La Center says ‘no’ to MOU

A tip of the CARS hat to those of you who attended last night’s La Center City Council meeting and who wrote in to express disapproval of the city negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Cowlitz Tribe.

After sitting through four hours of city staff presentations and citizen comment, three anti-casino members on the council beat back a carefully orchestrated effort by Mayor Jim Irish to get the city to begin working with the tribe on casino mitigation issues. Council members Bob Smith, Linda Tracy and Troy Van Dinter rejected two motions designed to get La Center formally involved in a sewage treatment program designed to serve a massive casino-resort at the 1-5/La Center junction. It was the fourth time the council has refused to negotiate with the tribe.

A contingent of La Center neighbors began the public testimony by extolling the virtues of negotiations with the tribe, but to no avail. Other Clark County citizens from both inside and outside the city then weighed in to oppose such negotiations before two separate measures were defeated 3-2.

The Cowlitz casino developers badly need an MOU to complete their application to the U.S. Department of the Interior for a casino and reservation in Clark County.

Read about it in The Columbian: La Center council again rejects casino talks

Time change for Wednesday meeting

Please note: The meeting in La Center will be at 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 10 (See previous post for details.)

If you cannot join us, please contact the La Center City Council members:

Mayor Jim Irish (jirish@ci.lacenter.wa.us)
Councilmember Bill Birdwell (bbirdwell@ci.lacenter.wa.us)
Councilmember Mike Nolan (mnolan@ci.lacenter.wa.us)Councilmember Bob Smith (bsmith@ci.lacenter.wa.us)
Councilmember Linda Tracy (ltracy@ci.lacenter.wa.us)
Councilmember Troy Van Dinter (tvandinter@ci.lacenter.wa.us)

Or call (360) 263-5123.

Directions to the La Center Community Center, 1000 E. 4th St.: From Interstate 5, take Exit 16. Turn east onto NW La Center Road and head into town. Turn right onto West 4th Street. The Community Center is located near the ball fields, downhill from the high school.

Your presence is urgently needed Wednesday in La Center!

The lull in the casino war is over!

With time running out on a proposal the Cowlitz Tribe made to the City of La Center nearly a year ago, Mayor Jim Irish has called yet another public meeting to try and keep the tribe's offer alive. Irish is apparently hoping that if he can get enough people out, he will convince the three council members who have consistently stood against the casino to change their votes.

Please help us support council members Bob Smith, Linda Tracy and Troy Van Dinter with your presence at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Center in La Center (1000 E. 4th St.).

Here are a couple of things to know:

Fact No. 1: Irish wants the city to negotiate an agreement with the tribe. The tribe currently has no agreement with any local government and badly needs one. (The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Clark County has been invalidated.)

The U.S. Department of the Interior wrote in a January 2008 memo that any tribal casino trust application should include copies of "intergovernmental agreements" and that "Failure to achieve such agreements should weigh heavily against the approval of the application."

An agreement with La Center would constitute such an intergovernmental agreement.

If you oppose a casino as we do, help us help the council to maintain its current stance against negotiating with the tribe.

Fact No. 2: The Cowlitz Tribe (read: the casino developers) would love to lure the City of La Center into a deal in which the tribe would help finance a sewage treatment facility. The city would own, operate and have liability for it, and the casino-resort complex would be its largest and most important customer. Sound like a recipe for a successful relationship? A different, healthier alternative -- a regional sewage treatment facility -- is already in the planning stages.

We will leave you with a persistent question to ponder: Why does Mayor Irish consistently say he opposes the casino while he just as consistently supports the Cowlitz casino developers' cause?

Please join other casino opponents Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the La Center Community Center, 1000 E. 4th St., La Center.

Tribe blasts La Center in DOI memo

The Cowlitz Tribe blasted La Center’s opposition to the tribe’s proposed mega-casino and resort in a July 20 memorandum to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The 19-page diatribe accuses La Center of maneuvering to preserve the city’s “private gaming monopoly” (four privately owned cardrooms) and keeping the tribe “from -- finally -- having a reservation of its own.” (It does not address the fact that very few Cowlitz Tribe members live in the area or that the Cowlitz Tribe’s aboriginal homeland is located to the north, along the Cowlitz River.)

The La Center city attorney sent a letter Aug. 23 to DOI stating the city’s strong disagreement “with the tribe’s characterization of the policy positions the City Council has taken” and its legal arguments.

“The City’s primary source of general tax revenue is the four non-tribal cardrooms that have operated for many years in La Center,” wrote City Attorney Daniel Kearns. “The City Council has made the policy choice to try to protect the non-tribal cardrooms within its boundaries, as the Council views that as the best way to protect that City revenue source.”

In May, the La Center City Council unanimously approved a resolution stating its strong opposition to the casino project, and in June, the city council voted 4-1 to turn down the tribe’s offer to extend the city’s sewer lines west to the site of the proposed casino and to pay half the cost of upgrading the city’s sewage treatment plant.

Also included in the tribe’s memorandum is a section describing its “local outreach” efforts, listing local leaders with whom it has met. The text and 41 names are juxtaposed in such a way as to make it appear that all in the list support or do not oppose the proposed casino, although some are casino opponents.

>>Read the tribe’s memo.
>>Read the list of local leaders.
>>Read La Center’s letter.

Tribe complains about La Center to DOI

In a July 20 memorandum to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the Cowlitz Tribe blasts La Center’s opposition to the tribe’s proposed mega-casino and resort. The 19-page diatribe accuses La Center of maneuvering to preserve the city’s “private gaming monopoly” (four privately owned cardrooms) and keeping the tribe “from—finally—having a reservation of its own.” (It does not address the fact that very few Cowlitz Tribe members live in the area or that the Cowlitz Tribe’s aboriginal homeland is located to the north, along the Cowlitz River.)

According to a July 27 article in The Columbian,

City Councilman Troy Van Dinter disputed (Cowlitz Tribe attorney Heather) Sibbison’s depiction of a city council in cahoots with the four nontribal cardrooms.

“That’s just completely wrong,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep the city intact and protect the citizens we have, as well as the tax base we have.”

The article includes a reaction from La Center city attorney Dan Kearns: “This is the definitive slamming of the door, on negotiations for mitigation and negotiations for sewer service.”

The memorandum includes a section describing the tribe’s “local outreach” efforts and lists local leaders with whom it has met. The text and 41 names are juxtaposed in such a way as to make it appear that all in the list support or do not oppose the proposed casino, although some are casino opponents.

>>Read the memo.

HURRAY FOR LA CENTER!

La Center's City Council sent a strong message May 23 when it unanimously passed a resolution stating the city's opposition to the proposed Cowlitz casino.

This is an extremely important development because federal decision-makers are watching for input from elected officials and La Center is the city closest to the proposed development.

Like the resolution passed by the Vancouver City Council earlier this month, La Center's voices frustration at having its concerns ignored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and threatens legal action if its concerns are not addressed.

The La Center resolution mentions, among other issues, that the draft Final Environmental Impact Statement fails to adequately address the proposed casino's impacts on the city's socioeconomic situation, traffic, schools and law enforcement. It also expresses the city's concern regarding the possibility that the tribe would expand the casino and its land holdings in the future.

The City Council also voted to set aside money to send members Bob Smith and Dale Smith to Washington, D.C., to personally deliver the resolution to the Department of the Interior.


>>Read about the decision.

>>Read the resolution.

For more stories and information, see our Web site.

LA CENTER TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION AGAINST COWLITZ CASINO

La Center might follow Vancouver's lead by adopting its own resolution opposing the proposed Cowlitz casino.

The City Council discussed the possibility at its Wednesday meeting and plans to consider a resolution May 23.

This resolution would be particularly important, because La Center is the city closest to the site of the proposed casino-resort, which would be the largest on the West Coast.

>>Read the story in The Columbian.

For more stories and information, see our Web site: http://www.NotHerePlease.org/.