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It may no longer be a sure bet that planned development near an ancient, Indian burial ground in Fort Payne will include construction of a casino.
It appears it could now be as late as 2008 before any development begins at the site, owned by Ider businessman David Hammonds. He said Thursday he still plans to transfer the property to the United Band of Keetoowah Indians, but said that won’t happen until site development is actually under way.
The possibility of transfer was complicated last year when former Fort Payne attorney Charles McGee filed a deed with the DeKalb County Probate Judge’s Office claiming half ownership of the land.
Hammonds claims he owns the land, 69 acres off U.S. 11, near Fort Payne’s north I-59 interchange. However, he says the Keetoowah are the rightful heirs, as the burial ground on the land is specific to the tribe. He has repeatedly said he plans to transfer the land to the tribe at some point, a move that could open the door for legalized casino gaming in Fort Payne.
Hammonds, once a strong advocate for including legalized Indian gaming as a component of site development, said Thursday he has “backed off” from doing so, “for a number of reasons.”
Hammonds said he doesn’t want to bring any type of gaming into the area unless he’s sure it will be taxable.
“I’m not going to try to put anything in Fort Payne that won’t benefit people, and I’m not going to pursue the gaming aspect until I’m satisfied as far as taxation goes. Right now, we’ve got dog tracks in Montgomery, Indian gaming in Wetumpka, and about seven gaming locations throughout the state not paying a dime in taxes to anybody. I feel like out politicians are letting us down by not pursing taxing this,” Hammonds said.
The Keetoowah already operate a Class II bingo casino in Oklahoma. However, tribal leaders – who have visited the Fort Payne site – have said they aren’t interested in brining a casino to the area. Instead, they want to concentrate on preserving the burial site and building a cultural center adjacent to the area.
Hammonds said Thursday that development of the cultural center – at one time scheduled to begin in March of 2006 – would now be delayed until after completion of the ongoing U.S. 11 expansion project. He said construction on the highway, which runs adjacent to the site, would restrict front access until work is completed. Alabama Department of Transportation officials currently estimate the completion date to be sometime in 2008.
‘We’re delaying any land transfer or construction of a cultural center until that time. We’re still planning to build it as soon as it’s feasible to do so,” Hammonds said.
He said pursuit of the purchase of additional, adjacent land has also been a factor in delaying site development. Hammonds said he and Rainsville businessman Lotha Kilgore, closed last week on 45 additional, adjacent acres. He said there are no plans to transfer any of the additional land to the Keetoowah.
“That [additional] land is a private investment and will eventually be developed independently,” |
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