Woodlands’ permit unanimously approved

by Mary Rupert

On a unanimous 9-0 vote, The Woodlands’ special use permit was approved at Thursday night’s Unified Government Commission meeting.

A representative for The Woodlands, attorney Scott Beeler, pledged that the pari-mutuel racetrack would contribute $100,000 to the UG’s charitable fund. The Woodlands, which has been closed since 2008, will apply for a maximum of 750 slot machines, Beeler said. There were many stipulations included in the approval.

Phil Ruffin Jr., executive director of the Ruffin Companies, was at the well-attended meeting.

The special use permit had stipulations on it numbering in the teens carried over from the Planning Commission meeting, and an additional stipulation was added Thursday night. The boundaries of the area are changing slightly, smaller than originally submitted, because some of the original area is now owned by the UG. Also, it was decided that the final plan review on The Woodlands will have to come back to the UG Commission for final approval.

Commissioner Hal Walker said, ““You don’t need an expert every time to tell us to open a window when it’s hot.” (Staff photo)
Commissioner Hal Walker suggested relying on the board’s collective wisdom, and added, ““You don’t need an expert every time to tell us to open a window when it’s hot.” (Staff photo)

During a discussion on whether to do an economic study, Commissioner Hal Walker remarked, “You don’t need an expert every time to tell us to open a window when it’s hot.”

“Seventy to $92 million of investment potentially,” Commissioner Harold Johnson summed up. “No incentives, no subsidies, no abatements. Positive impact on our tax rolls of nearly $2 million, maybe more. That shows impact to me. That shows commitment and they’re talking about a pledge of another $100,000 for charitable contributions,” he said. “I think we need to move forward with this.”

After the meeting, opponents said they would talk over the situation, consider their options and then decide what to do next.

Scott Beeler, attorney for The Woodlands, said there would be a minimum $70 million investment, which includes about $15 million in land purchase and about $55 million for redeveloping the racetrack. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Scott Beeler, attorney for The Woodlands, said there would be a minimum $70 million investment, which includes about $15 million in land purchase and about $55 million for redeveloping the racetrack. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Details of the project

Beeler said the special use permit is the first step in its process. The Woodlands is also asking the state Legislature to approve a bill that lowers the rate of slots income to be paid to the state from 40 percent to 22 percent.

Not all details are worked out yet in the project. Beeler said there would be a minimum $70 million investment, which includes about $15 million in land purchase and about $55 million for redeveloping the racetrack. At this time, the building where visitors watched horse races is scheduled for either demolition and rebuilding or for rehabilitation, according to Beeler. The facility will be a minimum of 85,000 square feet, he said.

There was no confirmation of plans for the dog racing building.

Beeler said The Woodlands is making a commitment for a first-class development.

He said it is expected to have three restaurants, and he showed slides of a racino-type building. While there were not a lot of details being shown at this time, the applicant must come back for a plan review, according to UG officials.

“Our concepts are based upon bringing a whole new destination facility to Wyandotte County,” Beeler said. The racino is expected to draw from the metropolitan area and the region.

Currently, $187,000 is paid on property tax at The Woodlands, he said. If it is valued at $40 million, it would result in more than $1.8 million in property tax, he said, a difference of an additional $1.6 million that comes into the local government.

About 31 cents of each property tax dollar would go to the Piper school district, by law, he said.

The Woodlands would bring 600 to 700 jobs to the county, and about 200 construction jobs, Beeler said. When asked by Commissioner Gayle Townsend about the jobs, Beeler said there are about half the number of jobs there during the off-season.

Lack of economic impact study

Earlier in the meeting, Commissioner Jane Philbrook said she saw all that The Woodlands could do for Wyandotte County, but it was like “pie in the sky.” “I don’t know what it’s really going to turn out like, and we don’t know if it’s going to pass at the state level,” she said.

Both those for and against The Woodlands’ reopening referred to the fact that there wasn’t an economic impact study done this time.

Opponents suggested waiting to approve the permit until an economic impact study was done. Beeler said that opponents had time to do one and had not done an economic study.

“I don’t want to damage the revenues we have coming into the city now, nor do I want to have a facility open 24 hours that we’re not able to provide adequate service to,” Mayor Mark Holland said. (Staff photo)
“I don’t want to damage the revenues we have coming into the city now, nor do I want to have a facility open 24 hours that we’re not able to provide adequate service to,” Mayor Mark Holland said. (Staff photo)

Mayor Mark Holland discussed the possibility of doing an independent economic impact study and was told it might cost around $30,000 to $50,000 and take at least 90 days. When the casino went in, the casino funded a study that was directed through the state.

“I don’t want to damage the revenues we have coming into the city now, nor do I want to have a facility open 24 hours that we’re not able to provide adequate service to,” Mayor Holland said. He said he would be in favor of doing an economic impact study.

He also said earlier that he would generally be in favor of the permit because a lot of people wanted The Woodlands to reopen, although he personally doesn’t gamble. Mayor Holland said it was possible that the UG could lose gaming revenue, in that it could take revenue away from an entity that is paying the UG at 3 percent and shift it to a group that is potentially paying the UG nothing outside of property taxes.

He discussed the possibility of the Legislature passing a new law that could completely eliminate gaming revenue paid to local governments. Casinos currently pay 3 percent of gaming revenues to the UG, while one of the proposed bills would require racinos to pay 2 percent of the slots income to the UG. Beeler said, in response to a question, that The Woodlands supported a bill that would pay 2 percent of the slots income to the local government.

The Legislature is now in its final days before adjournment, and Beeler said legislators who will vote on a bill for the racetracks might ask themselves why they would vote for it in Wyandotte County if Wyandotte County has not granted a special use permit. He said the Legislature was looking for the UG’s guidance.

Korb Maxwell, an attorney representing Kansas Entertainment, said the special use permit application had serious procedural defects. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Korb Maxwell, an attorney representing Kansas Entertainment, said the special use permit application had serious procedural defects. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Boundary lines changed on application

Korb Maxwell, an attorney representing Kansas Entertainment, which is the manager of Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, said the special use permit application had serious procedural defects. The original application to the Planning Commission had the wrong boundary lines and the legal description was not correct. Maxwell said he heard about this for the first time only just before the 7 p.m. meeting Thursday.

What happened, according to Beeler, was they used the old boundary lines that The Woodlands used in 1989. However, a small amount of acreage of the property changed hands when The Woodlands couldn’t pay its taxes and a small slice of the property went to UG ownership. Beeler said it was a minor issue, and that because the total area that needed the special use permit was shrinking, not growing, it did not affect the project. More people were notified than were necessary, he said.

“This was 100 percent gerrymandering,” Maxwell said. He said it went against local codes and state laws and takes away proper notice and protest rights for the people. “I have never seen anything like this,” Maxwell said.

“If I were to bring forward this type of application on any other private development in this community, Rob [Richardson, planning director] would throw me out of the office,” Maxwell said. “But here we’re doing backflips to try to let them to present.”

Maxwell asked why. “We don’t have a site plan, we don’t have a traffic plan, we have a 30-year-old facility that never had 24-hour operation in it,” he said. “Why do we have to push this?”

Maxwell said that the applicant said it himself. “This isn’t about this commission,” he said. It’s to get the process started in Topeka, he said.

Under current law, 3 percent of the slots proceeds would be paid to the UG, and under a proposed law, 2 percent of the slots income would go to the UG. Also, the amount of money that would have to be paid to the state from slots income would be lowered from 40 to 22 percent under the proposed legislation in Topeka.

“This is the single biggest tax abatement that’s ever been put in front of this commission,” he said.

Beeler did not agree. The change in the boundaries was minor and there wasn’t anyone else who should have been notified who wasn’t notified.

He said there were no reasons to delay the project, and all the Golden criteria for zoning were met. The project received staff approval, the Planning Commission supported it on an 8-2 vote, and there has been support from the public, he said. There was not a single reason why the special use permit should not be granted, he said. Also, he said that The Woodlands is not asking for any bonds or tax abatements.

“This group is offering to give us some money, and we all sit there and act like somebody is trying to steal from us,” Shirley Ikerd said. “We need to take whatever we can get.” She said she was 110 percent behind this. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
“This group is offering to give us some money, and we all sit there and act like somebody is trying to steal from us,” Shirley Ikerd said. “We need to take whatever we can get.” She said she was 110 percent behind this. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Attorney general’s opinion

Beeler also referred to a recent attorney general’s opinion. A Kansas attorney general opinion issued April 22 mostly discussed Wichita and how Sedgwick County could not take another citizen vote to have slots at a racetrack. That area already defeated it in a vote taken within the time allowed by the law.

Wyandotte County was touched on briefly in the attorney general’s opinion last week, and the opinion said Wyandotte County could be allowed to have slots at its racetrack as it took a successful vote at the time. Slots passed with 80 percent in 2007.

“On June 26, 2007, within 180 days required by statute, a majority of the electorate in Wyandotte County approved the placement of EGMs [electronic gaming machines or slots] at the pari-mutuel licensee location in the county,” the attorney general’s opinion stated.

As Sedgwick County defeated the slots question, Wyandotte County and Crawford County were the only ones left that could have slots at the pari-mutuel tracks, the opinion stated.

The attorney general said in the opinion that a bill that would allow Sedgwick County residents to vote now on allowing slot machines in Wichita would breach the contract of the Kansas Lottery with the Mulvane, Kan., casino.

Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association, spoke in favor of The Woodlands' permit. (Staff photo)
Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association, spoke in favor of The Woodlands’ permit. (Staff photo)

State ‘looking for UG’s guidance’?

During a break in the three-hour discussion, former Mayor Carol Marinovich, who decided not to speak publicly at the meeting, said that she found it significant that Beeler had said the Legislature is looking for the UG’s guidance.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum later told Beeler that she did not agree with that statement that the state wanted the UG’s guidance. The Legislature has changed when local governments hold elections, has placed a property tax lid on them and has taken away prevailing wage, and those actions went against the UG Commission’s positions.

“I just want to be clear with you that that is not our experience,” Commissioner Bynum said.

Beeler returned to the idea that The Woodlands had done everything it needed to do to comply with the zoning regulations.

“There has to be evidence and there isn’t any,” Beeler said about arguments against the special use permit. While there has been speculation from opponents that there might be negative effects, there is no evidence of it, he said.

During public comments, more persons appeared to be present in support of The Woodlands than against it. Three persons spoke against greyhound racing, and Beeler said The Woodlands is not planning to have dog racing. Any change in that would have to come before the commission for approval.

Commissioner Mike Kane, who represents the 5th District where The Woodlands is located, was not at the 7 p.m. meeting.

Many other comments were made during the meeting. To see a video of it, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOiJOEB2TSg.

To read an earlier story on The Woodlands’ special use permit, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/planning-commission-approves-permit-for-woodlands-reopening/.

Planning Commission approves permit for Woodlands’ reopening

UG Commission to consider permit on April 28

by Mary Rupert

On an 8-2 vote in a crowded meeting room, the Kansas City, Kan., Planning Commission on Monday night approved a special use permit for The Woodlands racetrack to reopen with horse racing and slot machines.

After a challenge during a public hearing from a group calling itself Protect the Partnership and from the nearby Hollywood Casino, the Planning Commission added about 14 stipulations onto the permit, in addition to some stipulations the staff recommended earlier.

Next, the permit is scheduled to be considered at the Unified Government Commission meeting on April 28 at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

A Las Vegas casino owner, Phil Ruffin, has purchased The Woodlands racetrack at 97th and Leavenworth Road and wants to redevelop it, retaining horse racing and adding slot machines, according to Scott Beeler, a lawyer representing him. Ruffin’s son, Phil Ruffin Jr., was attending the Monday night meeting.

Attorney Scott Beeler presented three concepts which he said made up the plan for The Woodlands' reopening, along with the same site locations that currently exist. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Attorney Scott Beeler presented three concepts which he said made up the plan for The Woodlands’ reopening, along with the same site locations that currently exist. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

An ‘all-in’ investment

Beeler said The Woodlands would make an investment of at least $70 million, and would renovate or replace between 85,000 and 100,000 square feet. He said it was an “all-in” investment, and it did not include any tax breaks or any bond issues from the local government.

Beeler also said The Woodlands would apply to the state’s Racing and Gaming Commission for 750 slot machines. The law would allow an application for up to 2,800 slot machines.

He said The Woodlands, which was built in 1989 and has been empty since 2008, could provide from 500 to 700 full-time equivalent jobs.

While the Kansas Senate has passed legislation that would give The Woodlands’ owners the same percentage of gaming revenues as the casinos, the Kansas House has not yet passed that bill. Currently, the law governing The Woodlands states that owners will pay 40 percent of the slots proceeds to the state, as compared to 22 percent of gaming revenues that casinos pay to the state.

Supporters of The Woodlands' special use permit were asked to stand during the meeting. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Supporters of The Woodlands’ special use permit were asked to stand during the meeting. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Supporters: No monopoly

Lou Braswell, executive director of the Leavenworth Road Association, said the majority of the LRA’s board supports The Woodlands reopening. Ruffin is not asking the UG for any tax breaks, she said.

“He didn’t’ come with his hand out, he came with his wallet open,” she said. “We’ve waited and waited and now we’ve got a person willing to invest.”

Braswell said she didn’t want a monopoly here on gaming.

Mark Evans, past president of the Kansas Thoroughbred Association, said reopening horse racing throughout Kansas would bring 4,000 new jobs to the state and $300 million in new wages statewide.

Laurie Torrez made a comment in favor of The Woodlands reopening at the Monday night Planning Commission meeting at City Hall in Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Laurie Torrez made a comment in favor of The Woodlands reopening at the Monday night Planning Commission meeting at City Hall in Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

One area resident, Laurie Torrez, said she supported The Woodlands, as Piper needed more revenue for its schools. She said it was a “no brainer” and the commission should support it.

Janet Madsen, a resident of Kansas City, Kan., said hundreds of Kansas residents leave to visit other states in order to bet on horse races. She said she enjoys the horse races more than playing slot machines.

Another Kansas City, Kan., resident said he had purchased a racehorse, and he talked about how a horse track would be good for tourism here, bringing visitors from out of state.

Those who were against the special use permit for The Woodlands were asked to stand at the Planning Commission meeting Monday night. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Those who were against the special use permit for The Woodlands were asked to stand at the Planning Commission meeting Monday night. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Opponents call for more details

Some opponents wanted more information, including a complete development agreement, before the project moved forward.

“It’s like me going home and asking Mom to give me a blank check,” Mary Martin, a Wyandotte County resident, said about The Woodlands’ proposal.

Stephanie Kimber, a Kansas City, Kan., resident, said she believed The Woodlands’ fiscal responsibility was not just to Piper but should be to all Wyandotte County schools as well. A development agreement with the Hollywood Casino distributed additional funds to all the Wyandotte County school districts. Later in the meeting, Beeler pointed out that the school district taxes by law go to Piper.

Postcards from Protect the Partnership that have been sent out to Wyandotte County residents warned that Hollywood Casino might lose business as a result of the reopening of The Woodlands, and said 50 or more jobs were on the line there. Also, the postcard hinted that the three Kansas state-run casinos could ask Kansas for their privilege fees back, in the millions of dollars, and they questioned whether the current agreements with the casinos would be broken if the racinos were approved.

Valerie Mussett, board chair of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce, said a development agreement should be completed before the permit is brought to the commission. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Valerie Mussett, board chair of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce, said a development agreement should be completed before the permit is brought to the commission. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

“Three bullet points do not make a development agreement,” said Valerie Mussett, board chair of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce. She said a development agreement should be completed before the permit is brought to the commission.

She said the chamber supports gaming as long as the proposal brings jobs and prosperity to the community. She said Ruffin and lobbyists are seeking a substantial reduction from legislators in the gaming revenue rate they originally agreed to years ago.

According to Beeler, the law states The Woodlands has to pay 40 percent of the slots gaming proceeds to the state while the casinos have to pay 22 percent. The racetracks are currently lobbying legislators for the same percentage as the casinos.

Mussett said the Hollywood Casino generates about $4 million for the community in addition to the gaming taxes, and the grant dollars are important to many charities.

“I urge you to reject the request tonight as it is premature and absent any formal development agreement with the UG which would recognize and uphold the interests of these organizations and the community as a whole,” Mussett said.

Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, said they would like The Woodlands to become an agricultural-based destination development, beyond just reopening the horse racetrack and adding slots.

“We don’t believe the current request before you provides the level of detail indicating the highest and best use of this property,” he said.

The WEDC wants the applicant to enter into discussions for a master redevelopment agreement for the entire site, he said. Having a master redevelopment agreement is the best way to move the project forward, he believes.

Former Mayor Carol Marinovich called it “very premature,” and said she opposed it, since there wasn’t a development agreement nor an impact study of its effect on current businesses.

She favored stipulations that required development agreement, a public hearing, and gaming contingent on a certain number of races held each year.

She said she recalled that when the UG lobbied for Village West, Kansas legislators insisted on seeing all the details before they would vote on it, and she hoped the UG now will want to see all the details before they make a decision.

The UG has worked to ensure high-quality development in the past, she said. “We need to ensure that this continues in our community with any future development,” she said.

A representative of an organization that opposes greyhound racing, Grey2KUSA, also appeared before the Planning Commission to ask to limit the permit and not include dog racing, now or for the future.

Rick Skinner, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino, said the casino was required to have a development agreement with the UG as a condition of its licensure. He asked the commission to oppose the Woodlands special use permit, but if the UG goes ahead with it, he said it’s very important to have stipulations on the permit to make the community whole.

‘Golden factors’ of zoning

But Beeler kept reminding the Planning Commission that they were there only to consider the special use permit, not a development agreement or any charitable donations The Woodlands might give the community.

The Planning Commission is supposed to consider only the “Golden factors” of zoning, named for a Kansas Supreme Court case in 1978 out of Overland Park. The local government can only consider eight factors: the character of the neighborhood; the zoning and uses of properties nearby; the suitability of the project for the uses to which it has been restricted; the extent to which removal of the restrictions will detrimentally affect nearby property; the length of time the subject property has remained vacant as zoned; the gain to the public health, safety and welfare by the possible diminution in value of the developer’s property as compared to the hardship imposed on the individual landowners; the recommendations of a permanent or professional planning staff; and the conformance of the requested change to the city’s master or comprehensive plan.

Curt Petersen, a lawyer with Polsinelli, said Kansas Entertainment wanted fair treatment and the UG should consider the public welfare. Requirements on the Hollywood Casino are all grounded in the public welfare, he said.

He then presented sample stipulations for The Woodlands on traffic, stormwater, lighting and noise, development agreement, prevailing wage, and other items.

Woodlands’ attorney responds: Everything was previously discussed and approved in 1980s

Planning Commissioner Daniel Serda pointed out a number of people had said they felt the preliminary development plan was ambiguous.

Beeler said before opening, The Woodlands would submit an application for a final plan review for the facility, and then the details would be gone over.

He said it was The Woodlands’ intent to race horses, and they had no present intention of racing dogs there.

Beeler also said they were trying to keep the site plans as close to the former Woodlands’ plans as possible.

While some people said The Woodlands didn’t have a site plan, Beeler disagreed and said it was the same site plan the facility had in the 1980s. Everything is in the same place, and the facility will be improved to become modern-day.

He said all the criteria had already been discussed and approved in the 1980s.

He showed a “Concepts for Development” slide that said the plan was three items: “Minimum development investment of $70 million; Current proposal of 2% gross gaming revenue paid to the U.G. and City; Anticipated additional taxes, with 34% mill levied taxes going to Piper School District.”

The investment amount was the only optional part of the slide, as the other two items were required by the current gaming law and current property tax regulations.

While Beeler said the statutes do not require The Woodlands to have a development agreement, he said The Woodlands would be open to discussions about it if they received the special use permit.

Planning Commission members challenged the notion that everything would be the same. There would be 750 slot machines at The Woodlands, and that would have an effect on traffic, according to the Planning Commission members.

Also, in the past The Woodlands closed each night around 10 p.m. or so, and now it would become a 24-7 operation, with the potential to have an effect on nearby residential neighborhoods, according to Planning Commission members.

Beeler said there was no opposition to the 24-7 hours in the neighborhood meetings that were held.

When the Hollywood Casino was selected, several casinos were competing against one another for the casino, and the UG was able to work out a development agreement. Beeler said that development agreement came after the permit.

Rob Richardson, right, UG planning director, counted people who were standing at the Planning Commission meeting on Monday night. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Rob Richardson, right, UG planning director, counted people who were standing at the Planning Commission meeting on Monday night. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Stipulations

Rob Richardson, planning director, said he would recommend some new stipulations.

• They include a provision that would make the special use permit run concurrently with horse racing and electronic gaming, and would expire if not used for 18 months.
• The permit would not include greyhound racing, and the applicant would have to come back for approval if they wanted to add it.
• The maximum number of electronic gaming machines would be 750.
• There would be a minimum 60-day horse racing season, with a 15 percent variance if the statute changes.
• There would be more than 85,000 square feet in the remodeled facility.
• All improvements would be made by private funding, including off-site public improvements necessary for traffic.
• If there is a need for a traffic signal, The Woodlands would have to install it.
• Comply with previous odor, lighting and noise systems unless the UG modifies it.
• The operator should request an inspection by the planning staff to make sure there is compliance with stipulations prior to opening.
• There will be a minimum of $70 million of improvements including the purchase and renovations.
• It is a 24-hour operation with racino concept, a special use permit for pari-mutuel racing.
• It will comply with all codes of the UG.
• The permit will not go into effect until the state license is issued.

As to the residents’ concerns about spreading the funding among other school districts, and the development agreement, Richardson said these concerns could be addressed by state legislation as it is being negotiated, or if the state legislation required a development agreement with the local government. There will be a public hearing and a plan review process later, Richardson said.

Planning Commissioner Eric Gonzalez asked for a timeline to be added as a stipulation for the special use permit for The Woodlands. (Staff photo)
Planning Commissioner Eric Gonzalez asked for a timeline to be added as a stipulation for the special use permit for The Woodlands. (Staff photo)

Planning Commissioner Eric Gonzalez asked for one more stipulation. He asked for a timeline for the project. After conferring with Beeler, Richardson said by June 30, the year following approval by the Legislature, provided that approval was in 2016 or 2017, if not, the permit would not go into effect.

Earlier stipulations outlined in the planning staff report included: Prior to opening, the applicant must apply for and receive approval of a final plan review detailing the renovations and plans; if a traffic signal is warranted, the applicant should pay all costs of it; occupation tax and licenses need to be applied for and renewed; if any grading work is done, an erosion control plan is needed; and a tornado warning siren is needed.

Richardson recommended approval of The Woodlands’ zoning with all stipulations, including the new ones mentioned at the meeting.

Voting to approve the permit with stipulations were James Connelly, Timothy DeWitt, Jim Ernst, Eric Gonzalez, Karen Jones, Susannah Pauley, Jim Schwartzman and Chris Wing. Voting against it were Jeff Carson and Daniel Serda.

After more than four hours, the crowd, which arrived at 6:30 p.m., was able to leave around 11:15 p.m. after the vote. About two hours had been spent discussing the topic.

After the vote, Kindle remarked that a development agreement would have cleared up questions such as what will be done with the dog racing building at The Woodlands. The proposal contains a plan to renovate the horse racing building. Would the dog racing building be remodeled or would it be allowed to continue to deteriorate, he wondered.