Group May Face Loss of Bingo Revenue
The Kingsmen drum and bugle corps may not survive if the city does not allow it to continue fund-raising bingo games three times a week, the organization’s executive director said.
The City Council last July extended a temporary ordinance allowing bingo games three times a week, to give the 35-year-old organization time to develop a youth program. The ordinance expires Dec. 31, after which bingo operations would be limited to once a week.
Mayor Brian Donahue criticized the group this week for not starting the youth program, despite earning gross revenues of $871,435 this year through October. The group’s last public performance was in December 1996.
The organization is obliged “to provide the kids or residents of Stanton with some sort of benefit from you playing bingo,” Donahue told Kingsmen Executive Director Richard Oliverio.
The director said uncertainty over a lease renewal stalled plans. He said the organization now has a two-year lease.
The City Council took no action, but is expected to revisit the issue before the ordinance expires.
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