Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has once again rejected the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s proposal to move its Ojibwa Casino in Chocolay Township to Negaunee Township and build a regional hospitality and entertainment complex at the former Marquette County Airport in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Snyder denied the tribe’s plan in 2013 although the U.S. Department of the Interior previously determined the land should be taken into trust for gaming purposes. However, the tribe wanted to make a final attempt after a 15-year effort to relocate the casino to a larger, more visible and centralized property. KBIC President Warren Swartz wrote to Snyder in April asking the governor to change his mind due to public support.
Snyder said he only would enter a common agreement to benefit the tribe, the state and citizens, which would allow the state to collect taxes from KBIC’s tribal members and non-tribal customers. Tribal officials rejected that offer, and said the bottom line would be a series of demands for concessions by the KBIC while the governor attempts to sell his concurrence.
Snyder’s Press Secretary Anna Heaton said in a statement, “The community reached out to the governor’s office to see if he would reconsider a previous decision, if they reapplied for the parcel to be put into trust. The governor cannot make such a determination without giving it due consideration. At this point we are not aware that the community has indeed reapplied to take the airport parcel into trust for purposes of gaming. Once the community reapplies, the governor is more than willing to continue a dialogue about how agreement can be reached.”
KBIC purchased the airport property of more than 50 acres for $1.4 million in 1999. The tribe said the development would have included, in addition to a casino, a branded hotel and water park resort, dining options, golf course, five-star RV resort, retail outlets and more. Tribal officials had projected the development would require 230 construction jobs, as well as 200 new jobs for a total of 350 full-time positions with another 100 part-time during the summer tourism season.
