LEWISTON — The spokesman for a group of investors hoping to bring a
casino to the city said Monday that they had a proposal that would pay $150,000 for an option to purchase the land beneath Bates Mill No. 5.

The property is being eyed by a group of private investors hoping to convince first city and then state voters that the Great
Falls casino should be built in downtown Lewiston. Lewiston’s City
Council is expected to vote on the offer after an executive session Tuesday night, according to former City Councilor Stavros Mendros, who is also a partner and spokesman for the casino group.

Mendros said a citywide ballot initiative asking Lewiston residents to approve the option is also a part of the arrangement.

Under the terms of the deal, the investor group would pay the city in four installments: the first two for $10,000, a third for $30,000 and a final installment of $100,000 if city voters approve the deal.

If state voters approve the casino in 2011, the price of the land
would be further negotiated based on market value at the time with
$100,000 of the option payment going toward the purchase, Mendros said.

“I’m very excited,” said Mendros of the proposal. “We’ve been in negotiations with (the City Council) since we took out a petition. We wanted to be partners with the city and we are happy this was able to move forward. This is an exciting day for Lewiston and our future.”

The City Council would still have to vote to approve the payment and
a referendum would also go before city voters later this year under the terms of the arrangement.

Peter Martin, a spokesman for a group of investors hoping to bring a
ballot initiative to voters this fall on a casino in Oxford County,
said Lewiston voters deserve the right to decide the issue, but he hopes they get all the information about the Bates Mill proposal, including who all the investors are, before making a decision.

Martin also said a 2010 vote for his group, Black Bear Entertainment, would likely have an impact on a subsequent vote on a casino for Lewiston in 2011 or 2012.

“Win or lose it will affect, from a statewide perspective, how
future gaming proposals will be accepted,” Martin said in an e-mailed message. “If we win it is improbable the state will vote to endorse another casino a year later, if we lose it could be worse as the public will now say enough is enough and shut down any future expansion through a statewide vote.”

A memo to Lewiston city councilors from City Administrator Ed Barrett also outlines the arrangement and the details of the negotiations.

Barrett notes the council has several options to take but it seemed
likely a citywide vote would force the council’s hand. The options are to take a position on the casino plan, offer a competing measure or work with the casino group to develop a ballot question for city voters that is acceptable to both the casino group and the council. City staffers made the recommendation that agreed-upon ballot language be worked out.

If a casino is approved, the terms of the deal include the city
taking a 2.3 percent cut of slot machine profits. Another 1 percent
would go to the city of Auburn and 3 percent, under the arrangement, is earmarked for cleaning Maine rivers, with an emphasis on the Androscoggin River.

The investors would have until Dec. 31, 2011, to close the deal
if their plan is approved by statewide voters. They could also purchase an extension on the option until Nov. 30, 2012, for an additional $50,000, according to the memo.

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