Nov. 21, 2023 11p
(WGTD)---The Kenosha County Board voted Tuesday night to postpone consideration of the proposed Menominee Indian Casino until early next year.
The vote—13 to 7—was actually a victory of sorts for casino proponents. An alternative that was under consideration was to postpone consideration of the intergovernmental agreement indefinitely—a move tantamount to killing it.
The proposed agreement between the tribe and county specifies the level of financial compensation the county would receive in exchange for its support of the transfer of land into a trust.
As they did at Monday night’s Kenosha City Council meeting, a cadre of residents who live near the casino site spoke vehemently against it.
Once floor debate began, Supervisor Dave Geersten moved to delay a vote until January 16th. "In the meetings I've been in, and I've been at every casino meeting, the majority of the opposition I'm seeing coming from this board is for more information," he said. "This will get us two months--almost two months--to get all that information. If supervisors are serious about that they will be able to get the information and will be able to make a decision."
Casino opponent Terry Rose supported a move to suspend consideration indefinitely. "The proposition that the Menominees have presented to us is...insufficient. They haven't dotted their I's and haven't crossed their T's," said Rose, going on to complain about the lack of data from studies on the traffic, economic and environmental impacts. "But they want us to vote on it tonight. Let's give them that vote. Let's tell them no."
Conspicuously absent from the meeting were representatives of the tribe and their casino partner, Hard Rock International. They may have decided not to show because of the city council’s decision the night before to also delay consideration of the city’s agreement with the tribe until the first council meeting in January. The city agreement included some last minute changes that the mayor had characterized as minor.
The tribe had hoped to gain approval from both the city and county before the end of the year.
In addition to the local agreements, the Menominees would still need a green light from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Gov. Evers.
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