LA CENTER — City Attorney Dan Kearns could sense the mood in the room Wednesday night.
“My general sense is the council is uncomfortable. My general sense on the tribal side is they’re now uncomfortable,” he said.
But as the meeting wore on, tensions eased as the La Center City Council and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe came closer to an agreement that would allow a major upgrade to the Interstate 5 interchange at Exit 16.
The pact with the tribe is needed to fully proceed with the $32 million project, paid for entirely by the Cowlitz and their casino backers, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. The city has been putting off a decision that was originally scheduled for last week.
“It seemed best to set over the decision on this until early in the new year,” Kearns said, adding both sides consented to giving the agreement more time.
The biggest questions tackled Wednesday were whether the tribe would expand its reservation boundaries into La Center city limits and who would provide police services for the reservation.
“We have no intention of putting land in the city in trust,” or expanding the reservation east of I-5, said Steve Horenstein, an attorney for the Cowlitz tribe. Binding language to that effect could be added to the agreement between the city and the tribe.
On the police question, “the tribe has requested that Clark County enter into negotiations for a law enforcement services agreement,” Horenstein said. “If the county fails to respond to this request by the end of the day Jan. 6, the tribe will look into an agreement where the city provides law enforcement services to the reservation.”
The Clark County council has made clear that it will not be helping the casino project move forward. Even with two new councilors, Horenstein said, that likely won’t change.
The law enforcement issue also likely will get folded into the project agreement.
A vote on moving forward with the tribe is possible early next year, but a set date remains “a moving target,” said Councilor and Mayor-elect Greg Thornton.
Construction of the roundabouts, road realignments and bridge replacement can start on the west side of I-5 in the meantime, said project engineer Marc Butorac. He said the agreement’s delay shouldn’t cause the project to be completed later than early summer 2017, as planned.
If there was a broad theme to Wednesday’s workshop, it was the hope for cooperation.
“If they’re going to be our eternal neighbors, then we want to have a positive relationship going forward,” Councilor Al Luiz said.
Cowlitz Chairman Bill Iyall, who wore a hardhat to the meeting, said much the same, as did tribal member and developer Dave Barnett.
“How can we help La Center with this? By working together, I think we can do a lot of good,” Barnett said. “I know this can be a political decision for a number of you … but we’re still building the casino.”
An ongoing appeal in federal courts could still negate the tribe’s reservation and casino plans. Barnett isn’t worried, though.
“The bank’s comfortable we’re going to make it through litigation,” he said, alluding to the casino project recently securing financing. “There’s a really good comfort level.”
