Tulsa County Commissioners approved a resolution opposing the proposed Kialegee Tribal Town casino project in Broken Arrow.
The resolution comes after all three commissioners previously expressed opposition to the casino project. The resolution was brought forward Thursday morning in the Board of County Commissioners Management Conference.
The text of the resolution follows:
Whereas, the Kialegee Tribal Town, part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a sovereign and federally recognized Native American tribe based in Wetumka Oklahoma, its tribal jurisdictional area bounded by Hughes, McIntosh, and Okfuskee counties; and,
Whereas, the governance of the Kialegee Tribal Town has begun construction of a gambling casino on property immediately adjacent to the Tulsa Technology Campus of Career Tech and a planned site of a public elementary school within the city limits of Broken Arrow, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma; and,
Whereas, a growing sentiment of opposition to the building of this casino exists among the citizens and community of Broken Arrow; and,
Whereas, the representatives of the citizens of Broken Arrow, Mayor Mike Lester and the Broken Arrow City Council, have signified their opposition by vote and public statement; and,
Whereas, Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, and Congressman John Sullivan have joined in the calls for an alternative outcome in this situation; and,
Whereas, it is the belief of the Tulsa County Commission that the citizens of Broken Arrow would be well served by a higher and better use of the property in question, more in keeping with the zoning and planning conventions of the community,
Therefore, be it resolved that the Tulsa County Commission does hereby voice its well-considered and firm opposition to the currently developing Kialegee Casino, and respectfully requests that the honorable leadership of the Kialegee Tribal Town select a more suitable location within its jurisdiction.
