Pottsville Advances Ordinance Strictly Limiting New Skill Games Machines in City

Pottsville officials are moving forward with legislation that would strictly limit where new Pennsylvania Skill games machines could be located in the city. But one councilman says the measure goes too far.

At last week’s meeting of City Council, a first reading of an ordinance to do that occurred. Under the ordinance, any new Skill games machines would only be allowed in the M-2 zoned area of the city. That is essentially limiting them to Peacock and Railroad streets in Pottsville. On Peacock, they’d be confined to an area between Heffner and Skidmore streets. On Railroad, the zone extends to the Norwegian Township line.

Any new Skill games machines outside the M-2 zone would require a variance granted by the City’s Zoning Hearing Board. All existing Skill games machines outside the M-2 zone prior to the potential adoption of the ordinance would be grandfathered.

This ordinance is the second leg of an initiative to limit new Skill games machines in the city and keep them confined to specific areas. In January, City Council approved a measure that increased the license fee charged on each machine from $150 to $1,000.

A potential adoption of this ordinance could happen as early as City Council’s June meeting. But one councilman says the legislation goes too far.

Scott Price says he’s spoken to business owners and officials at non-profit organizations that say they rely on the revenue generated by Skill games machines and that enforcement of alleged problem areas should be addressed individually.

“There’s a lot of good businesses that need these. Having to put them through hoops to get variances, I think that’s a lot on those businesses,” he says.

Specifically, he pointed to revenue figures provided to him by the AMVETS organization and Pottsville Fire Co. No. 1 (formerly Humane Fire Co.). The AMVETS, he says, has four machines operating at their home on Seneca St. and they generate $38,000 in revenue for the organization annually, its second-largest money maker.

At the hosey, he says the three machines there bring in $20,000 in needed funds.

Further, he says business owners that he’s spoken to have not expressed any concerns about the Skill games machines at their locations and worries about making them jump through the “hoops” of getting a variance if they or other businesses wanted to add another machine or two. Price says if there are problem sites around Pottsville, they should be addressed on a singular basis, not by a blanket ordinance.

“I don’t believe in overreaching government like that,” he says.

Pottsville’s interim Solicitor Gretchen Sterns, who authored the ordinance at the request of council earlier this year, says the new legislation addresses missing areas of existing code, specifically on where Skill games machines can be located and even defining what they are.

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