“I propose we look through these documents in their entirety. I received my copy a little earlier today,” said Thornton, who will move to the mayor’s office at the start of the year.
A workshop will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a special meeting following at 7 p.m. A vote is expected on the agreement with the tribe.
The Cowlitz casino is of particular importance to La Center, as the city’s budget is largely dependent on its own cardrooms.
“It’s very political, and here we are, this little town, and we’ve been sucked into this vortex,” Councilor Joe Valenzuela said. “We want to have an ongoing relationship with the tribe. … We are under the gun in many ways.”
Marc Butorac, with engineering firm Kittelson & Associates, warned that a two-week delay on the council’s part could lead to a one-month delay in construction.
He said that without the city’s agreement, land transactions and other permitting can’t get underway.
Butorac also pointed out that there were local contractors waiting to get to work.
“There’s real income and real paychecks going forward,” said Butorac, whose engineering firm is overseeing the I-5 project.
A separate needed agreement between the city and owners of the Shell gas station at Exit 16 also will get a vote on Wednesday.
That will clear the way for Paradise Park Road to be realigned — sort of.
Because some of that road heads into Clark County’s territory — and the county council has made clear it will not facilitate any part of the casino project — an alternative is built into the plan that will see Paradise Park head around the gas station to its existing route instead of running straight to Northwest 324th Street.
Councilor Randy Williams said his crucial issue with the plan is getting power lines buried instead of having the “visual impairment” of new overhead lines.
A representative with Clark Public Utilities indicated such a plan would be unlikely.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the city’s 2016 budget passed.
