RUSSELLVILLE -- The Russellville City Council strengthened its resolve that the process of reviewing proposals for a Pope County casino license will be open and transparent when it passed a resolution Thursday prohibiting the use of nondisclosure agreements.
The council also, in a 5-4 vote, declined to hear two resolutions added to the agenda late Wednesday to dissolve the city's Community Gaming Evaluation Committee -- established earlier this month to review the casino proposals and issue a recommendation to the full council -- and to direct the mayor to meet with the county judge to devise a legal way to share the casino tax revenue.
Russellville Mayor Richard Harris and the committee drew criticism recently after the committee suggested that nondisclosure agreements be signed to keep parts of the submitted applications and process private.
The gaming committee was established by the City Council in response to the Pope County Quorum Court's surprise resolution endorsing Cherokee Nation Businesses, one of five competitors, for the casino license.
Russellville was not named as a beneficiary of a proposed $38.8 million "economic development fee" that would be paid by the Cherokees and shared by the county, various other cities and nonprofit organizations. The Cherokees' casino would be built just north of Russellville and couldn't be annexed into the city without county approval.
In an interview after the council's night meeting, County Judge Ben Cross reiterated that the city was excluded from the payment plan because the city will benefit indirectly by the casino venture -- such as the construction of a convention center, water park and concert venue.
The casino complex will free up some $2.4 million in cash assets and $5 million in real estate the city has set aside for a convention center that has been in plans for nearly two decades, Cross said.
Also, the city is the "single biggest consumer" of county services, such as the county jail, medical runs and 911 call responses, Cross said.
"The amphitheater, the water park. Those are all the result of input I took from citizens. His citizens," Cross said referring to Harris.
Harris initially said, when setting up the committee, that the city was trying to get a part of the revenue stream that would be generated by a casino. Other council members said they wanted to "bring some transparency" to the process that was lacking in the county's decision. The Quorum Court members have been accused of having secret meetings to pick a casino applicant to endorse.
The resolution passed Thursday amends a section of the Request for Proposals -- which outlines the requirements and process for potential casino operators to submit applications to the committee -- to not only prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements, but also place the burden of proof on the applicants to cite a specific state Freedom of Information Act exception that would allow the redacting of any information which would give competitors an unfair advantage.
The Request for Proposals will be sent out before Tuesday, the resolution states.
Council Member Mark Tripp, who sponsored the resolution to do away with the nondisclosure agreements, said he understands and respects the use of the documents intended to keep proprietary financial information private.
"But there is a lot of difference between the public and private law and that's what makes it complicated," Tripp said. "When we're trying to be extra cautious towards transparency, we don't need to do anything to counteract our good intentions."
Council Member Shawn Harris said he was disappointed that the council didn't allow his and Council Member Justin Keller's resolutions -- to dissolve the committee and to force negotiations between the city and county -- to be heard.
Under council rules, items added after the agenda has been set can only be heard at that particular meeting if the majority of the council members vote to allow it. The resolutions can be placed on the agenda for the next council meeting without prior approval.
"I'm done with it," Shawn Harris said. "I will not bring it up again."
Shawn Harris said that the city should have been involved in the process "a year ago" and should have worked with the county, instead of against one another.
"I'm still holding out hope for that," he said. "We're just building a wedge right now. It's bad business. The rest of the state and businesses coming in to locate here are watching us. Who wants to bring a business in here if the city and county can't get along?"
Cross said in a telephone interview Thursday that the city's gaming committee needs to be dissolved because it has no authoritative basis.
According to Amendment 100 -- approved by voters in November to allow new casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties and the expansion of gambling at the racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis -- applications must include endorsement by local officials. If the casino is to be located inside city limits, Amendment 100 requires endorsements from the mayor of the city as well as from the county judge or county Quorum Court. The state Racing Commission rejected all five casino applicants for Pope County in June because they lacked endorsements from current local officials. After that the Quorum Court endorsed the Cherokees' proposal. The Racing Commission reopened the application process for 90 days.
"The Quorum Court feels this is a direct insult to their integrity," Cross said. "You've got a cross section of the community that has already made this decision and now you've formed a baseless committee. It's an insult to our integrity for them to say they're going to do an open and transparent process and then proceed to do things as they have. We never required nondisclosure agreements."
None of the Russellville City Council members viewed the casino proposals that were "laid at the foot of my desk" before the Cherokees were endorsed by the Quorum Court, Cross said.
"I made it known to every mayor in the county, everybody that the proposals were available," Cross said. "The community came and looked, but not one councilman came to my office to look at the proposals."
Cross responded with an emphatic "absolutely" when asked if he was negotiating with Mayor Harris to resolve the issues and work together.
"We've got to find the legal mechanism for splitting the revenue," Cross said. "It's up to the attorneys to find that avenue."
Amendment 100 requires that if a casino sits within a city, 19.5% of the tax revenue would go to the city while 8% would go to the county. If a casino is outside city limits, the total amount, 27.5%, would all go to the county.
"You can't just say we can do this 50/50," Cross said.
Russellville has been discussing ways to annex the land north of the city earmarked as the location for the Cherokee casino. Thursday, the City Council passed a resolution to allocate $8,000 to pay for a survey of the proposed annexation area.
In an interview after the meeting, Mayor Harris said he's been meeting with Cross to come to a resolution.
"As painful as this for everyone involved, the [state] Racing Commission will make a decision, unless the courts throw us a curve ball, in a couple of months. Once the Racing Commission has made their decision, it's coming," Harris said. "As painful as this is for the community, 10 years from now, no one will probably remember what we've done here tonight. You've got to look long term. If you just just focus on today, you'll get very frustrated. No matter which side you're on, we're just trying to do the best for the community."
A Section on 09/20/2019