Mahoning Township officials may seek lobbyist

By Mary Grzebieniak

news@vindy.com

HILLSVILLE, Pa.

Mahoning Township supervisors want to hire a lobbyist to try to make sure the Valley View Downs “racino” is built in Mahoning Township — not somewhere else in Pennsylvania.

They agreed at their meeting Tuesday to solicit bids from lobbyists to see what it would cost to hire someone to “lobby everybody from the governor down” according to Supervisor Gary Pezzuolo. He commented that the township has invested “a lot of money” into expansion of sanitary sewers to accommodate the track.

Pezzuolo said after the meeting that the township will be contacting other officials in Lawrence County as well as those in Mercer and Beaver counties to see if they are willing to help pay the cost of lobbying. “We can’t do it alone,” he said.

The proposed Valley View Downs harness-racing and casino complex and its parent company, Centaur LLC, are in bankruptcy re- organization, and Valley View Downs recently was put up for sale. A Pittsburgh firm, American Harness Track LLC, was the apparent successful bidder but is waiting for final approval of the bid by the bankruptcy court. However, Pezzuolo said he is concerned because a Pennsylvania legislator has introduced a measure to get Valley View Downs’ harness-racing license, the last available in Pennsylvania, moved to the Johnstown area. Local officials have expressed concern that the bidder, if successful, may try to move the license even though the license is supposed to be site-specific.

Township Solicitor Lou Perrotta, who went to Harrisburg with Lawrence County Commissioners late last month where the group was introduced to a representative of American Harness Track, said “We’re just being proactive.” He said no one has stated the license will be moved but said the local site must be kept viable.

“We still have the ball and we’re driving down the field,” Perrotta said. “It’s just a matter of whether we fumble or throw an interception.”