Plan commission denies video gambling parlor request
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QUINCY — Noah Cunningham, 11, who will be in the sixth grade this fall, was in attendance at Tuesday’s Quincy Plan Commission meeting to urge members to deny a special use request for a video gaming parlor at 1905 Jefferson.
“You can’t disrupt the peace and harmony that is in our neighborhood,” Cunningham said. “If I could say truthfully that people were going to drink responsibly and not cause havoc, I would let this happen but do we know that for a fact?”
The commission concurred with Cunningham and about a dozen other residents speaking in opposition of the proposal and denied the request.
The permit was requested by Tanner Freiburg of Maxamillions, Inc. The proposed location for the gaming parlor is part of a commercial complex that includes a tax preparation business, a beauty salon, a financial services business and a chiropractic office.
But to the immediate north, west and south of the property, there is almost exclusively single-family residential properties.
Terry Traeger, the landlord of the property, said his only financial interest is the rent he would be receiving from the sight nor does he have interest in destroying the neighborhood.
“(Maxamillions) is a good, quiet, clean operation,” Traeger said. “There’s not a lot of crazy stuff going on, not a lot of lights flashing (and) I don’t think you’d even know the thing was there unless you wanted to just go look.”
In talking to Freiburg, Traeger added that the Maxamillions locations serve four to five beers a day and the liquor license request as part of the petition is required under state law.
Area residents voiced their opposition based on a number of factors, including the loss of parking lot spaces for adjacent businesses, the loss of property value to nearby homes, and potential traffic and safety issues that could arise.
Quincy resident Ruth Felker said after checking online, she discovered 63 gaming locations with Quincy address and at least six of them are within a few blocks of 19th and Jefferson.
“Quincy touts our quality of life to encourage new industry and population to our city,” Felker said. “If that’s true, then it should be a priority to protect and preserve the integrity of safe, affordable, residential neighborhoods like ours.”
Although the plan commission denied the petition, the request still will be referred to the Quincy City Council for final approval.
