Casino Backers Kept Fairfax Supervisors In The Dark About Their Plans

TYSONS, VA — Despite claims that building a casino in Tysons would provide a boon in revenue for Northern Virginia, Fairfax County would be short-changed, according to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay (D-At-Large).

As the law now stands, 70 percent of the gaming tax revenue generated by the proposed Tysons casino would go to the Commonwealth of Virginia, McKay told his colleagues during the board's legislative committee meeting on Friday.

“I want to emphasize this point, because the justification that was given from the very start was that the county needs money, 70 percent of the money goes to the state,” McKay said, sharing a letter he planned to send to the leaders of the Virginia General Assembly.

The reason for this is that the current formula was designed for communities like Bristol and Danville, where the economy was very different.

Read McKay's letter to the leaders of the Virginia General Assembly.

“While we understand the Commonwealth's desire to collect additional state tax revenue from the residents of Virginia, we do not believe our residents would accept the revenue share prescribed in the current statute and legislation,” McKay said.

Most of the discussion regarding the casino at Friday's meeting focused on the letter and how the county was left out of the process of formulating the bill.

As evidence of the county's lack involvement in the bill, Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) and Comstock Holding Companies, the developer behind the project, did not discuss their plans with McKay or the two supervisors whose districts would most directly be impacted by a casino in Tysons — Supervisors Dalia Palchik (D-Providence) and Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill).

"Since a community engagement process was not conducted prior to the bill being introduced as it was in other jurisdictions, we believe the bill in its current form is likely to result in strong community opposition to the future referendum," McKay said in his letter.

Supervisor James Walkinshaw (D-Braddock), who chairs the legislative committee, told his colleagues that even if the general assembly passed the bill, he was skeptical Fairfax County voters would approve the referendum. Of course, for that to happen, the board would have to vote to put the referendum on a future ballot, which seemed unlikely given the current language in the bill.

Supervisors are limited in what they are able to do in a committee meeting. They can't vote on anything or take any actions. McKay wrote his letter to help share his concerns and to inform board members so they could make decisions about the process moving forward.

Anti-Casino Group Plans 2nd Trip To Richmond To Oppose Bill

McLean, Great Falls, Herndon, Vienna and Reston residents plan to travel to Richmond on Monday to speak in opposition to legislation being considered by the Virginia Senate to make it possible for a casino to be built in Tysons.

Reston Citizens Association launched its Citizens Opposed to Reston Casino initiative back in October to organize the Reston and Tysons communities against the proposed legislation.

Senate Bill 675, which was introduced by Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) on Jan. 17, seeks to give the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put a casino referendum on an upcoming ballot.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology voted 10 to 4, with one abstention, to refer SB 675 to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

A group of seven Reston and McLean residents who traveled to Richmond were prevented from speaking at Wednesday's meeting, when the committee's chairman, Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), announced that no additional testimony would be taken.

The day before, Marsden presented his bill to the gaming subcommittee, when Julie Coons, the president of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, endorsed the legislation along with two other speakers.

A finance committee staff member told Patch that while committee and subcommittee meetings are public hearings, public comment is only taken during one hearing, either at the committee or the subcommittee meeting. Since public comment was taken during Tuesday's subcommittee meeting, no more public comment would've been taken at the committee level.

Also, the chairperson of a committee can opt to vote on a piece of legislation without first sending it to a subcommittee, according to the finance staff member. In that case, public testimony would be taken at the committee level.

Although SB 675 hasn't been added to the docket yet, Ebbin told Patch on Friday that it was his understanding that the bill was going to be referred to the Senate Economic Development & Natural Resources Subcommittee, which is scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m., on Monday. Marsden chairs that subcommittee.

On Thursday, RCA announced that it would be traveling to Richmond on Monday for a lobbying day. Anyone who wishes to join the group can do so by visiting the No Reston Casino website. A meet-up time has not yet been schedule.

During session, the finance committee meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 4:30 p.m., on Thursday upon the call of state Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who is the committee chair. That means if the bill is referred out of Marsden's subcommittee on Monday, the finance committee could vote on it first thing Tuesday morning.

As of 6:30 p.m. on Friday, the bill had not been referred to the subcommittee.

Related:

• Casino Developer Gave $51K To VA Senate Gaming Sub-Committee Members
• Let's Stop Casino Bill SB-675 In Committee: Call To Action
• Casino Developer Gave $51K To VA Senate Gaming Sub-Committee Members
• Tysons Casino Location Verified By VA Legislator Who Introduced Bill

Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.