You can approach the question of whether a racino and the “Scarborough Village” would benefit our hometown from one of many ways. As hard as I have tried, I just can’t find where this is the right direction for us to take as a community.

Would the tax revenue be welcomed? You bet. Would I like a senior center and swimming pool? Sure, why wouldn’t I or any other citizen of Scarborough want them? There are a lot of things we would like to have, but we choose to forgo them when we realize the expense of obtaining the items would outweigh the enjoyment gained from them. Case in point, our voting history on new schools, a renovated library and a senior center – they would have been nice, but no one wanted to foot the bill.

This same argument can also be made of the enormous cost of bringing a racino to our town, a cost greater than many people might imagine. It takes very little research to find that there are exorbitant real dollar costs eventually associated with gambling in a community. Higher crime rates, higher traffic problems (including OUIs), higher social service costs – the list goes on and on. And for what? For a small percentage of the revenue generated at the racino. We get a small piece of the revenue pie and most of the costs, while the facility owners and developers get a large piece of the profits pie and a small piece of the costs. That formula just doesn’t make sense to me.

The second point I get stuck on is, how successful could this village proposal be? A “Main Street” is something that evolves, not something that is just plunked down where a developer thinks it would be most profitable. Another retail center doesn’t seem needed right now, as we have a very nice one right down the street at the Gateway that isn’t even full yet. The Scarborough Gallery at the other end of Payne Road also offers retail growth opportunities.

The Haigis Parkway is well on the way of delivering strong, economically sound growth as a result of years of careful planning, hard work and partnerships among the town officials and the private sector. The strong development that is coming to fruition there will provide the town with the millions of dollars in revenue we need to continue to grow as the most desirable community in southern Maine. It may not be the quick fix we all crave, but it is solid and does not harm the reputation of our outstanding community as one that offers a high quality of life for residents as well as business people.

One final thought. You can’t help but notice how this issue has, in just a few short months, brought out the worst in many public figures and citizens here in town. Name-calling, false accusations and personal attacks have flown publicly and in private. This is just a small taste of what is yet to come if we bring the racino, along with its associated politics, greed and corruption, to the otherwise attractive town so many of us call home.

I will be voting no on local referendum No. 1 to preserve the quality of life in the town of Scarborough.

Amelia I. Kurtz

Scarborough