3.21.07 BIA puts Bay Mills property into trust
Kalvin Perron
Staff Reporter
BRIMLEY - "This is something that doesn't happen very often," said an ecstatic Bay Mills Indian Community Tribal Chairman Jeffrey Parker after learning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had agreed to put 110-plus acres of tribally-owned property into trust. The site, located at M-28 and I-75, will be used for the construction of the Great Lakes Composites Institute. "Based on the circumstances, this is a very significant event," said Parker.
One of the circumstances Parker was referring to in that statement was how rare it is for the BIA to actually approve a tribe's land-into-trust application, even if they plan on using the land for non-gaming purposes. In addition to how rare they are granted, Parker said there are currently no timelines imposed on the BIA, which basically means they can take as long as they want to complete the application process. Applications can and do pile up on shelves collecting dust without so much as being glanced at and some tribes have even waited over a decade before ever receiving an answer, he added. What makes the event even more significant is the fact that non-gaming applications take the back burner to applications for gaming acquisitions, which the BIA currently has given a higher priority to.
Not wanting Bay Mills' land-into-trust application to suffer the same fate as some of the less fortunate tribes who were stuck waiting for a response from the BIA, Parker said he journeyed to the BIA's central office in Washington D.C. last fall to meet with the Associate Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior James E. Cason. At the meeting, Parker not only presented Cason with product samples from the Great Lakes Composites line, but he carefully laid out the business plan for the institute and explained how the tribe's current land base couldn't sustain an economic development of that magnitude.
At that meeting with Cason, Parker said as the BIA meticulously looked over the tribe's business plan and future plans for the 110-acre parcel of land, and were impressed with the fact that the tribe's proposed development wasn't focused on gaming. According to Parker, the tribe's sophisticated economic development plans, in a sector other than gaming, is ultimately what swayed the BIA to put the land into trust. He added that the overwhelming support Bay Mills received from the local community, most notably a resolution of support from the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners, was also a major factor in their decision.
"Other entities, outside of our own tribe, are looking at what we're doing and are impressed with the initiative we took and want to get involved," Parker said. "The bottom line is - the land went into trust because people believed in our project."
With Bay Mills already having received notification that they had received a $906,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration of the United States Department of Commerce for the construction of the Great Lakes Composites Institute, Parker said getting the land put into trust was the last major hurdle the tribe had to overcome to begin the project. With both out of the way, Parker said the groundbreaking for the 25,000 square-foot building would begin in the spring. If all goes according to plans, Parker said the structure should be completed by December.
NOTE: It was previously reported that Detroit-based casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr. owned 49% of the Bay Mills' plastics enterprises.
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