The Lac du Flambeau tribe’s plans for an off-reservation casino in south-western Wisconsin are moving forward.
The tribe and city of Shullsburg have reached an agreement on terms for building the 20-acre casino and resort complex in the area. Project consultant Joseph Hunt says it shows both sides are on the same page, even if it’s only one step in a long process. Hunt says the intergovernmental and development agreement, which they will sign with Shullsburg’s mayor next week, is just one step in the overall application process. He says there’s “still a ways to go” before any ground is broken on a casino.
The agreement includes assurances that the tribe will help pay for infrastructure for the facility and make annual impact payments, if the casino is approved. The next step is for an environmental impact statement on the project to be completed this summer, before the project gets sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for review.
If the BIA approves the casino, it will then be up to the governor to review the project under a final review. That process is currently holding up the Menominee tribe’s plans for an off-reservation casino in the Kenosha area. Governor Scott Walker has pushed off a decision until after next November’s elections, as he reviews the plan and opposition from the Forest County Potawatomi. Hunt says they are watching that process closely, so they can apply any lessons learned from the dispute to their own proposal.
WXPR