Many towns warily weighing casino offer

By Joe Winter

HAMMOND - Many towns and villages in St. Croix County will consider taking money from the Four Feathers partnership if they get the right answers to certain contractual questions.

That position was stated by officials of many county municipalities when they met in Hammond Thursday night to discuss the money that would be provided if official support is given to a casino in Hudson. Only the town of Troy, which early on sent a letter to Four Feathers saying it wasn't interested, and the town of Richmond haven't been approached by Four Feathers.

A clear majority of the town and village officials said that support would be given to jointly hiring an attorney to check provisions of contracts offered by Four Feathers.

A Hammond representative said there could be a "domino effect" involving the offers. If one municipality accepts an offer, others might follow very quickly, since Four Feathers has said there is a limit to the amount of money it would pay. There might be a scenario where municipalities that are late in offering support don't get paid.

Jeff Johnson, incoming town of Hudson chairperson, asked officials from outlying municipalities not to be "selfish" and evaluate the offers as if they, too, would have to live with any secondary effects. Concern was expressed that if a casino were approved for St. Croix Meadows, it could lead to a second casino being erected in the other end of the county along Interstate 94.

The offers will be brought before residents at several annual meetings this week, many of them scheduled for Tuesday night, such as that at 6:30 p.m. in the town of Warren. The town of Somerset likely will hold a referendum on the offers in the next two weeks. The Roberts Village Board discussed the offers during Monday night's meeting, but took no official stance.

Representatives of many municipalities said that opinion regarding acceptance of the offers ranges from 50-50 to 40 percent in favor. However, a town of Cylon official said there appears to be little opposition. "We're a poor town; we'll (likely) take the money and run," he said.

The offers that have been made run mostly at paying 50 percent of the property tax levy for villages and 100 percent for towns, based on reports given by various town officials at the meeting. Often included is an additional 5 percent per year of the agreement.

A town of Cady official asked what would happen if at a later date board members decided they no longer wanted to continue with the deal. He warned this is like "dealing with the devil."

Rita Horne, outgoing chairperson of the town of Hudson, suggested that members of the various boards check into the backgrounds and "deep pockets" of the Four Feathers officials.

The Four Feathers partnership "has more money than all these towns combined," said Mary Kay Wusterbarth, a town of Troy supervisor.

Several town officials said they were tired of living in Hudson's shadow and didn't feel too sympathetic in supporting the city in its casino plight. They say large Hudson retail stores offer relatively low-paying jobs, while the tax base is eroded in the rest of the county. The shoe is finally on the other foot, they said. They pointed out that the lobbyist for Four Feathers, Morris Andrews, has said one reason for doling out the money is to encourage provisions for low-income housing.

Others questioned why the Four Feathers offer is being seen as a "bribe" by some town officials, while giving out tax-free land in industrial parks is not.