Casino leaves locals leery

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, January 22, 2004

ARLINGTON — Kelly Murphy already had her moving boxes packed when she heard the news.

The Stillaguamish Tribe confirmed Wednesday that it had secured a bank loan to build a new casino at a rural site a few miles northwest of Arlington.

Murphy, 43, a recently widowed mother of three, lives about a mile from the proposed casino site. She said she feels fortunate that she already had sold her house.

"It’s not the main reason I put it on the market, but it was definitely a consideration," Murphy said.

The tribe first acknowledged plans to build a casino in November 2002. Ever since, many neighbors have lived in dread of increased traffic and other impacts to their quiet area.

Murphy said many for-sale signs went up in the ensuing months. Some neighbors formed an opposition group called No Dice.

The tribe’s original investors backed out in May 2003 under scrutiny from state regulators, although the tribe already had borrowed a reported $5 million from them and razed tribal housing at the casino site.

"Everyone stopped talking about the casino," Murphy said. "It just sort of faded in conversation. I even had a real estate agent tell me it was not going to go."

It’s much more likely to go now that the tribe secured a $19 million loan from Marshall Bank of Minneapolis for a scaled-down 22,000-square-foot casino.

Bob Berg, deputy director of the state Gambling Commission, said if the bank is federally insured, his agency would have little reason to investigate further. The commission’s investigators are charged with preventing organized crime from financing casinos.

Berg said his agency will examine the loan agreement to make sure the bank is using its own funds and not brokering a loan for unregulated investors.

Chuck Galford, a Portland, Ore.-based tribal consultant, said the bank is not fronting for outside investors.

The tribe said in a statement released to the media that Marshall Bank is "the lead bank."

Eddie Goodridge Jr., the tribe’s executive director, said he was not sure if other banks are involved in the loan, but said the tribe specifically sought out federally regulated banks so there would be no problem with state scrutiny.

Murphy said she was not surprised that the tribe succeeded is securing financing. Neither was Duane Rhodes, who lives in Seymour Country Estates, which has an entrance across the road from where the casino is to be built.

Rhodes said his family has thought about moving, but is undecided.

"We love where we are," he said. "We picked this house, this area, after a lot of looking. We certainly never would have chosen this place if we had known there was going to be a casino down the road.

"I just sincerely hope it’s an abject failure," he added.

Goodridge said he was disappointed that neighbors have not accepted his offer to take the tribe’s place on a state committee that will help steer how impact funds should be spent.

Goodridge said not all the neighbors are opposed to the casino. He said he has received some e-mails from people who are looking forward to being able to gamble without having to drive on I-5.

Critics have expressed doubt whether a small rural casino can compete with the bigger, better-located Tulalip Casino on I-5 about six miles south of the Stillaguamish casino site. Goodridge said the tribe has updated its feasibility studies, which determined that the gambling market is not saturated.

"I’m not worried one bit whether it’s going to be successful," he said. "I’m more worried about how we’re going to expand quick enough."

Many tribal members favor the casino, based on reactions at a general council meeting last fall. But others don’t like it.

Paki Martin and Ed Kempf said they still don’t trust Goodridge’s assurances that the original investors won’t gain control of tribal land or homes if the casino fails. They said the tribe’s debt to the original investors is closer to $8 million, not the $5 million originally reported.

They also criticized the management of a private smoke shop for the Goodridge family’s benefit on tribal land. Kempf said he fears that casino money would be managed the same way and not benefit the tribe directly.

Goodridge confirmed the $8 million figure, but he said the comparison between the smoke shop and the casino wasn’t valid. Federal law requires that the tribe submit a distribution plan for revenues from the various tribal programs, he said.

"You have to follow that format," he said.

Goodridge’s father, tribal chairman Ed Goodridge Sr., explained in a statement why he felt the casino is vital to the tribe’s future.

"Angel of the Winds Casino will allow us to provide health care, educational assistance and other benefits to our members, fund badly needed programs and start other types of economic development," he said.

Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.