Pueblo
Officials Want to Hear More About Casino Proposal
City officials say they're
interested in a proposal by Oklahoma Indian
tribes to build a $100 million casino and hotel
but said they could still reject the deal later.
On a 5-1 vote, the City Council agreed
Monday to sign a nonbinding letter of interest
in the proposal by the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes
of Oklahoma.
"I think it's too early to sign a (final)
deal and too early to say no," Councilman
Ray Aguilera said.
The tribes first sought to build the complex
east of Denver, but that proposal ran into fierce
opposition from Gov. Bill Owens. The tribes
said last month they were considering a site
along the Arkansas River in Pueblo instead.
The tribes lived in what is now Colorado until
their members were forcibly removed in 1860s.
Their leaders have said they would drop their
claim on 27 million acres of the state if the
casino project were allowed to proceed.
Opponents warned council members they were
surrendering their bargaining power by signing
a letter of interest. They said a casino could
feed gambling addictions, tax city services
and create a sovereign Indian nation within
the city limits that could ignore city ordinances.
"We need to take a really, really long
wait on this," Catherin Castillo said.
Hanna Rush, chairwoman of the group Citizen
Action, said the issue should be put on a citywide
ballot.
"You are moving toward changing the face
our of city forever without giving us a vote,"
she said.
|