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           1                  MISSOURI GAMING COMMISSION

                                        MEETING

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                                        -  -  -

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                                   JANUARY 21, 2004

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                                        -  -  -

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           6                  BE IT REMEMBERED, that the Missouri Gaming

 

           7        Commission held the following meeting at the

 

           8        Riverside City Hall, 2950 Northwest Vivion Road, in

 

           9        Riverside Missouri, on the 21st day of January,

 

          10        2004, commencing at 9:00 a.m. in the morning of that

 

          11        day, said meeting having been called by members of

 

          12        the Missouri Gaming Commission, pursuant to the

 

          13        issuance of due notice to all parties in interest,

 

          14        and the following is a transcript of the records of

 

          15        proceedings had during the course of said meeting.

 

          16                     A P P E A R A N C E S

 

          17                  Mr. Floyd Bartch, Chairman

 

          18                  Ms. Judith Sutter-Hinrichs, Commissioner

 

          19                  Mr. Jack Gant, Commissioner

 

          20                  Mr. George Hartsfield, Commissioner

 

          21                  Ms. Angie Franks, Designated Principal Assistant

 

          22                  Mr. Kevin Mullally, Gaming Commission

 

          23                       Executive Director

 

          24                  Ms. Jennifer Shoemaker, Shorthand Reporter

 

          25                       of Cross Reporting

 

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           1                  MS. ANGIE FRANKS:  Chairman Bartch?

 

           2                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  Present.

 

           3                  MS. FRANKS:  Commissioner Hinrichs?

 

           4                  COMMISSIONER HINRICHS:  Present.

 

           5                  MS. FRANKS:  Commissioner Gant?

 

           6                  COMMISSIONER GANT:  Present.

 

           7                  MS. FRANKS:  Commissioner Hartsfield?

 

           8                  COMMISSIONER HARTSFIELD:  Present.

 

           9                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  Kevin, first I would like

 

          10        to take this opportunity to welcome the new

 

          11        commissioner to the board.  We are really anxious to

 

          12        have a new commissioner.  We now are four and

 

          13        hopefully shortly we will have a fifth member.  And

 

          14        it is very important to gaming and the State of

 

          15        Missouri that we have a full board to do the

 

          16        business of this industry.  So very happy that he is

 

          17        here.

 

          18                  He spent the -- and comes to us from

 

          19        Jefferson City and the YMCA as executive director

 

          20        there now I believe.  He has spent a lot of time

 

          21        there, spent an awful lot of time with United

 

          22        Telephone over the years and has been the past mayor

 

          23        of Jefferson City.  So that, plus many, many

 

          24        organizations that he belongs to and has been a part

 

          25        of and has been on their boards makes him ultimately

 

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           1        qualified to serve with us on this board.  We

 

           2        certainly welcome him and thank you very much for

 

           3        choosing to be on this board, also.

 

           4                  COMMISSIONER HARTSFIELD:  Glad to be here.

 

           5                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  Kevin.

 

           6                  MR. KEVIN MULLALLY:  Mr. Chairman, as you have

 

           7        been notified, this morning one of the more

 

           8        substantial agenda items we had for today has

 

           9        been -- will not take very long now because we have

 

          10        been enjoined, and we will get to that a little

 

          11        later.  So our agenda is markedly shorter than we

 

          12        had anticipated.  However, it creates a -- as every

 

          13        adversity creates an opportunity.

 

          14                  You may have noticed a lot of the

 

          15        tremendous development going on here in Riverside.

 

          16        There is a lot of construction going on.  Anybody

 

          17        who was with us eight, nine years ago when we first

 

          18        came to Riverside to look at this site would not

 

          19        recognize Riverside today.

 

          20                  So I thought it might be helpful for the

 

          21        Commission to get an update on a lot of the economic

 

          22        activity that is going on in Riverside.  And Brent

 

          23        Miles, the Community Development Coordinator for the

 

          24        city, has been kind enough to offer some of his time

 

          25        this morning and bring you up to date on the things

 

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           1        going on in this community.  Brent.

 

           2                  MR. BRENT MILES:  Good morning.  I'm Brent Miles

 

           3        and these boards that I packed with me, I pack them

 

           4        everywhere.  I do this presentation a lot.

 

           5                  Like this gentleman said, if you came into

 

           6        Riverside today, any way you came in you saw a city

 

           7        under construction.  If you came in off of Highway 9

 

           8        on to West Platte Road you saw a demolition project

 

           9        happening.  We have purchased four buildings on West

 

          10        Platte, they are demolished, a new roadway will be

 

          11        going through, it will be a four lane, two lanes on

 

          12        each side with a 16-foot center median.  We have a

 

          13        streetscape master plan going on right now for the

 

          14        whole area that will encompass a landscaping,

 

          15        lighting, signage, and then that is what we call the

 

          16        West Platte Road project.

 

          17                  And here is an artist rendering of future

 

          18        development that will occur in that area.  And if

 

          19        you can remember what it looked like just a few

 

          20        weeks ago, this is a momentous drawing of what can

 

          21        occur and what we think will occur.

 

          22                  You can see some of the renderings around

 

          23        the room here today.  Like I said, signage, a

 

          24        16-foot center median, and then hopefully a

 

          25        commercial development taking off on the south side

 

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           1        of West Platte.

 

           2                  As you go up to the city north you see --

 

           3        you get into our second section of our road projects

 

           4        which we call middle Gateway Road projects, and this

 

           5        would be starting from where Highway 69 is up until

 

           6        just north of the intersection here at Vivion and

 

           7        West Platte.

 

           8                  You may remember there was a gas station

 

           9        here on the corner, we have demoed that yesterday.

 

          10        We are in the process of designing a new fountain

 

          11        and a little pocket park that will go in there.  And

 

          12        this is a rendering of what that area will look like

 

          13        when we are finished.  This viewpoint is standing

 

          14        where the Corner Cafe is.  I'm sure most of you know

 

          15        where the Corner Cafe is.  This rendering is right

 

          16        there, too.

 

          17                  Then we get into upper Gateway which is

 

          18        our northern boundary which connects into I-29.

 

          19        This, with the middle section of Gateway, will be a

 

          20        three-lane, it will have a center turning lane and

 

          21        the streetscape master plan also is for this area

 

          22        and we are really looking at a nice pallet of

 

          23        landscaping, new lighting, sidewalks on both sides.

 

          24        Something that the people in Riverside can really

 

          25        use.  Most of them walk downtown.

 

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           1                  We are creating a new master plan right

 

           2        now, it is under way.  We are looking at one

 

           3        possibility of doing some kind of town center

 

           4        overlay district and really make that intersection,

 

           5        that quadrant right there, a focal point of

 

           6        Riverside and really limit the uses and really up

 

           7        the design criteria.

 

           8                  And then this is a rendering of what

 

           9        northern Gateway will look like.  We have one

 

          10        project that is going to be taking off, just did the

 

          11        preliminary site development on it, and it will be

 

          12        one of the focal points of Riverside.

 

          13                  COMMISSIONER GANT:  Will you turn that

 

          14        just a little bit more this way?

 

          15                  MR. MILES:  Oh, I'm sorry.

 

          16                  COMMISSIONER HINRICHS:  Your audience is

 

          17        actually right here.

 

          18                  MR. MILES:  Okay.  Then as you walked into

 

          19        City Hall you saw a magnificent City Hall and then

 

          20        you also saw our expansion over here.  This is a new

 

          21        public safety facility which will house police and

 

          22        fire.  With our money coming in from Argosy, which

 

          23        we are really thankful for, we have purchased new

 

          24        fire apparatuses and it is funding this.

 

          25                  Then we have a development that is going

 

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           1        to be going on to the south of Highway 9 north of

 

           2        635, a new interchange off of -- on 635 will occur

 

           3        and a new road -- four-lane road will connect.  635

 

           4        to 9, I apologize, the rendering is in another

 

           5        meeting right now so.  And that would be a mixed use

 

           6        development, industrial/commercial/retail office.

 

           7        And we are using the funds to, like I said, fund the

 

           8        interchange and fund all the infrastructure for that

 

           9        project.

 

          10                  We have a trail system going on.  It has

 

          11        just been approved by our Board of Aldermen.  It

 

          12        would go on top of the levy system connected to EHM

 

          13        Park, which I don't know if any of you have been to

 

          14        EHM Park. It was funded with Argosy money, as well.

 

          15        It is probably the most underrated park in all of

 

          16        Kansas City in my opinion.  Before I came here I

 

          17        didn't know where it was.  And if you guys get a

 

          18        chance, it is something that you should really check

 

          19        out.  It is a riverfront park right next to Argosy

 

          20        Casino.  And the trail system will have a trail head

 

          21        in there and the trail system will be running into

 

          22        River Park and then eventually be running throughout

 

          23        the city.

 

          24                  Do you have any questions?  I would be

 

          25        happy to answer them.

 

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           1                  COMMISSIONER GANT:  What was your

 

           2        population ten years ago and what is it now?

 

           3                  MR. MILES:  Our population ten years ago

 

           4        was almost the same as it is today, which is a

 

           5        little over 3,000.  So population hasn't changed,

 

           6        but we have two housing developments that are

 

           7        occurring right now.  One is currently underway, the

 

           8        other one will be starting hopefully this week.  One

 

           9        is 14 houses which is a pretty small subdivision.

 

          10        And the other one is 56, which is a big number for a

 

          11        city this size, especially when you look at our

 

          12        owner/occupy rates.  We have a lot of renters in our

 

          13        city.  And what we are trying to do is to fuel

 

          14        single family development.

 

          15                  COMMISSIONER GANT:  And what is the area

 

          16        of the city?

 

          17                  MR. MILES:  It is 11 square miles, I

 

          18        believe.

 

          19                  MR. MULLALLY:  What are the housing

 

          20        prices?

 

          21                  MR. MILES:  The one with 14, two houses

 

          22        have sold, one was 260 and the other one was 320.

 

          23        Platte County, in a lot of people's opinion, lacks

 

          24        lower income housing, lower income meaning the 180s,

 

          25        which is hard for me to say.  But the subdivision

 

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           1        taking off the 56 will be from 180 to about 220,

 

           2        which the developer thinks is a really good niche

 

           3        for anyone wanting to live in Platte County.  And we

 

           4        just approved the plans last night and hopefully it

 

           5        is going to be taking off this week.

 

           6                  COMMISSIONER GANT:  Has your municipal

 

           7        court gotten busier as a result of this?

 

           8                  MR. MILES:  I couldn't fully answer that.

 

           9        I don't know what the -- what it was before, so I

 

          10        really couldn't put a number to that.  My city

 

          11        administrator could give you a better answer to

 

          12        that.

 

          13                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  In fact, my first exposure

 

          14        to Riverside was in 1968, the summer, when I first

 

          15        had reason to come over here.  I don't think

 

          16        population-wise it has probably changed all that

 

          17        much in all these years.

 

          18                  MR. MILES:  Uh-huh.

 

          19                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  But certainly it looks like

 

          20        a completely different place from back then and all

 

          21        those projects will actually put you on the map.

 

          22                  MR. MILES:  It will.  And I attribute a

 

          23        lot of that to, I think, in 1982 the city formed a

 

          24        committee called Pride and Progress Committee.  And

 

          25        what that committee did was try to limit the amount

 

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           1        of liquor licenses in Riverside and maybe some sort

 

           2        of stigma attached to its name, what people viewed

 

           3        Riverside as.  That has evolved in what you see

 

           4        today.

 

           5                  And I think within the next -- I think

 

           6        within the next six months, but I think definitely

 

           7        within the next five years, you will see this

 

           8        transformation.  And a lot of people ask me, you

 

           9        know, "do you really think it is going to look like

 

          10        that?"  And I say, "I sure hope not, I hope it looks

 

          11        a lot better."  So that is my answer.

 

          12                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  Well, you have went a long

 

          13        ways down the road, it used to be the reputation was

 

          14        a very rough place to come.

 

          15                  MR. MILES:  That's right.

 

          16                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  And I don't think that is

 

          17        the truth anymore.

 

          18                  MR. MILES:  I don't think so either.  And

 

          19        I attribute, again, to the Pride and Progress

 

          20        Committee.  We have a wonderful Public Safety

 

          21        Committee, which is our public safety force which is

 

          22        police and fire together.  The chief of police

 

          23        does -- he does a very good job.  I think that it

 

          24        even boils down to the point of code enforcement,

 

          25        community caring, community outreach, and the idea

 

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           1        of fixing broken windows and things like that can

 

           2        really transform a community.

 

           3                  And we are hoping that this

 

           4        redevelopment -- we have increased design standards,

 

           5        we have a grant and loan program that we do, if you

 

           6        come in we do matching funds, $5,000, that we will

 

           7        match it with $5,000 to do landscaping or facade to

 

           8        your building.  And we think that those will be the

 

           9        real catalyst and springboard to an entire

 

          10        redevelopment.

 

          11                  What we have here is two different types

 

          12        of development, which is odd to say. The more

 

          13        redevelopment that will occur in this downtown area,

 

          14        then basically have a greenfield development that

 

          15        will occur out in the bottoms area off 635.  The

 

          16        greenfield development is five minutes from

 

          17        downtown, five minutes from the downtown airport,

 

          18        ten minutes from KCI.

 

          19                  So it is -- when the levy project is

 

          20        complete, hopefully July, probably August, and the

 

          21        interchange comes in, this city will transform.

 

          22                  MR. CHAIRMAN:  Did anything get damaged by

 

          23        the tornado that came through this summer?

 

          24                  MR. MILES:  Yes, it did.  We had -- it

 

          25        came up Highway 9, took out roughly four or five

 

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           1        businesses, damaged some houses across there, then

 

           2        shot right north of City Hall here and took out

 

           3        houses up here to our north off High Drive, and then

 

           4        shot over on its way to Northmoor and took out a

 

           5        multifamily development.  About six of those

 

           6        fourplexes were heavily damaged, all of them had

 

           7        some sort of roof damage.

 

           8                  The insurance has been taken care of with

 

           9        that, we have a developer in here and the progress

 

          10        on that is unbelievable.  I mean, they are making it

 

          11        a lot better than it was before the tornado came,

 

          12        which was the hopes of everyone.

 

          13                  And that is sort of the motto we have

 

          14        in-house is that every day we just try to get better