The future of Sullivan County has suddenly come into sharp focus. We now know we won’t be fracked any time in the foreseeable future, and we’ll soon be getting a super-sized casino resort. For many of us these outcomes are dreams come true, but plenty of work lies ahead.

The truth is, Sullivan County never bought into fracking in a big way. At the height of the leasing boom in 2008, landowners were offered signing bonuses of $2,500 an acre and told they could receive royalty checks of $150,000 a month if they leased as little as 20 acres. Yet in the end, gas companies laid claim to just 1% of the county.

But even a small number of leases cast a very long shadow. The specter of chemical contamination and the industrialization of our rural landscape discouraged investment in agriculture and vacation homes, two of the most important sectors of our economy. Now that the threat of fracking has subsided, we can expect greater activity in these areas, but we can’t be complacent. Those of us who fought to keep fracking out of our backyards cannot continue to consume fossil fuels without regard to the devastating impact it’s having on both the climate and those communities where extraction takes place. We must recommit to building local, renewable energy systems that will meet our needs and also create good-paying jobs in the growing sustainable energy sector.

If the battle against fracking seemed to have gone on forever, what can be said about casinos? Many county residents have longed for a casino for decades and were ecstatic when the state gaming commission green-lighted Montreign, a casino that will be part of Adelaar, a 1,700-acre resort in the Town of Thompson. This is the most ambitious project approved by the state, and arguably the one with the best chance of success. In addition to more than 60 gaming tables and 2,000 slot machines, Adelaar will feature an 18-story hotel, an indoor water park, a golf course and an entertainment center. At a time when gaming is in decline all across the Northeast, these family-focused attractions may make the difference between success and failure.

I admit that I’m no fan of casinos, but I want Adelaar to succeed. I hope it can deliver the promised jobs and tax revenues—and that collateral damage can be minimized. New casinos typically draw 80% of their business from within a 60-mile radius, and research shows that somewhere between a third and a half of a casino’s revenue comes from problem gamblers. Taken together, these two facts make it clear that compulsive gambling could undermine the financial stability of a great many Sullivan County families. We need to address this problem head-on to avoid a sharp increase in bankruptcies, divorces, child neglect and property crimes. The project boosters who have worked long and hard to bring a casino to Sullivan County must now commit themselves to establishing a robust, fully funded program to treat gambling addiction and its attendant ills.

The 1,200 permanent jobs the project promises to deliver will be of real benefit to the county only if they pay a decent wage. Too many prosperous corporations scrimp on salaries, forcing employees to rely on charity and welfare to survive. Empire Resorts, the owner of Montreign, projects gaming revenues in excess of $300 million a year; it should be able to pay every one of its employees a living wage.

Finally, Adelaar, the largest construction project in Sullivan County in more than 50 years, will be built at a time when the world is already experiencing adverse effects from climate change. If it’s really going to usher in a brighter future, this mega-project must incorporate state-of-the art building design and energy technology that minimizes its carbon footprint and sets a high standard for future construction in the county.

[Bruce Ferguson is a resident of Callicoon Center, NY.]