Citizens use Petersburg council comment period as platforms for and against casino

PETERSBURG – They might not have had the chance to do it before the decision to award The Cordish Companies the city’s casino business, but some citizens used the public-comment period of Tuesday’s City Council meeting to air their opinions about bringing gambling to south Petersburg.

The comments were split in support vs. opposition to the casino. One citizen was all for it because he thought Petersburg had nothing else to offer. One feared it was more of a Band-Aid than a permanent cure for Petersburg’s ailing economy. And one told councilors he did not trust Cordish because of its previous dealings with Donald Trump over the casino picture in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

According to a 2007 report in Forbes magazine, Cordish – which developed The Walk retail shopping center across the street from the then-Trump Plaza Casino and Hotel – was interested in buying that property but stepped away after its financial backer refused to be part of the deal.

“I personally have issues with anything tied to Donald J. Trump,” resident William Jones said. He prefaced that statement, though, by saying he was for a Petersburg casino but did not favor the fashion in which City Council chose Cordish.

"I don't want it forced on us," Jones said, "or hidden from us, either."

Tuesday was the first regularly scheduled meeting since April 24 when Cordish and co-developer Bruce Smith Enterprise were picked over four other bidders. The proposed $1.4 billion casino-anchored community on 92 acres off Wagner Road is similar to what Cordish offered to build when it partnered with Petersburg last year on the second of the city’s attempts to land a casino.

That decision prompted a plethora of backlash on political and legal fronts. Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, who sponsored legislation for this November’s casino referendum, sharply criticized it as “revisionist history,” and the world’s largest hospitality-workers union said it will take Petersburg to court because the choice violated Virginia’s transparency laws.

An agenda for the closed meeting that preceded Tuesday’s public meeting indicated that some casino-related topics would be discussed. Council emerged from that closed meeting with no action to be taken in the open meeting as directed by the state Freedom of Information Act.

Cheers, boos and questioning the process

Of all the comments made Tuesday night, most were for the casino.

“The city really does need this casino,” Anthony Coleman told council. "To be honest with you, I’ve lived here all my life, and this city ain’t got nothing.”

He pointed to Portsmouth where Rivers Casino is located and how its crime rate is higher than Petersburg’s.

“If Portsmouth got a casino, then Petersburg deserves a casino,” Coleman said.

Rivers’ owner, Rush Street Gaming, was one of the five bidders for a Petersburg casino.

Paula Chester also spoke of the need for a casino.

“We have been in a standstill for at least 30 years,” Chester said. “It’s now time for a change.”

On the other side of the issue, Jennifer Lowery told councilors she sees the casino as a fast fix for the city’s economy. She said Petersburg has more to offer in terms of recreational and other opportunities, and should be known for those instead of being one of five casinos in Virginia.

“I feel like Petersburg wants something really quick to build Petersburg up, and I get it,” Lowery said. “But ever since I have been here, [the city] is really growing, and I feel like the casino will take away from our small businesses."

Lowery said council should look north to Richmond, where she said “they are taking a different path” in growing. Twice, Richmond voters rejected referendums to bring a casino to the city’s south side.

“If it’s not good enough for Richmond, then I feel like it wouldn’t be good enough for Petersburg,” she said.

One speaker’s comments were not for or against the casino but rather in the way council went about in choosing Cordish.

Barb Rudolph, administrator of the social-media watchdog group Clean Sweep Petersburg, said she noticed a “consistent pattern” in council’s casino decision-making.

“It’s never been on the agenda, it’s never been voted on at a regular council meeting,” Rudolph said. “Basically, it’s only happened when you came out of closed session. So, right there, fewer people are paying attention.”

Action items, she said, were added to the agenda “on the spot, surprising anyone who was watching.

"I wasn't surprised by who," Rudolph said. "I was surprised by how."

Some speakers Tuesday night came not to criticize councilors for the decision-making but to offer flowers to them for their overall public service.

Sarah Johnson told councilors “a blind man can see” that they are acting in the best interests of Petersburg’s citizenry. “Keep doing what you’ve done,” she said.

Chester, who spoke later in the meeting of her support for the casino, began her remarks by thanking councilors “for the improvement I’m noticing in Petersburg.

“Keep up the good work, and stay fast in your spirit, and trust God to lead you,” she said.

Those accolades did not just come from the citizens’ podium. City Attorney Tony Williams said toward the end of the meeting that in 27 years of public service, he has never worked for a group “with more integrity, fortitude and commitment” to a city like he has seen in Petersburg.

Tax rate mini-debate

In other business Tuesday, councilors voted 4-2, with one abstention, to keep the city’s real estate property tax rate at $1.27 per each $100 of assessed value.

Ward 4 Councilor Charlie Cuthbert initially wanted the rate to be set at $1.20, but that motion died after no other councilors would second it. As Cuthbert tried to repeat it, he was overruled by Mayor Sam Parham who then made the motion to keep the rate where it is.

“I protest that,” Cuthbert said. “I think that no one, at least not enough people, understood there was a motion on the table.”

Ward 7 Councilor Arnold Westbook Jr. seconded Cuthbert’s motion, but Parham made a substitute motion to keep the rate at $1.27 and was seconded by Ward 5 Councilor Howard Myers. Cuthbert and Westbrook cast the two dissenting votes.

Ward 1 Councilor Marlow Jones stayed silent on that roll call, prompting the city attorney to clarify that Jones’ silence was an abstention.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Citizens share casino feelings with Petersburg City Council