LA CENTER – Talks between La Center and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe about the latter’s proposed casino project are set to begin again after the La Center City Council on Wednesday night reversed a four-year-old resolution barring such discussions.

The council voted 4-1 to reintroduce talks, citing the city’s need to diversify its tax base and find a cost-effective way to develop property to the Interstate 5 junction. They also referenced the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision in December to allow the tribe to take 152 acres into trust along the I-5 corridor.

Clark County’s appeal of the ruling is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The council and the tribe have not spoken officially about the proposed casino since the council voted to ban all dialogue in 2007.

“I just feel a conversation never hurts anything,” council member Kristine Carmona said. “Without talking, there are more arguments, disagreements and misunderstandings.”

The city council’s vote happened before a standing room-only crowd of about 40 people inside La Center’s City Hall. Audience comments prior to the vote were split between those who urged the council to exhibit caution and those who wanted a dialogue to begin as soon as possible.

Linda Tracy, the only council member to oppose the resolution, disagreed with Carmona and said she felt like she was “being held hostage” on the issue.

“Talking is one thing, but opposition to the project doesn’t have anything to do with talking,” Tracy said, adding she opposed the project and believed the city could get to the I-5 junction without repealing the previous resolution. She added that the repeal could also hurt the city’s four cardrooms, which serve as its main revenue source.

Her fellow council members, Al Luiz, T. Randall Williams and Greg Thornton, followed with short statements explaining why they supported the resolution’s reversal.

“This is not about the tribe,” Luiz said. “This is about the development of the I-5 corridor.”

The tribe would likely pay for an as-yet-undetermined portion of the town’s sewer system as it moves closer to the junction.

Tom Hunt of Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, an anti-casino group, questioned whether La Center’s council had a firm grasp on why their predecessors resolved not to deal with the casino’s backers in 2007.

The tribe has failed to address how it would help the town deal with traffic and social problems that could arise once the casino opened, Hunt said prior to Wednesday’s meeting. For instance, he doubted whether the casino would put forth enough money to treat the influx of gambling addicts associated with the casino’s arrival.

“Nothing has changed,” Hunt said. “So why now has the city council thrown up their hands and said maybe we ought not to approve this?”

During the meeting, Luiz and Williams each said they received e-mails from community members attacking the project because it involved American Indians. Both council members denounced such race-based opinions. Luiz wondered if such negative comments would not give the Cowlitz tribe second thoughts about negotiating with La Center.

Mayor Jim Irish made no comments during the meeting about the resolution’s reversal. Irish was not immediately available after the meeting due to an executive session. He did not immediately return a call to his cell phone later in the evening.

Phillip Harju, a vice chairman and attorney with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, called the council’s decision a positive step and said the tribe was “always ready to negotiate.”

“They’re doing what we asked them to do for 10 years, which is talk,” he said.

Comments from the audience lasted 17 minutes, with some speakers taking close to their allotted three minutes.

Former council member Tom Smith questioned whether La Center’s council, which has three new members since April, understood why their predecessors resolved not to deal with the tribe in 2007.

“This is a great little city, and if you’re not careful, with the power of the pen, you’re going to change that,” he said.

Kathleen Arthur told the council she feared the history books would look on the city and its leaders unkindly if they refused to speak with the Cowlitz tribe.

“We could forget about having Indian neighbors,” she said. “We could forget about diversifying our revenue sources. But remember, history’s going to judge us on what happens tonight.”

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