City Council will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 1, in a business session at 7 p.m., followed by a work session. Both sessions will be held in the Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building, which is located at 427 Patton St.
The meeting is open to the public, but attendees may have their temperature screened and must maintain social distancing due to ongoing public health concerns related to the COVID-19 virus.
Also, visitors will be asked to wear a mask while in the building unless they have a medical condition that exempts them from the mask requirement.
Access to the Municipal Building is limited to the second-floor entrance on Court Street.
River City TV, the city’s government access channel, will air the business session. Watch it live on cable (Comcast channel 10 and Gamewood channel 122) or streaming on the River City TV Facebook page.
City Council is scheduled to vote on a casino resort development agreement. The development agreement is a legally binding document that outlines what Caesars Virginia is promising to deliver to the City of Danville should the casino gaming referendum pass on Nov. 3.
The highlights of this development agreement include promises to do the following:
- Construct a Caesars-branded resort casino with a minimum of $400 million in capital investment, to include multiple restaurants and bars, a hotel with 300 four-star guest rooms, a 35,000square-foot conference center, a 2,500-seat live-entertainment venue, a pool, and a spa. The resort is expected to be open in 2023.
- Employ 1,300 full-time equivalent employees, earning an hourly wage of at least $15 per hour.
- Generate 900 construction jobs during the construction period.
- Within 30 days of the referendum, pay $15 million to the City.
- Guarantee a minimum of $5 million in gaming tax revenue each year for every full year Caesars is in operation.
- Provide an annual supplemental payment directly to the City based on a percentage of net gaming revenue.
Based on estimates provided by Caesars and reviewed by Convergence Strategy Group, Larking said it is expected that, by year three of operation, this project will produce $22 million in state-collected gaming tax revenue remitted to the City of Danville, $12 million in supplemental payments to the City of Danville, and $4.2 million in meals, sales, hotel/motel, and property taxes.
The resort is to be located at the former Dan River Mills industrial complex in Schoolfield.
Several other matters are on the agenda for the business session:
- A City Code amendment to permit a local legends banner display program on approved streetlight poles at approved locations. The intent of the program is to provide an opportunity for businesses, individuals, organizations, community groups, churches, or other interested parties to recognize and honor Danville natives who deserve recognition because of their national or international, positive and notable achievements by sponsoring a permanently mounted banner on designated streetlight poles in designated medians.
- A resolution supporting a grant application to assist a private developer in the redevelopment of an unannounced project in the River District. This project would be redeveloped as a mixed-use facility with a $3.76 million capital investment, creating a hospitality component with a minimum of 10 full-time and 13 part-time jobs, some commercial and retail space, and four market-rate apartments.
- A resolution supporting a potential grant to prepare a 50-acre, shovel-ready pad on a lot at the Southern Virginia Multimodal Park. The City of Danville is a member of the Staunton Ricer Regional Industrial Facility Authority, which is in advanced stages of discussions with several prospects interested in the potential future site.
The full agenda for the business and work sessions are available online.
Citizens who do not wish to attend the meeting due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus may submit before the meeting a comment for the public hearing by using an online form available on this website: http://danvilleva.gov/council. The form also may be used for public comment on other topics.
Under the City Council’s rules of procedure, comments are limited to 750 words, which is the equivalent of five minutes speaking, for communications from visitors, and 400 words, which is the equivalent of three minutes speaking, for public hearings.
Citizens also may submit comments before the meeting by calling a public line set up for the meeting. The phone number for the line is (434) 857-3348.