SHULLSBURG - The proposed Shullsburg casino project is on its way to a full environmental impact study, according Tom Maulson, president of the Lac du Flambeau tribe.
Maulson notified Shullsburg mayor Tom Lethlean by letter in mid-March, telling him the Chippewa Indian band is signing an agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Atkins North America, Inc., a design, engineering and project management consulting firm in Minneapolis, by the end of the month, "so that the environmental impact study can commence."
Lethlean presented the letter at the city's Common Council meeting March 20.
The tribe is also finishing some key components of its formal land trust application, and its casino project plan is going through a required scoping process with the BIA in preparation for the formal announcement that will be published in the Federal Register.
Between the scoping process and the Federal Registry notice, the tribe is planning to hold public information meetings, first in Lac du Flambeau and then in Shullsburg, to update the communities.
According to Joseph Hunt, an executive member of the tribe's work group for the casino project, the meeting in Shullsburg is tentatively set for 6 p.m. Monday, April 22 at the high school.
Hunt said there has been "general movement" on the project. The work group is ready to schedule formal meetings with the city to facilitate annexing remaining parcels of its 92 acres and to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement.
In his letter, Maulson said the project will be "a bit more compact" than originally planned, but that the potential impact for Shullsburg and Lac du Flambeau would be "tremendous." He noted the project will generate 800 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs. The tribe will spend an estimated $132 million to build, of which almost $34 million will be for payroll.
The project includes the casino, a 300-room hotel tower, an event center, multiple food venues, a fitness center/spa, a gift shop, a KOA-style campground and a sporting club. Annual operations costs are expected to run up to $20 million for payroll and $25 million for good and services purchased. Project data sheets with more specifics will be released at the information meetings.
According to its website, LDF has historical ties to the Shullsburg area. The area around present day Shullsburg is within the boundaries designated by the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1825 for the Council of Three Fires, which included the Chippewa, Ottawa and the Potawatomie. A representative of the Lac du Flambeau signed the treaty. Lac du Flambeau is a band of the Lake Superior Chippawa Indians. The treaty was subsequently ratified by all Chippewa tribes in the follow-up gathering in Fond du Lac, Minn. in 1826. The land was later ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829. The Chippewa retained the right to hunt on the lands ceded in the territory.
Maulson notified Shullsburg mayor Tom Lethlean by letter in mid-March, telling him the Chippewa Indian band is signing an agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Atkins North America, Inc., a design, engineering and project management consulting firm in Minneapolis, by the end of the month, "so that the environmental impact study can commence."
Lethlean presented the letter at the city's Common Council meeting March 20.
The tribe is also finishing some key components of its formal land trust application, and its casino project plan is going through a required scoping process with the BIA in preparation for the formal announcement that will be published in the Federal Register.
Between the scoping process and the Federal Registry notice, the tribe is planning to hold public information meetings, first in Lac du Flambeau and then in Shullsburg, to update the communities.
According to Joseph Hunt, an executive member of the tribe's work group for the casino project, the meeting in Shullsburg is tentatively set for 6 p.m. Monday, April 22 at the high school.
Hunt said there has been "general movement" on the project. The work group is ready to schedule formal meetings with the city to facilitate annexing remaining parcels of its 92 acres and to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement.
In his letter, Maulson said the project will be "a bit more compact" than originally planned, but that the potential impact for Shullsburg and Lac du Flambeau would be "tremendous." He noted the project will generate 800 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs. The tribe will spend an estimated $132 million to build, of which almost $34 million will be for payroll.
The project includes the casino, a 300-room hotel tower, an event center, multiple food venues, a fitness center/spa, a gift shop, a KOA-style campground and a sporting club. Annual operations costs are expected to run up to $20 million for payroll and $25 million for good and services purchased. Project data sheets with more specifics will be released at the information meetings.
According to its website, LDF has historical ties to the Shullsburg area. The area around present day Shullsburg is within the boundaries designated by the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1825 for the Council of Three Fires, which included the Chippewa, Ottawa and the Potawatomie. A representative of the Lac du Flambeau signed the treaty. Lac du Flambeau is a band of the Lake Superior Chippawa Indians. The treaty was subsequently ratified by all Chippewa tribes in the follow-up gathering in Fond du Lac, Minn. in 1826. The land was later ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829. The Chippewa retained the right to hunt on the lands ceded in the territory.