Governor won't play role in casino negotiations after all.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

FLORENCE - A volunteer task force spent more than a dozen hours at four meetings in September, pondering what a casino would mean to Florence.

Now, it seems, their work was all for naught.

Last month, the city sent the task force's six-page report to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, with the hope that he would use the document as a starting point for negotiations with the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

That's not going to happen.

"We just don't have the authority to do that," said Mary Ellen Glynn, a spokeswoman for the governor. "These are mainly local issues."

Glynn said that sentiment was communicated, verbally, to the city. But City Manager Rodger Bennett said he's heard nothing from the governor since Mayor Alan Burns sent the report.

"Maybe they're just too busy to respond to local communities," Bennett said. "I was given a clear impression that the governor would respond."

On Sept. 2, the city appointed a 10-member task force to study the effects of a casino on the 98-acre Hatch Tract.

The task force asked for community input, gathering 472 written responses. And they issued a brief but comprehensive report, suggesting an array of ways to mitigate their concerns: The tribes should submit a detailed building plan for the Hatch Tract, like any other developer, the task force suggested. They should agree not to develop a convention/entertainment center on the Hatch Tract for at least 10 years after the casino opens, and instead use the Florence Events Center for entertainment and conventions.

The tribes should collect a lodging fee for the city and agree not to compete with local businesses. They should contribute $40,000 to Siuslaw Outreach Services and $25,000 to Florence Food Share, to mitigate social impacts of problem gambling.

The task force even suggested that the tribe help only Lane County agencies with a yet-to-be established "Community Benefits Fund," which allocates a percentage of casino profits to community groups.

But tribal administrator Francis Somday said the time for negotiation is just about over. Many of the task force's desires were on the table when the tribes and the city were close to reaching a deal last year to include the Hatch Tract in the city's urban growth boundary.

In exchange for access to the city's water and sewer services, the tribes were willing to make concessions to the city. Those negotiations have twice been thwarted, however: first, when the city balked at a tribal ultimatum to approve a draft agreement last summer; and second, when an attempt to restart those negotiations in August failed.

"I don't know what to make of why (the task force report) was done," Somday said. "That's probably a question that should be asked of whoever proposed it."

The compact with the state already establishes what's required of the tribes, Somday said. For example: The tribes must pay for increased law enforcement and complete a traffic study to examine the effect of a casino on Highway 126.

The impact on Florence, however, is Florence's problem.

"We as a state don't have the authority to come in and make agreements between localities and tribes," Glynn said.

That frustrates city officials.

"Isn't the city of Florence part of the state of Oregon?" Mayor Burns asked.

Somday said the compact does require the tribes to consider bonafide concerns raised after the casino is built. And, he said, the tribes have always and will continue to be willing to meet with state and local officials on casino effects.

But there's been no such communication of late, and the clock for striking bargains is ticking. At this point, it's probably too late for the tribe to consider changing any of its plans to drill water wells and build its own sewage treatment plant.

"This lack of discussion on how we can be good neighbors is not good," Somday said. "It's getting late in the game."