Shawano County officials are exploring the possibility of getting gaming compact funds from a future Menominee casino in Kenosha, if Gov. Scott Walker approves.
Administrative Coordinator Tom Madsen has been in contact with Walker’s office to look at whether the county could receive funds in lieu of taxes for tribal land within Shawano County if the Kenosha project moves forward. Most of the Menominee reservation is within Menominee County, but 1,600 acres of land in Middle Village put into trust in the 1980s is in Shawano County.
Madsen’s Sept. 19 email to Steve Knudson, administrator for the Wisconsin Division of Gaming, proposed a face-to-face meeting in Madison with the two and Corporation Counsel Tony Kordus, at the behest of the Tribal Affairs Committee. He noted that the county has a similar arrangement with the Ho-Chunk Tribe for its casino in Wittenberg.
The county has been receiving $82,500 annually from the Ho-Chunk since the casino opened in November 2008. The money is compensation for 82½ acres of land in the Wittenberg area being put into trust, equivalent to $1,000 per acre.
If the same formula were to apply for the Middle Village land, that would be about $1.6 million annually coming to the county, which could be a huge boon in a time when the county’s budget is tightening due to levy limits, state aid is decreasing and environmental impact fees are due to go away in about two years.
No meeting between the county and the state has been scheduled yet. Knudson, in a Sept. 19 reply to Madsen, indicated a meeting would be premature, as Walker has not yet stated whether he supports the Kenosha casino.
“Perhaps as we go forward and have a better idea of the governor’s actions regarding the Menominee’s Kenosha application, we could meet at that time,” Knudson said.
An update on the county’s effort with the state was given to the Tribal Affairs Committee in a closed session on Tuesday.
Madsen couldn’t disclose the details of the committee discussion but told the Leader later that the money would help the town of Red Springs and the Gresham School District, which border Middle Village, in addition to the county.
“We’re talking big bucks,” Madsen said. “If there is going to be any revenue for Shawano County, it’s going to be a long ways away.”
Madsen noted the county has a good relationship with the Menominee tribe and hopes that it will support the county’s effort.
“We’re not asking the tribe to give money. We’re asking the state to give money that they’re getting from the tribe,” Madsen said.
Tribal Chairman Craig Corn said in August that a casino in Kenosha would generate $35 million in additional revenue for the state, plus $19 million for local governments and schools.
Corn did not return a call from the Leader seeking comment on the county’s plan.
Currently, the proposed casino has the support of eight of Wisconsin’s 11 federally recognized American Indian tribes. However, there is strong opposition from the Potawatomi Tribe, which operates a casino 40 miles north of Kenosha, as well as the Ho-Chunk.
There is also federal support for the casino, but the final decision lies with Walker.
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