Pasco, Colvilles pledge cooperation on casino planning

The city of Pasco and

the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have agreed to negotiate

terms for the tribes to pay for police, fire and other services as they move to

develop a casino and other amenities on land in the city.

The Colvilles paid

$10.8 million for 184 acres in early 2019, part of its continuing effort to buy

land in its historic territory, which covers an area from the crest of the

Cascade Mountains to the Continental Divide. The site is north of King City.

The tribes plan to

develop the property for the economic benefit of members and to provide support

services to the several hundred members who live in the Tri-Cities.

The land will be

placed in a federal trust under the auspices of the U.S. Bureau of Indian

Affairs, rendering it exempt from paying the local property taxes that help

support police, fire and other municipal services.

The November agreement

commits both sides to negotiating a deal to offset the city’s cost to provide

those services. The agreement also calls on both sides to share information and

to cooperate on press releases and other public outreach efforts.

The Colvilles operate

the 12 Tribes Resort Casino in Omak, Mill Bay Casino in Manson and Coulee Dam

Casino at Coulee Dam. The Pasco casino could be many years away, but

intermediate plans include a gas station and a water park.

The Tri-City area is

the traditional home of the Palus, one of the 12 tribes that comprise the

Colville. 

The tribes were

consolidated on the Colville Reservation at Nespelem following the Nez Perce

War of 1885.