I think that the proposed Poker Room at the Orange Park Kennel Club would greatly benefit the citizens of Clay County.

I have lived in Clay County for the past five years while pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of North Florida. In that time, I have seen a multitude of businesses open or expand. The more visible of these have been so –called “big box” retailers and “chain” restaurants. Employees of these businesses typically, with the exception of upper level management, make little more than minimum wage. Taking into consideration what current employees of the The Poker Room at St. John’s Greyhound Park earn, new employees of the proposed Poker Room at the Orange Park Kennel Club are projected to earn in excess of $50,000 annually. The per capita income for residents of Clay County, according to the last census, is $20,868. It is projected that over 130 of these professional positions will be created with the opening of the Poker Room at the Orange Park Kennel Club. The above average salaries will not just benefit the over 130 new employees of the Poker Room, but the entire county as well. Every dollar paid to these new employees will cycle through the economy five times creating even more jobs in the county and generating additional income for existing businesses.

According to a University of North Florida study, Jacksonville Greyhound Racing pumps $55.4 million dollars into the local economies every year. The Poker Room at the Orange Park Kennel Club would increase this huge contribution. Besides its economic contributions to Clay County, the Orange Park Kennel Club has a long history of supporting the citizens of Clay County as well. Over the past decade, the Orange Park Kennel Club has contributed well over $1,000,000 to local civic, religious, educational and youth organizations such as the Clay Family YMCA, The Children’s Haven of Clay County, Clay County Council on Aging, and twenty of the public schools in Clay County.

I hope the Clay County Commissioners do the right thing for the citizens and existing businesses of Clay County and vote to approve a Poker Room at the Orange Park Kennel Club.