Cowlitz Tribe, city of La Center close in on agreement

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LA CENTER – The city of La Center and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe are one step closer to completing an intergovernmental agreement detailing a host of issues related to the tribe’s new reservation land, located directly west of the city’s I-5 boundary.

On Jan. 22, city leaders sat down with tribal representatives and city attorneys to go over the intergovernmental agreement line-by-line, discuss proposed language changes and take questions from city councilors.

At the heart of the agreement is the fact that the Cowlitz Tribe is forging ahead, despite one remaining legal challenge in federal court, with its proposed casino-hotel complex on the Cowlitz Indian Reservation. To accommodate the anticipated casino traffic, the tribe plans to revamp the interchange at I-5, with a full realignment of Paradise Park Road inside La Center’s city limits and, eventually, install a traffic signal to help direct traffic at the intersection of La Center and Paradise Park roads.

The tribe has agreed to pay for all costs associated with the Paradise Park Road improvements, to “design and construct the realignment to meet applicable city roadway design standards” and to reimburse the city for costs related to the planning and engineering plan review and construction inspections required for the road improvements.

Much of the meeting was spent discussing language tweaks to the agreement – including the fact that the city attorneys have removed language that made Minit Management, the owners of the Shell gas station, which will be directly impacted by the Paradise Park Road improvements, third-party members of the agreement; opting instead to enter into a separate agreement with Minit Management.

Daniel Kearns, the city of La Center’s attorney, told city councilors that the tribe has agreed to not seek any land east of the freeway, within the city limits.

But some councilors worried that this was not enough, and said the city needed to position itself to take advantage of the business opportunities that could follow the construction of the massive casino-hotel complex.

La Center Mayor Greg Thornton said he is worried that the city will have “some serious issues with revenue streams” once the casino goes up, referring to negative effects on the city’s three privately owned card rooms, which are expected to provide about $2.6 million this year to the city’s general budget. If the casino takes business away from the card rooms, the city stands to lose more than 70 percent of its operating budget.

“The tribe will not discuss reimbursement (for the possible card room revenue losses),” Thornton said. “So we need to talk about economic development at the (I-5) junction.”

“This is a significant issue,” City Councilor Joe Valenzuela said. “With all of the development happening on the reservation, not in the city … I think it’s important for us to define limits so this happens with us, not to us. We need to protect the city’s interests.”

The majority of city councilors agreed that the city needs to take advantage of economic growth possibilities near the Interstate 5 junction, but said the city would first have to figure out how to get its sewer lines out to that area.

“The things that go out there – restaurants, hotels, etcetera – will generate wastewater and need sewer,” said Councilor Randy Williams.



“It would be great to see development at the interchange,” added Councilor Al Luiz. “But without sewer, nothing is going to happen. The sewer is paramount. It’s not just important. Development won’t happen without it.”

Although a lawsuit brought by the owners of the private card rooms, the county and members of the Grande Ronde Tribe stimied the city’s plans to connect its sewer system to the reservation land, the intergovernmental agreement says the Cowlitz Tribe will “install sewer and water lines in all newly relocated NW La Center and NW Paradise Park roadways … and provide a dry sewer and water stub to the Minit Management property and Landon properties in connection with the improvements.”

Additionally, the tribe has now agreed to “design and install a dry sewer line in the La Center Road from a point just east of the new intersection of realigned NW Paradise Park Road and NW La Center Road, west across Interstate 5 for purposes of future sewer service to land within the La Center urban service area, consistent with the Washington Growth Management Act … of sufficient size, capacity and location to provide sanitary sewer service b y the city to development on the west side of Interstate 5 that may occur during a 20-year planning period, including the reservation in the event that the parties agree to such sewer service in the future.”

Luiz said he thought the inclusion of the dry sewer lines was a smart idea: “Dry-lining the sewer is good, so we don’t have to go back in and put that stuff in (after the tribe realigns Paradise Park Road) … But until that sewer line gets up there (to the interstate junction), we have nothing, in my opinion.”

Losing the ability to provide sewer service to the reservation and casino project means La Center has lost a much-needed revenue stream to pay down its $7 million sewer debt. Instead of collecting fees from the tribe, the city now faces two options: continue the current strategy of funding the debt service with rate increases and some of the city’s cash reserves or use the reserves to pay off a large chunk of the debt and keep rates relatively stable, with only slight increases for customers.

At the La Center City Council’s Jan. 13 meeting, the council voted to not increase sewer rates and to keep the rates steady – for now. The council is set to discuss options for sewer rates and for paying down the city’s sewer debt at work sessions later this month.

As part of the intergovernmental agreement, the tribe has agreed to reimburse the city for 50 percent of its legal and consulting fees “defending the city’s authority to plan for and extend service to the Cowlitz Reservation.”

Also included in the most current draft of the intergovernmental agreement:

Underground Electric Transmission Lines: The tribe will pay the city $2 million – doled out in payments of $200,000 each year for 10 years. Although the money was originally for the city’s costs associated with placing new power transmission lines underground, the new language states that the city “may use these funds for any lawful purpose, including but not limited to reimbursement for the cost of placing underground portions of a new power transmission line at the interchange.”

Education and Arts Fund: Although new language stated that the tribe would “pay the city $200,000 per year for five years, commencing on the first anniversary of the opening of the casino” for an education and arts fund, Cowlitz spokesman Dave Barnett said at the Jan. 22 meeting that the tribe had issues with that language. He said the tribe has agreed to recommend that the money be given to arts and education organizations in La Center – for an indefinite amount of time, not just for five years – but cautioned that the tribe could not promise the money outright, as the decision will be based on a collaborative board, consisting of two members appointed by the tribe, two members appointed by the county and one member appointed by the other four board members.

To see a complete copy of the proposed intergovernmental agreement between the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and the city of La Center – with new language in blue type and amended language crossed out in red type – visit http://www.ci.lacenter.wa.us/city_council/packets/CC_012216.pdf or go to the city’s website at www.ci.lacenter.wa.us and click on the “Minutes/Agenda” tab under the City Council header at the top of the page, then click on the “Packets” tab next to the City Council’s Jan. 22 work session.