Casino agreement rejected

RUSSELLVILLE — The City Council on Monday night voted down a surprise agreement — which was in secret negotiation for several weeks by Mayor Richard Harris and the Arkansas Municipal League — for two casino operators vying for the Pope County gaming license to annex into the city if the license is awarded to one of them by the state Racing Commission.

The council then voted to allow Harris to renegotiate signed agreements with Cherokee Nation Businesses and Gulfside Casino Partnership, and then return to the council for reconsideration.

Cherokee CEO Chuck Garrett said company officials “remain committed to pursuing the best outcome for Pope County across all aspects of our proposed project.”

“To that end, we are pleased with the progress we have made over the past several weeks toward the selection of the optimal site – Russellville or Dover,” Garrett said.

Terry Green, co-owner of Gulfside, said Monday night: “Gulfside Casino Partnership is the only applicant eligible to locate in Russellville under Amendment 100 and, once granted the casino license, will provide more than $5.7 million in annual gaming tax revenue to the city.”

The agreement included four core principles — the city being petitioned by the licensed casino operator for voluntarily annexation; the operator is assured of fair treatment by the city; the city will provide necessary services to the casino; and there will be no endorsement by the City Council or the mayor of any operator.

Harris was quick to emphasize the agreement was “not an endorsement” of any operator.

“This was simply a business

transaction between the city and the casino operator to ensure that the citizens of Russellville will get the benefit that’s necessary from a casino coming into Pope County,” Harris said.

John Wilkerson, an attorney for the Municipal League, said negotiation with the applicants began after April 15, when the Racing Commission voted to allow Cherokee Nation Businesses to apply for the license to operate in Pope County.

“This is an agreement between both sides acknowledging the fact that a casino is going to come to Pope County,” Wilkerson said.

After a brief back and forth between council members, the agreement failed to be approved in a 4-to-3 vote.

“Both parties have been very supportive of this cooperative agreement, at least the discussions of the cooperative agreement. Both parties have been very interested and willing to work together with the city to come up with a plan and an agreement that works for all parties,” Harris said. “The specific language is still maybe a little bit up in the air, but both parties have agreed that this is in the best interest of both parties.”

“I believe this document is in line with what would be good for whoever receives the license and also for the

city,” said Westcott. “At this point, I cannot see anything about this agreement that is negative toward either party. I like it that it is a generic resolution that fits whosoever gets a licence, if they get a license.”

The main point of contention was the agreement hadn’t been signed by either the Cherokees nor Gulfside and left broad negotiation power in Harris’ hands.

Wilkerson and Harris said both casino operators were in agreement, but the city wasn’t able to get the latest draft of the agreement out to both parties until Friday.

Keller asked Harris if both expressed agreement with the document before the council.

“No, they have not,” Harris said.

Keller said he had a “little bit of a problem on this” because he was under the impression what was being presented was a done deal.

“What was presented, was that this was a document that was agreed to, worked on, by the city, by the Municipal League and by both parties who had come to an agreement — and that was what we are discussing tonight,” Keller said. “But then I’m finding out that is actually not the case.”

Other council members said they also didn’t realize the agreement they were considering wasn’t finalized.

Harris said it “was certainly the intention going in” the agreement would be finalized before the Racing Commission hears both companies’ pitches at a meeting Thursday.

“They weren’t able to get this version out until Friday,” Harris said. “Both parties have looked at it. They would like to have some additional discussions on the context of the agreement.”

The annexation agreement between the casino operators comes after Ben Cross, the county judge of Pope County, extended an offer Friday to Harris to modify a $38.8 million Economic Development Agreement signed in August prior to the Quorum Court’s endorsement of Cherokee Nation Businesses for the license.

The offer includes a $2 million water park to be built anywhere in the city “at the direction of the city government rather than on the grounds of the resort,” and a $2 million direct payment to the city’s general fund from the county’s share of the Economic Development Agreement.

On Monday, Harris provided a memo to Cross, saying it would “take some time to responsibly explore the advantages and disadvantages of the County’s offer.”