04-11-16 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING APRIL 11, 2015 generation. The job of this Council is to make sure our community is safe, has a sound economy and a place where our children and grandchildren want to live. There has not been nearly enough talk about how the City will override the negative impact on the impoverished families in this community. There are many families who live on the edge of responsibility, lets not give those parents another reason for them to not be responsible and not take care of their children. That impact on the schools is not going to be made up with this money. There are not enough teachers and social workers to deal with the negative impact this will have on children, especially impoverished children. This will not draw money to businesses in our area it will take it away. Keith D. Schrock, Mishawaka, if this approval has no voice in the matter why is there going to be a vote at all. This is wrong and is in the middle of a circle of casinos in the area. It is wrong for South Bend, our community and the families in the area. Zack Asteo, 1140 E. Dayton St. South Bend, spoke against the casino as a young person in the community. Council President Tim Scott stated the reason the time limits are in place is to allow the people in favor of the motion and the people against the motion have a roughly equal amount of time. The petitioner was allowed a five (5) minute rebuttal. Corporation Counsel Cristal Brisco responded that the land in trust application filed by the Pokagon Band is a request for a restoration of the Pokagon Band's homeland. The City of South Bend does not have a valid lawful basis to challenge or interfere with the Pokagon Band's request that the 166 acre site is not restored to them as their ancestral homeland. Regarding the City of South Bend's possible recourse if the Pokagon Band changed their mind, the Band has contractually obligated itself to the agreement and have passed a waiver of their sovereign immunity for the enforcement of this agreement. As a part of that waiver they have subjected to the application of South Bend Municipal Code Ordinance 13 -57, 13 -82 and 17 -18. Those ordinances deal with unreasonable noise and also discharge standards. Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked for the clarification that this type of agreement is not required for Class Two gaming. Corporation Counsel Cristal Brisco responded yes that is the case. There was no need for an agreement. Councilmember Jo Broden expressed that while we have known (or should have known) as a community that negotiations have been undertaken with regard to this issue for some time (at the federal, state and local levels), the agreement before us really is an artfully crafted product of understandably complicated, multi - layered considerations. After careful review, fact finding and research, in my estimation, it carefully straddles the needs, interests, and concerns of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians, as well as ours, as a City. It's a strong contract. As such it's loaded with some very significant benefits: First and foremost, it recognizes the inherent right of the Pokagon Band to take a significant step in restoration of their homelands here in Indiana and to serve and meet the needs of the descendants of this land's native, indigenous people — people who are already our neighbors. As such, this agreement represents a stark contrast to treaties and agreements within our shared ancestral history— for your people near extermination & non - existence to this very definitive path of self - determination as a people. Other pluses included dollars, recouped by this agreement, are any costs to be incurred by the city for services to develop the site, for water and sewer or future services. Additionally, there are infrastructure benefits tucked in for the benefit of the surrounding neighborhoods. Most significantly, because it did not need to be done, there is money over and above these costs, in the form of payments in lieu of taxes that will accrue to the City and be captured by the City's general fund with an equal percentage going to our Redevelopment Authority. Admittedly, my preference would have been for that percentage to be tweaked or outright directed to the General Fund where the choices and decisions about its use are scrutinized more publically through our 17