible for local impact funds are Hollins Roundhouse, Union Square, Mount Clare, Carrollton Ridge, Millhill and Morrell Park.

“We have one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease-related deaths in the city,” Redwood said of Hollins Roundhouse, a historic area near the B&O Railroad Museum.

“Westport, Lakeland, and Cherry Hill all trail closely behind us, but all three are included in the [casino] master plan while Hollins Roundhouse is not,” Redwood said. Noting that his group was not informed of Saturday’s meeting, Redwood added, “I think there’s something terribly wrong with the decision-making process.”

Sen. Ferguson defended the community map as a logical outgrowth of traffic patterns in the area. “The vast majority [of casino customers] will be coming from the south, not from the west. Legislative districts didn’t play even a remote consideration,” he said in an interview with The Brew.

In response to the call for adding more neighborhoods to the master plan, Ferguson said, “I’d love to add more,” citing Brooklyn and Curtis Bay south of Cherry Hill. “We want to be inclusive,” he said, “and we’ll work through these [issues] in the coming months.”

“Opportunity to Dream”

With the potential of big winnings for neighborhoods located near the casino, more than 100 people crowded into the cafeteria of Digital Harbor High School on Saturday to learn more about the planning process for distributing the local impact funds.

“We have an opportunity to dream a bit with this funding source,” Thomas Stosur, director of the city planning department, told the crowd.

Under state legislation that established the Baltimore casino, 5.5% of  video terminal (slot) revenues will be earmarked to communities impacted by the $400 million Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.

These funds won’t become available until after the casino is up and running, now expected in the third quarter of 2014. According to projections based on expected revenues, $15.5 million will be available in local impact grants  in 2015, $17.8 million in 2016 and $22.5 million in 2017.

$6 Million Allocated to Casino Operator

Already, though, $6 million in impact grants is expected to be returned to CBAC Gaming, the casino operator majority owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp.

Under a deal approved by the Board of Estimates last October, the city will use local impact funds to reimburse CBAC for infrastructure and streetscape costs near the casino, allocating the money in $2 million tranches over three years.

This would leave about $13 million for community-related projects in 2015, growing to a projected $20.5 million in 2017.

Ferguson, who chairs the Local Development Council (LDC) appointed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to recommend uses of the impact funds, says the group wants to appoint a full-time planner to assist them in designating priorities.

He said establishing a job-training program is also a top priority of the group, along with a “complete streets” study of South Baltimore to pinpoint needed transportation improvements.

Six communities – Sharp-Leadenhall, Washington Village/Pigtown, Ridgely’s Delight, Federal Hill, South Baltimore and Westport – are currently represented on the LDC. Additional advisory members will represent Cherry Hall, Lakeland, St. Paul and other neighborhoods.

Ferguson said he wants the group to think “outside the box” to use the impact grants to make substantial improvements to the communities.

One idea is to leverage the impact money with funds from private or non-profit entities to create a much large pool of money for large-scale projects, such as new housing or developing a streetcar network.

Maryland Live Funds Go to Fire, Policing

This idea would mark a big difference with how impact funds are being used in Anne Arundel County, home of the Maryland Live! Casino. Last week, the county awarded its first impact grants to local organizations.

By far the lion’s share went to local government institutions, not community groups. The biggest recipient – awarded $7.5 million, or 35% of the total – was the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

Another $3.7 million was earmarked to Anne Arundel Community College, $3 million to Meade High School and $2.7 million to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

Community groups got only $250,000 of the $20 million awarded, while Anne Arundel’s workforce development program was allotted $100,000.