Sunday, February 10, 2008

Little River Band talking off-reservation casino in Muskegon, MI

2.07.08

Muskegon officials to hear another casino pitch

Posted by Robert C. Burns The Muskegon Chronicle

Just a little over a month after Muskegon officials heard a casino proposal from an Upper Peninsula Indian tribe, they'll be listening to another on Monday -- this one from closer to home.

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, which runs the Little River Casino just outside Manistee, have asked to give a presentation at the city commission's monthly work session, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the commission chambers at city hall.

Little is known about the proposal at this point, and casino officials aren't saying anything in advance. Mayor Steve Warmington, a casino supporter who has been in occasional contact with Little River officials, said Thursday that he did not know what they have in mind.

"I don't have any idea," he said. "All I know is they're planning to make a Powerpoint presentation to the commission on Monday."

In a similar setting on Jan. 7, the commission heard a proposal from the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewas. In a nutshell, the proposal involved a $10 milllion conversion of the former SPX headquarters building into a casino on the downtown shoreline of Muskegon Lake.

At the time, Larry Romanelli, ogema or leader of the Little River Band, told The Chronicle his tribe was willing to consider a partnership with the Lac Vieux Desert Band in developing a Muskegon casino. In any case, Romanelli said the Little River interests would soon be presenting their own casino proposal to Muskegon's elected leaders.

Warmington said he would not allow Monday's session to turn into a public debate over casino gambling in Muskegon. He took the same stance during the Lac Vieux visit, and was helped in that regard by a tornado warning near the end of the meeting that sent all present scurrying for the basement.

"What I would prefer to do is ask everyone against a casino to raise their hands, and everyone for a casino raise their hands, and get on with it," the mayor said.

Also up for discussion at Monday's work session will be a Lac Vieux request from a month ago for a municipal services agreement with the city. Such an agreement would be needed for the tribe to operate a casino on sovereign territory with police and fire services provided by the city.

Depending on how that part of the discussion goes, the agreement could come up for a vote on Tuesday, when the city commission meets in regular session at 5:30 p.m.

The mayor, however, has already said he is not interested in entering into an exclusive agreement with any specific group at this point, and other members of the commission generally feel the same way.

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