Country Crossing wants its money back from Houston Co.

Country Crossing wants its money back from Houston Co.

All was calm in Dothan when Country Crossing developers paid the Houston County Commission nearly $1.7 million in stamp fees for the slot machines they call electronic bingo.

But fearing a raid by Gov. Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling, developers have kept the doors of the entire entertainment center shut since late January.

Making matters worse for the gambling facility owners, a federal judge recently denied their request for a temporary restraining order to stop the task force’s law enforcement efforts against their “illegal gambling machines.” Now they want $1.5 million of the stamp fees refunded, but commission Chairman Mark Culver said he doesn’t believe the county has the obligation or authority to give the money back.

“What they are asking for is a prorated amount of unused bingo stamp revenue,” Culver said. “This is a fee that’s paid for each machine that they operated. The stamp cost $1,000 for a year. … The county’s position is that we have already used some of those funds. Secondly it’s our position that we don’t know or think we have the authority or right to give that money back. We have … asked the court to determine … if we should or could give it back. … We’ve got to be sure that everything we do is legal.”

He said commissioners still support Country Crossing in its efforts to reopen.

“We assured them, as did the attorney general (Troy King) and the sheriff, that what they were doing was legal, and we still take that position,” Culver noted, referring to two opinions written by King and “public comments that he (King) made.” (TAB)