Casino news source: Beloit Daily News - http://www.beloitdailynews.com/
Casino team makes another D.C. pitch
Posted: Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007 - 02:26:38 pm CST
By Julie Becker
Daily News staff writer
Meanwhile, Ho-Chunk Nation steps up effort to scuttle Beloit casino project
St. Croix and Bad River tribal representatives, Beloit officials and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin's chief of staff trekked Thursday to the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C., to once again affirm support for the Beloit Casino Complex.
“We just wanted to be there again to stress the importance of the application, and show them we're still on this and we still care about it,” Bad River Tribal Operations Manager Ray DePerry said.
Despite adamant protests from the Ho-Chunk Nation, officials said the review of the project remains on schedule.
The group met with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Michael Olsen, who will be part of the review process upon completion of the staff review by the office of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director of Indian Gaming George Skibine. The Beloit Casino application remains under review in Skibine's office, and is expected to be passed on to the next level by mid-March.
That may just be the beginning of its challenges at the federal level, though.
Although Olsen did not know how long Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne's review might take or what the likelihood of approval might be, the trend indicates the success rate for off-reservation casino proposals has been low.
“Mr. Olsen was very honest with us. He said that none of the applications (for off-reservation casinos) have been approved since the Bush administration took office six years ago,” Beloit City Council President Marty Densch said of the meeting.
“The sentiment in the Department of Interior is that these applications will be scrutinized extremely carefully, at the very least. My sense is they don't want to approve one that could open the flood gates. They're still judging these according to very strict criteria.”
Despite potential hurdles that lie ahead, Densch and others who attended the meeting are confident they've taken all the right steps, and that the Beloit Casino has all the right ingredients.
“In general terms, it was the opinion of all who presented that the Beloit application is unique - because it's non-controversial in the community, because we were invited, because there's no management company involved, because every letter of the law has been adhered to and we remain unified in following the rules to get things done,” Beloit Casino spokesman Joe Hunt said.
“The folks down here are jumping through hoops to follow this process. Our trip (to Washington) was to make sure they understand we've waited our turn, we've been patient - now what can we do to help make this happen?” he added.
City Manager Larry Arft agreed city and tribal officials have done what they can to show the BIA what sets the Beloit application apart from others.
“The quality of the project, the quality of the application, the economic need of the area and the strong level of community support - those are just some of the things that differentiate this application from others. We want to make sure everyone in the agency understands that,” Arft said. “We have no idea in the future how many more (off-reservation casinos) will be approved. Probably not a lot, but there will be some. As we've always said, we're cautiously optimistic.”
Although no additional meetings are scheduled at this time, Arft said city and tribal officials will continue to meet with those reviewing the proposal.
“We anticipate we'll be returning as the application moves through Skibine's office up to the next level,” Hunt added.
In the meantime, the Ho-Chunk are stepping up their opposition to the Beloit plan. Today the tribe launched a television campaign touting the theme “There's something wrong here,” along with a Web site, www.wrongforbeloit.com.
The Web site states that the Bad River and St. Croix bands of the Chippewa Tribe have no aboriginal ties to the proposed casino site, have violated the rights of the “local native people” (the Ho-Chunk) and have based their proposal on misinformation and improper government review.
Each section ends with the statement, “That's wrong.” A “Take Action Now” section urges Beloit citizens to contact Congresswoman Baldwin or Kempthorne directly to protest the proposal. The Ho-Chunk Nation could not immediately be reached for comment regarding the campaign.
The Ho-Chunk's objections aren't viewed as a major threat by Beloit Casino supporters, though.
“We know what that's all about. The comments the Ho-Chunk are making and the efforts they're making are very clearly motivated by self-economic interests, and I think everybody understands that,” Arft said. |
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