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Airport Inclusion in Casino and Tourism Bill Sparks Speculations

Posted on November 27th, 2010

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Spectators surmise that the recent bill that aims to make drastic changes aimed to improve the tourism industry in Atlantic City is packed with so many proposals that go against the current procedures and operations of the city. However, there is a particular subject in this bill, authored by the majority Democratic Senate, that has everyone speculating, should the bill be implemented. The bill calls for the proceeds of any sale of the Atlantic City International Airport or other assets currently being owned or operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority to be received by the CRDA or the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Various officials have expressed concerns as to why this stipulation is in the bill when there are no plans at all to sell the airport in the first place.

If the Democrat authors of the bill were to be asked, they simply say that the inclusion is a piece of proof to what they say is their foresight to ensure that if indeed, the airport may be sold in the future, that southern New Jersey would benefit from it. The side of the Republicans are quick to point out that there may be something sinister in these efforts, and that this is definitely an assurance by Democrat Senators to the SJTA that they will never have their autonomy taken off, at least if they can help it. Officials of the SJTA cannot comment because they have not really been informed of anything about it. The communications and marketing director for the SJTA, Sharon Gordon, claimed that lawmakers, either Democratic or Republican, have not given them advice as to why there is such a clause in the casino legislation. She also denies any information of discussions or negotiations to sell the airport. She said, “We read it in the paper. It was news to us.”

Assemblyman Vince Polistina, (R-Atlantic), thinks that the inclusion of making the CRDA the sole recipient of any income from an airport sale is the attempt of the Democrats attempt to get support from lawmakers hailing from northern New Jersey a plan they are hatching to merge another transportation authority with the SJTA. The assemblyman reminded the attempt made at the start of the year to consolidate the SJTA (as the overseer of the Atlantic City Expressway to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (the overseer of the turnpike and the Garden State Parkway). The transition team of the governor is said to have spearhead the effort.

The transition team, in a report they submitted to Governor Chris Christie, mentioned, “Merging the toll roads can achieve efficiencies in management and operations, promote common, best practices, standards and contracting methods, as well as make traversing of the roadways seamless to motorists.” Polistina had this to comment, “The turnpike is a transportation agency, and the airport is a completely separate entity. It was decided early on that the plan wouldn’t work if the airport was attached to SJTA because it brings a whole other set of considerations.” The author of the bill, former Atlantic City Mayor and current Senator James Whelan, said the inclusion of the airport language is to just make sure that Atlantic City and the area will be the main beneficiary of the sale of what, after all, is its property. State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) asked what the relevance of the airport-sale issue is to the entire casino and tourism district scenario. Wheler explained, “I guess if there’s some windfall out there, it would go to CRDA and they would use it for the purposes that are articulated here. SJTA, to my knowledge, has no plans to sell it, nor are there any people knocking on the door to buy it. As a general rule, airports — you’re lucky if you break even.”

It comes out that the main point of such stipulation is to make sure that all income that may be acquired from any transaction or sale of the airport will be used for the programs of the casino authority. With the new bill set to put more responsibility on the CRDA in implementing casino polices and regulations, it may need all the funding it could get. Thus, the bill’s authors are trying to secure all the options for money sources.