Plan on attending the upcoming Fishtown Action meeting? Make sure to bring some fresh ideas for making the neighborhood a better place.

On the agenda for the Sept. 14 meeting is a discussion about how the neighborhood might best use funds promised by the incoming SugarHouse casino.

The discussion will center on the Penn Treaty Special Services District and funds the casino's owners, HSP Gaming, have agreed to distribute as part of a Community Benefits Agreement.

The services district covers all of Fishtown and Northern Liberties, as well as the area served by the Olde Richmond Civic Association and parts of Kensington. In coming years, the casino is expected to distribute about $1 million annually to the Penn Treaty district.

"We're going to discuss what people think we should use that money on," said Maggie O'Brien, president of FACT.

In an agreement ratified earlier this year, HSP Gaming pledged to donate funds to the district once the construction project officially begins.

The money would be delivered in varying amounts, depending on the stage of casino construction.

An the early phases of construction, the SSD will see just a fraction of promised funds, which have been capped at $1.2 million to adjust for inflation over the next 15 years.

As outlined in the agreement, the neighborhood might not see that full amount of funding for quite some time after the casino is in operation.

The funds will be dedicated to projects that the SSD board - staffed by seven residents of the district - determined will improve the quality of life within the district.

However, the full $1 million will not materialize until after phase one of the casino is complete.

Phase one is perhaps the most expansive period of construction for the casino.

If all goes as planned and SugarHouse begins construction of its interim phase - a $310 million, 1,700-slot structure - the SSD will receive a contribution of $500,000 after the casino opens.

Only when the casino is expanded into a 3,000-slot parlor development with a $73 million parking structure added to the 22-acre site along Delaware Avenue, will the SSD receive the full amount of funding.

But, those milestones might not happen anytime soon.

Construction of the interim facility isn't expected to be complete until late summer 2010; phase one is set to begin about four to nine months after the interim casino opens and will take another 14 months to complete.

However, even before the casino is up and running, some funding should find its way to the district.

According to the terms of the benefits agreement, a $175,000 preopening contribution would be made to the SSD before the other post-operating funds materialize.