Earlier this year, the Gun Lake Tribe applied to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to have the 130 acres in Hopkins Township, Michigan taken into federal trust. The tribe similarly acquired the adjacent land, where its Gun Lake Casino is located.
Last month, when the BIA requested local input regarding the tribe’s most recent application, Hopkins Township board members voted to formally ask the Allegan County commission to oppose the application. The parcel currently is used for agriculture and is zoned for commercial or industrial use. The township resolution challenges the tribe’s claim that the property is contiguous with its historical reservation and states the tribe is not seeking to acquire the land for business purposes.
Furthermore, the resolution argued that removing the property from the tax rolls leaves “an immediate and future increasing financial burden” to both the county and township, leaving them uncertain how to pay for county drains, easements, roads and other infrastructure once the land transferred to tribal control.
But county commissioners instead voted 6-1 to approve a response to the BIA stating the county was working with the tribal council to address tax revenue issues. The response reads, “Allegan County has identified various areas of concern relative to the addition of non-gaming properties in trust including tax revenue loss, a variety of current and future service and land-use issues.”
Tribal Chair Scott Sprague said the county’s response was proper since it also serves constituents. He said he could not hold the tribal council to any guidelines for payments to county municipalities to make up for lost tax revenue. “The door to discussions is always going to be open, though,” he said.
County Administrator Rob Sarro stated, “I want to once again speak to the tribe’s openness and willingness to collaborate.” But Hopkins Township board member Bob Modreske told commissioners, “Zoning is a big issue. When I think to myself, what could be the impact, I could see them putting in a like a Cedar Point amusement park. Well, you know how much that’s going to affect roads, and more police, more cost, more everything. You know, environmental impact is going to be huge. Services are going to be huge. And I’m just trying to wrap my head around the impacts this is going to cause.”
Commissioner Max Thiele, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he felt the county should oppose the application until a deal was struck with the tribe about making up any lost tax revenue now and in the future. “From a negotiating standpoint it doesn’t make any sense to allow these non-gaming lands to be taken into trust and deteriorate our position at the table. I suggest we oppose it until we reach an agreement that satisfies our concerns. I don’t see anything wrong with that. I see it as protecting ourselves.”
Hopkins Township Supervisor Mark Evans agreed. “I don’t see legal counsel here for the county. I do see legal counsel for tribe. You’re doing the county a disservice in not getting a deal done prior to this meeting. We’re dealing with legal things here all the way around. And we don’t have answers,” he said.
Sprague assured commissioners, “We are a sovereign nation. We have rules and laws. We do from time to time buy land related to the original reservation. We are good stewards of our land. We will continue to buy land as we see a need. We enjoy our relationship with our local governments such as the county. It is a good, solid one. We see nothing that has changed that. Cooperation and relationships are how progress is made.”
If the BIA moves the Gun Lake Tribe’s application forward, local governments will have the opportunity to appeal. The application then will go to a regional review, followed by another opportunity to appeal. If it passes all these steps, the federal government would place the land in trust.
