The MOU was invalidated in 2007, but the county had appealed that ruling. On Wednesday the board voted unanimously to drop its appeal, which commissioners said they had pursued because they disagreed with the state’s involvement in the matter.
The county-tribe MOU was an abysmal document developed before the tribe’s developers had defined the nature of their project. The county was spooked into signing it prematurely, and the result is a document that would never come close to mitigating the problems a mega-casino would bring to Southwest Washington.
The good news is this: A high-level federal decision-maker told CARS that the absence of an MOU could be a deal breaker for the Cowlitz project, and the Department of the Interior has affirmed in a guidance memorandum that it looks for valid intergovernmental agreements in casino applications. (Dropping the appeal also frees the county to apply for low-interest state loans for public works, but that’s another story.)
The bad news is this: For many months the county has been in quiet negotiations with the tribe for a new MOU.
CARS is very concerned that a new MOU could send the message that public support for the proposed casino is growing. We discourage the county from further negotiations.
However, if the county, which passed a resolution against the casino in 2008, insists on pursuing a new MOU, CARS has a few stipulations to suggest:
- Any adjoining land the tribe or casino developers might purchase in addition to the 152 acres they currently seek for reservation and casino development must be subject to the terms of the new MOU.
- The tribe should guarantee that any payments it promises in lieu of property taxes (because if taken into trust, the land would be removed from the tax rolls) would be in lieu of taxes on the developed land.
- The tribe’s contribution to problem gambling assistance should be increased significantly from the $50,000 (enough maybe to fund one extra counselor) it offered in the 2004 MOU.
While we’re on the topic of problem gambling, here are a few additional terms (with thanks to the Muskogee Phoenix) for the commissioners to consider:
- The casino should be required to post the odds of winning on each machine.
- A notice should flash on the screen of the machines periodically telling players how long they have been playing and how much money they have lost.
- The casino should not be allowed to have an ATM machine or to cash checks.
- The casino should be required to send monthly statements detailing wins and losses to its players.
Make no mistake. This MOU is essential to the casino proposal, and the Cowlitz casino developers are the ones who need it the most.
Contact your commissioners. Congratulate them for killing the MOU—and encourage them to keep it dead.
Clark County Board of Commissioners: (360) 397-2232
Marc.Boldt@clark.wa.gov
Tom.Mielke@clark.wa.gov
Steve.Stuart@clark.wa.gov
boardcom@clark.wa.gov
Read today's Columbian story, "County drops defense of 2004 casino deal."
