If money makes the world go ’round, the proposed Cowlitz tribal casino could send Clark County spinning in two very different directions.
The tribe expects the casino would be an economic development engine – a boon to its people and the surrounding community. Local opponents expect the venture to have parasitic effects on the local economy.
Cooperation means capital
More than 100 miles north of the debate, a city that has already been through it said it is possible for a tribal casino to benefit non-tribal entities and non-gamblers.
In the Tacoma area, the Puyallup Tribe runs two casinos and has a cooperative relationship with local jurisdictions, said Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma.
Although the tribe and the city have had issues from time to time, the two sides have developed a good working relationship that has provided revenue for both sides.
Each year leaders from local jurisdictions and the tribe meet to discuss the casinos’ impact on public safety and infrastructure. They also negotiate the use of impact fees the tribe pays to the local jurisdictions, Baarsma said.
Recently, $500,000 came from the tribe for the city’s fire boat renovation and another $750,000 is going toward city projects, public safety and infrastructure.
The tribe also is diversifying its own economic ventures, much of which is fueled by the Puyallup casinos.
“Personally, I’m not one who goes to casinos,” Baarsma said. “But (the Puyallup) have a right to build a casino. We provide services to them and they provide resources to the city.”
Collaboration between a tribe and neighboring jurisdictions is the best for cultural and economic relations, Baarsma said.
“Without resolving the issues with the tribe, we would have been in litigation for years,” he said. “Everything would have come to a halt with the port and economic development downtown. … You have to understand the tribes and the culture, to appreciate the way in which they make decisions and operate, to respect differences and work toward collaboration.”
“Economic cannibalism”
Here, the atmosphere surrounding the proposed Cowlitz casino is a bit more heated.
Formally opposing the Cowlitz Casino are Clark County and the cities of Vancouver, Woodland and La Center.
La Center resident Craig Rowland sees the tribe’s venture as an economic black hole in Clark County. The semi-retired engineer has spent almost four years doing independent research on the proposed Cowlitz casino, and speaks publicly on behalf of Vancouver-based Citizens Against Reservation Shopping.
“This (project) is here to attack the local income from Clark County and the surrounding area,” Rowland said. “(The tribe) is expecting to pull at least $400 million a year from the economy that people won’t be spending on other businesses. This is really resulting in cannibalization of the economy.”
Rowland’s research shows the proposed casino would be the nation’s second largest, with up to 160,000 square feet of gambling space. Only MGM Grand in Las Vegas is larger at 171,500 square feet, according to Rowland.
He is concerned because Clark County’s former memorandum of understanding with the tribe, which was struck down by the state, made only 20 percent of the casino’s revenue taxable. The Cowlitz would have payed property taxes and sales tax on transactions with non-tribal members, but would be exempt from paying unemployment insurance, business and operating tax and other fees.
“A large, tax-free casino is going to make the corridor business repellant,” Rowland said. “I challenge anyone to come up with a business case for locating a non-casino business there.”
Economically, such a large casino could have equally large impacts on the neighboring city of La Center, population 1,907.
For nearly 20 years, the town has been home to four non-tribal card rooms that employ almost 700 people, said John Bockmier of the Recreational Gaming Association. He said La Center enjoys large tax revenues from the card rooms, but noted the rural town lacks a full grocery store.
That economic model won’t be sustainable for the town, Rowland predicts.
“It’s not feasible for long-term growth strategy,” he said. “Making us the gambling armpit of Southwest Washington is not a good idea. We need more manufacturing jobs, technology jobs–the skilled workforce jobs that pay high salaries.”
Construction of the casino would likely generate between 3,000 and 4,000 union construction jobs, said Phil Harju, a Cowlitz attorney and spokesman for the casino project. Once it’s built, the site is expected to generate another 3,000 jobs with a predicted average salary of $28,000 annually, according to the project’s draft environmental impact statement.
As an alternative to gaming, Rowland suggested tribes establish incubators for startup businesses. The start-ups would operate under the tribe for a short time, benefiting from its lower taxes and government fees while giving the tribe equity in return.
“They could be making real companies that offer high paying jobs to Cowlitz members,” Rowland said. “If I had the tools of a sovereign nation, that’s what I would do.”
Tribal economic engine
“The tribe’s position is, this is our reservation,” Harju said.
While a fraction of the Cowlitz tribe’s 3,600 members live in Clark County, Harju said the 152 acres designated near La Center are well suited for the reservation.
“The tribe chose this land because it’s within our historic area, and because there was land available,” Harju said. “We would want to pick a location where we can maximize the people who can come to the casino.”
Other than elders in tribal housing, Harju doesn’t expect a flood of Cowlitz people to relocate near the site. The land would be a central place for generating benefits for the tribe, financially, culturally and otherwise.
The tribal council is considering providing medical, dental and educational benefits to its members, and eventually purchasing more land with gaming revenues, Harju said.
“The tribes that have been able to provide benefits have had casinos. It’s just a fact of life that casinos have been a way to generate revenues,” he said.
A casino is one of the few options available for tribal economic development. Alternative projects, such as the business park Clark County commissioners suggested, aren’t feasible for now, Harju said.
“Who would loan us money for a business park? If the land is taken into trust, we can’t use it as collateral for a bank loan,” Harju said. “That’s why it has been hard for tribes.”
The tribe has support – specifically for a gaming facility – through Salishan-Mohegan LLC, which owns the land, Harju said. The company is owned by David Barnett, a Cowlitz member in Seattle, and Mohegan Tribal Gaming, which operates the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The 300,000-square-foot casino, lodge and entertainment venue has at least 40 dining and retail establishments.
The Cowlitz Tribe has a seven-year management and development agreement with the Mohegan Tribe. During that time, the Mohegan Tribe will get 24 percent of the Cowlitz casino’s revenue. Harju said he doesn’t anticipate big profits in the casino’s first several years, and that the Cowlitz might extend the length of the partnership.
“It makes good business sense,” Harju said. “They know how to run a casino. We don’t, I have to admit.”
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
