Beloit crafting casino agreement with Ho-Chunk
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If you go
What: Beloit City Council meeting
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Where: 100 State St., Beloit.
Details: The council will hold a public hearing about the proposed casino. The council does not plan to take action on the proposal at this time.
If you go
What: Public information workshop on the proposed casino project
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Beloit Public Library, 605 Eclipse Blvd., Beloit.
Details: Representatives from the city of Beloit and the Ho-Chunk Nation will present plans for a proposed intergovernmental agreement for a development that would include a casino on the city’s east side. Residents can submit questions to presenters.
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Beloit casino location
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Larry Arft
BELOIT — After more than a decade of debate, negotiation, litigation and other slowed activities, the Beloit casino project might be getting a do-over.
The city of Beloit on Thursday announced it would host a public information workshop so residents could learn about a developer’s agreement in the works between the city and the Ho-Chunk Nation. Attendees at next week’s workshop will see copies of the proposed agreement as well as initial site plans.
City officials are releasing few details about the proposal, but it would be similar in scope to the former Chippewa proposal with amenities such as a conference center, retail shops and a hotel or cinema, said Beloit City Manager Larry Arft. The site remains the same: a 32-acre parcel next to Interstate 90/39 on Beloit’s east side.
Local, state and federal governments have oversight authority over the proposal, so approval could take two years, Arft said.
A new agreement could breathe life into a project that has been on the drawing board since 1999 when the city initially approached the Bad River Chippewa band with the idea for a casino. The city in 2001 signed a developers agreement with two Chippewa bands.
If a casino were built, it would cause a “paradigm shift” in the local economy, Arft said.
“This is huge not only for the city and the county but for the whole region,” he said. “It will clearly make Beloit and this area of Rock County a destination location. Certainly nothing like the (Wisconsin) Dells or the north woods, but certainly significant.”
If the city and the county enter a developers agreement with the Ho-Chunk Nation, the nation would apply to the federal government for an off-reservation gaming permit. The application first would go to a regional office in Minnesota and, from there, on to Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin’s governor would have final authority over the application.
The Ho-Chunk Nation already has a compact with Wisconsin to operate casinos, said Mike McClure, attorney for the Department of Administration’s gaming division. Depending on the nature of the Beloit project, the compact could have to be amended or could stand as is, he said.
The Chippewa bands were surprised in 2009 when the Ho-Chunk Nation bought for $4 million part of the parcel the Chippewa planned for their project, a Chippewa spokesman said at the time. The Chippewa proposal spent more than two years in Washington, D.C. awaiting approval amid federal policy changes and lawsuits.
The city owns a 40-acre parcel directly west of the Ho-Chunk property. The Chippewa bands hold an option to buy on the property, but it expires in about a year, Arft said.
Casino timeline
-- 1999—Representatives from the city of Beloit approach the Bad River Chippewa band with an interest in building a casino.
-- November 2000—Sixty-one percent of Beloit voters say, “Yes,” to a casino. Nearly 75 percent of the city’s voters cast ballots in the election.
-- 2001—The Bad River and the St. Croix bands formally enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Beloit.
-- January 2007—The casino application goes to Washington, D.C., for approval. If approved by the feds, the application still would need final approval from Gov. Jim Doyle. The project sits in Washington for two years mired in federal policy changes and lawsuits.
-- October 2009—The Ho-Chunk Nation buys a 32-acre parcel from the Chippewa bands’ development partner for $4 million.
-- January 2012—The city announces it will hold a public workshop to share information about a proposed developers agreement with the Ho-Chunk Nation. The Chippewa bands still hold the option to purchase on an adjacent parcel.
Jan 11, 2012 at 11:39 p.m.
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(This comment was lost on the river card in my last hand of Hold 'em)
Jan 10, 2012 at 9:22 p.m.
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Gambling is a form of entertainment. Which is better: Going to a bar after work and dropping a $100 on drinks and smokes and then walking out to your car and driving home under the influence putting others in danger or dropping $100 at a casino and driving home sober after having fun anticipating winning the big one? I will take the casino bet anytime....
Jan 10, 2012 at 11:48 a.m.
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If any of you think that this WONT bring people from "all over"...you are nuts! Have you ever driven past DeJope...HoChunk in the Dells, or any of the other casinos? The parking lots are full, any time of the day or night. Who the heck cares where the money comes from? That casino WILL bring money to our area! We WILL profit from it. If you dont like to gamble, and are just so so horrfied by the thought...then...how about...not even driving out that way? Hmmm? Sounds pretty simple. But let the casino be built!!!!
Jan 10, 2012 at 11:39 a.m.
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Good luck Beloit. Nothing like taking a depressed economy and area and depressing it more.
Jan 9, 2012 at 4:36 p.m.
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(This comment was gambled away by the site staff)
Jan 9, 2012 at 3:46 p.m.
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BUILD THE &*^% THING, AND SOON PLEASE, AS BELOIT & SURROUNDING AREAS NEED JOBS BAD. IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T GO, ITS THAT SIMPLE. BUT.....SOME PEOPLE WANT IT AND CAN'T WAIT.
Jan 9, 2012 at 9:40 a.m.
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Sarah1, have you ever heard of SSDI?
Jan 8, 2012 at 6:28 a.m.
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If they come, I'm opening a pawn shop!!!!!!!
Jan 8, 2012 at 3:11 a.m.
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mohican,
I certainly couldn't tell you for sure what Arft's intention was in making that comment to the Gazette reporter, but I think you might be taking some liberties with the quote and putting some words in the Beloit City Manager's mouth. For the most part Larry Arft has been realistically ambitious in his leadership of the community. During his tenure, Beloit has seen recognizable economic and cultural growth as a community. Arft knows what he is doing. If only Janesville had anything close to similar leadership. The best the Janesville City Council can muster are nasty emails between members and arrests for assaulting police officers.
Jan 8, 2012 at 1:20 a.m.
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No offense Ann Ames. It's a good article. If I wrote it, I would be not be able to stop laughing profusely, if someone actually told me that with a straight face!
Jan 8, 2012 at 1:17 a.m.
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Not often I read an article and have to try and avoid spitting up my drink! This was one of the most hilarious quotes a Gazette reporter ever took. Gosh I hope the reporter could hold a straight face while noting it down!
"“This is huge not only for the city and the county but for the whole region,” he said. “It will clearly make Beloit and this area of Rock County a destination location. "
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What rock is this moron living under? Yeah; I'm sure people are just going to flock from all over the country to Beloit WI, to come and gamble. Hey there would only be about 200 other casino's on the way to the promiseland of Beloit, WI, but never mind that.
After one stops off at this unbelievable "destination", perhaps the 2nd biggest one in the country next to Disneyland, then one can continue there destination trip east..Visit Gary, IN, then onto Detroit! What better 3 cities of tourist destination to visit!
Jan 8, 2012 at 12:01 a.m.
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Build It !
Jan 7, 2012 at 9:49 p.m.
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Billie, I am 100% with you. The casino is a den of iniquity.
Jan 7, 2012 at 6:06 p.m.
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Look at all these commenters passing moral judgement on the idea of a private sector business getting built and providing jobs to a community. Casinos tend to draw people from other communities, not the ones closest to them. It will not put a strain on the local businesses already in Beloit. The Beloiters that make up the majority of those businesses' customer base will continue to frequent those businesses. The extremely small percentage of people with a gambling addiction may fall victim to a casino being built near them. There are plenty of programs available to gambling addicts to get help. Ultimately, this would be a boost to Beloit's economy as a whole.
Jan 7, 2012 at 3:06 p.m.
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Will they take WIC?
Jan 7, 2012 at 3:04 p.m.
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If this thing ever gets built, they better tax the you-know-what out of it. The county will need the money to fund all the anti-poverty and disability (since gambling addiction is a disability, you know) programs that will have a flood of new clients what with all the rent and grocery money the casino will be hauling in.
Jan 7, 2012 at 2:29 p.m.
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This project is so wrong for the City of Beloit. There is only so much money in the community for recreation and leisure. The casino will kill the bars and restaurants in Beloit. The casino is a pipe that drains the money out of the community. Think of the casino as a huge toilet next to the sewage plant in Beloit.
Jan 7, 2012 at 1:13 p.m.
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too bad the land has to be developed at all-the pristine soils of the Rock Prairie will do more good in agriculture than in industry...but with the way that whole area is getting developed, that land is eventually going to be developed into something other than food crops, so it may as well be a casino...just wondering- who will be able to afford to go there when it's built?
Jan 7, 2012 at 10:35 a.m.
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There's no chance this will be built before the effects of the recession are a dim memory, so it isn't exactly a solution for our jobs problem in the short term. I know the Ho-Chunk think they have a better chance politically of gaining approval, but that remains to be seen. The main objection seems to be that this is too remote from existing Indian land by federal requirements.
Jan 7, 2012 at 10:15 a.m.
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If it comes to the area, they'll blame Walker. If the casino never materializes, they'll blame Walker. If it goes somewhere else, they'll blame Walker.
Jan 7, 2012 at 9:08 a.m.
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Tax the 5 gambling machines that each of the bars and bowling alleys have and we could take a huge dent out of our deficit. These are illegal but they just keep turning their heads the other way. Just build the damn thing. If you don't want to go to it, stay home.
Jan 7, 2012 at 8:12 a.m.
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Sounds like it is still years away. Lift the foolish gambling prohibition entirely.
Jan 7, 2012 at 5:35 a.m.
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Not a good idea
Jan 6, 2012 at 9:53 p.m.
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Wait for Walker to be gone as that would be Jobs for humans and I don't think he would approve.
Jan 6, 2012 at 9:51 p.m.
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Casino's are a drain on the economy.
The main bulk of the money is generated from the LOCAL population.
So I guess if would be like a poor tax since there are mainly poor folks that live in Beloit.
Jan 6, 2012 at 8:50 p.m.
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Pipe dream.
Jan 6, 2012 at 7:41 p.m.
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It might not be the Dells now but we are only an outlet mall and a couple of water parks away from it.
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