Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr. says a steering committee working on getting a Danville casino opened has heard from multiple prospects….
{‘’We asked that they respond to us by July 10th to say ‘we are interested in submitting an application’,’’ said Mayor Williams. ‘’We have had seven entities who have indicated that they are interested in putting the casino here. So, if all seven of those individuals or entities follow through we will have seven places to choose from.’’}
Alderman Mike Puhr is one of the members of the steering committee. He says around fifty solicitations of interest requests were sent out….
{‘’Everyone in the U.S. was sent a SOI (Solicitation of Interest). It used to be called RFP (request for proposals) and those have been coming in. The deadline was last week,’’ said Puhr. ‘’The Steering Committee will meet Thursday and go through those and look and see what kind of proposals are out there,’’ added Puhr.}
Alderman Aaron Troglia wanted to know from the Mayor if only the steering committee will review the proposals….
{‘’Do we get to look at all the proposals? Did you say we can look at ‘em?’’ – asked Troglia. ‘’If you would like to see them – yes you may,’’ responded Mayor Williams.
‘’Because if we’re going to vote on a recommendation, I mean, how are we going to know that’s what we would vote on if we can’t see the rest of the proposals?’’ – asked Alderman Troglia.
‘’That defeats the purpose of a steering committee if every alderman is reviewing everything,’’ responded Mayor Williams.}
Those developers who are interested in placing a casino in Danville have until July 31st to submit their plans and application. The Mayor says the steering committee is going to review the applications and probably meet with three of the prospects face-to-face before choosing one. It will then be up to the full Danville City Council to decide whether to accept or reject the committee’s recommendation.
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This story written by Bill Pickett, News Director of Neuhoff Media Danville. Got a news tip for Bill? You can reach him at (217) 709-1245 or BillPickett@Neuhoffmedia.com.
