RUMFORD – Town Manager Len Greaney set a selectmen’s workshop with casino proponent Seth Carey for next week to discuss details on the project.
That meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Municipal Building.
Greaney said Friday afternoon that he wants to schedule two other meetings to discuss the proposal. One will be with a group or individuals who oppose the casino for Oxford County or the Rumford area. That will likely be held in early September.
A third meeting would serve as a forum for residents of the area and will likely be held at Mountain Valley High School later in September.
At that forum, Greaney said he would have both proponents and opponents of the tentative plan so residents would have a clear understanding of the project. He also wants the forum televised on the local public access channel so as many people as possible could receive the information.
A statewide referendum on a resort casino for Oxford County, as proposed by Evergreen Mountain Enterprises owned by Seth Carey of Rumford, will be held Nov. 4.
Greaney said he plans to ask Pat LaMarche, former spokeswoman for the casino, to serve as proponent during the forum. She quit the post this week due to professional issues surrounding Carey, she said, but still thinks a casino would be a good thing for Maine tourism and economic recovery.
Selectmen on Thursday night narrowly gave their support to the project by a 3-2 vote, with Selectmen Arthur Boivin, Frank DiConzo and Mark Belanger voting in the affirmative.
Selectmen Rob Cameron and Brad Adley voted no. Cameron said he supported the concept but needed the answers to many questions before he could support the idea. Bradley agreed.
Among those questions needing answers are the location of a casino and where funding would come from.
Carey, a local lawyer, has been working to bring a resort casino to Rumford or some other location in Oxford County for more than two years. He and his staff gathered 100,000 signatures that forces the question on statewide referendum in November.
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