Sullivan casino agreement reached with Senecas

Where does Interior Secretary Salazar stand?

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The Sullivan County Legislature voted unanimously on April 23 to approve a mitigation agreement with an Indian tribe that would like to open a casino in the county. The facility would be built on Route 17 at Exit 107 in Bridgeville.

At first, The Seneca Nation had expressed opposition to entering into any agreement with the county separate from an agreement with the state but, ultimately, the tribe came around.

County chairman Jonathan F. Rouis said, “This agreement is the result of several productive meetings with the leadership of The Seneca Nation. We are appreciative that the Seneca leadership understood this legislature’s commitment to be proactive in our efforts to mitigate any potential impacts of the project, and I believe that commitment is clearly reflected in this agreement.”

The terms of the agreement are similar to the impact agreements worked out with the St. Regis Mohawks and Stockbridge Munsees back in 2002. The agreement calls for the tribe to make annual payments of $15.5 million to the County of Sullivan during the two-year construction phase of the hotel, and $20 million dollars for the four years after the hotel has been completed and gaming is offered to the public, with provisions for additional funding, tied to the economic success of the facility.

The proposed facility is a two-million- square-foot casino, with 6,000 slot machines, 120 game tables and 30 poker tables, a 1,500-room hotel and spa, 12 restaurants, high-end retail space, a 5,000-seat arena and more. It is similar to facilities proposed by other tribes.

All nine county legislators voted in favor of the agreement. Legislators who in the past have voiced opposition to a casino coming to the county, such as lawmaker Kathy LaBuda, voted in favor of the agreement with the thought that if a casino gains approval, it is in the county’s best interest to have a mitigation agreement in place.

But the main roadblock to a Seneca casino and the partner who would operate it, Rotate Black, Inc., is still in place. In order to legally operate in the county, any Indian casino would need the approval of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The former secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, effectively killed all new off-reservation casinos in February 2008, when he declined to approve the St. Regis Mohawk project in Monticello and said that DOI policy was not favorable to such projects.

The new secretary of the DOI, Ken Salazar, has not indicated whether or not he supports off-reservation casinos, but lawmakers and gaming officials are hoping he looks more favorably on them than Kempthorne.

Senator Chuck Schumer said in a published report on April 26 that it’s “premature” to say how Salazar feels about off-reservation casinos, but that Schumer would certainly be broaching the matter with Salazar.

It’s interesting to note that in mid-April, Schumer sent a letter with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand urging President Barack Obama to appoint a Hispanic person to the U.S Supreme Court, if and when a position becomes available. One of two people of Hispanic origin recommended for the high court was Salazar.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the agency in the DOI directly responsible for Indian gaming matters, did not return a call seeking comment.