ARLINGTON – The earth-movers have arrived. Big yellow machines are kicking up a lot of dust at the Stillaguamish Tribe’s 20 acres on 35th Avenue NE.
The groundbreaking for the tribe’s $19 million casino marks the symbolic end of an 18-month battle that neighbors in this rural area northwest of Arlington have fought to stop the project.
Many joined the efforts of a group they dubbed No Dice, hoping to persuade or force the tribe to build the casino elsewhere.
Now they’re staring at a hand they know can’t beat the house.
The tribe’s land has federal trust status, which makes it largely immune from local zoning laws. If construction stays on schedule, the 22,000-square-foot casino could open by October, said Eddie Goodridge Jr., the tribe’s executive director.
Neighbors have dreaded the groundbreaking, which began a few days ago.
“We’re sad to see it happen,” said Ken Childress, one of the organizers of No Dice. “We still believe that it’s going to negatively impact the lifestyle around here.”
But it could be worse, Childress said.
“We’re really happy that it’s not as big as it was originally planned to be,” he said.
An original proposal by the tribe was for an approximately 40,000 square-foot casino, but investors backed out last year after state regulators insisted on criminal background checks.
New investors, Marshall Bank of Minneapolis, were given the green light by state regulators in February.
Childress also takes heart that the tribe would still prefer a more commercially viable location for the casino.
“I hope that they succeed in moving it someplace else, eventually, someplace more commercially accessible,” Childress said.
Goodridge confirmed Monday that he is still working on other locations even as construction proceeds. Once the casino earns enough money, the tribe might be able to finance such a move, he said.
“I’m still willing and wanting to move into the Smokey Point area preferably,” Goodridge said.
Some people speculated that Goodridge and other tribal leaders might be eyeing the Island Crossing area near Arlington’s I-5 exit when word got out last fall that they had purchased at least 60 acres of farmland there along Highway 530.
On Monday, Goodridge firmly ruled that out.
“I will never be a part of building a casino on Highway 530,” Goodridge said. “It’s not feasible in my mind to move from one rural area to another.”
Neighbors near 35th Avenue NE also worried about 78 acres the tribe purchased nearby to the east off 55th Avenue NE. That land was given federal trust status in February, Goodridge said.
The tribe is not planning to put a casino on the newly acquired property because it already is earmarked for tribal housing, Goodridge said.
The tribe chose to tear down its former federally subsidized housing at 35th Avenue NE to make room for the casino. It used loan money for the casino to relocate more than 25 families.
Once the casino starts making money, the tribe can eventually build new housing for other members at the 55th Avenue NE property, Goodridge said.
“That’s one of the first things on the list the tribe’s going to be doing” with its gambling revenues, Goodridge said. “That’s a big project for the tribe, but you’re talking millions of dollars.”
Looking back at the fight, Childress said he was very frustrated at the bureaucratic inertia he encountered. Despite the casino site’s trust status, he felt there were still some applicable state and federal laws that should have merited more governmental investigation.
“Nobody – put that in huge letters – nobody in the bureaucracy is interested in listening to you,” Childress said. “There are a couple of elected officials who have been helpful, but to the bureaucracy at large, we might as well be dead.”
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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