The push to build a casino in Estevan has stalled before it ever got started.
Voters in last Wednesday's byelection were overwhelmingly against the development of a casino in the Energy City with 70 per cent of those casting ballots voting no. The decision to keep fluoride in the local drinking water was also an emphatic one as 60 per cent opted to continue fluoridation.
In an interview shortly after the results of the non-binding questions were announced, Mayor Roy Ludwig admitted that he was not surprised by either decision.
"From the feedback that I got, most of the people I talked to did not want the casino and although most of the people were ambivalent about the fluoride question, most that had an opinion felt that we should keep it," Ludwig said.
The question of whether or not to move forward with casino development became an issue in March when the City announced that the Little Pine First Nation had approached them.
Little Pine, located near North Battleford, proposed the construction of a casino and hotel complex that could also include a convention centre. If the project was fully realized with the convention centre it would have cost in the $70 million range.
At a meeting in March Ludwig made a motion to include casino development on the ballot and since then the topic has sparked an intense debate in the community.
Ludwig said residents cited concerns about addiction, an increase in crime and various other social ills that could follow the opening of a casino. "Whether or not that's reality, that is some of the concern I was hearing."
Little Pine Chief Wayne Semaganis said he was disappointed, but not surprised by the decision of voters last week. Semaganis felt with the proposal being so new to the community, it was not something that would be accepted overnight.
"There are a lot of issues that come with gaming and we all acknowledge that but we certainly respect where the community wants to take things," he said. "We are not going to force anything on anybody, we have to accept their decision."
Semaganis said he would eventually like another opportunity to present the casino proposal to the citizens of Estevan and is hopeful that if their facility in Lloydminster becomes a success, they will see how it might benefit the city.
"It's a learning process for them and I am comfortable with that. I am certain if we had done more presentations and more advertising, we would have had a better result but to say that we would win them over, I can't say that.
"When the people in Estevan see how it is going to benefit Lloydminster, maybe the community would like to be a part of it. I am pretty sure the Chamber of Commerce and the business community sees more of a benefit than the average person does because it is an added attraction to the city but it takes the whole community to make something work and the majority of the community has to be satisfied and comfortable with it before we bring it there."
Councilors Kevin Smith and Greg Hoffort, who were both on hand in council chambers to hear the results, said they too were not surprised with the results.
"I felt the casino was something that would not be so easily accepted in the community and who knows where it goes," Smith said.
"It was quite a substantial margin," Hoffort said of the casino vote. "There was some discussion among us that it might have been premature to have on the ballot given the lack of information we had, but nonetheless it was on the ballot and it was something to be considered."
Of the 1,827 people to cast a vote last week, 1,297 voted no to casino development while just 524 voted yes. On the fluoride question, 1,147 voted yes while 655 voted no.
Newly elected councillor Trevor Knibbs said he didn't have a strong opinion on the fluoride matter but was not surprised that voters opted to maintain the status quo.
"If it helps one person why wouldn't you continue doing it," Knibbs said.
