Bay Mills Tribe possible Casino site

Bay Mills Tribe possible Casino site,
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http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/land_records_show_bay_mills_in.html
CASINO HEADED TO FLINT TOWNSHIP
A big development could be headed for the shadow of the Genesee Valley shopping center and some are speculating it could be a casino.[2]
BAY MILLS TRIBE OPENING CASINOS WHEREVER THEY WANT
Speculation about a casino here could be fueled by recent reports regarding the Upper Peninsula’s Bay Mills Indian Community, which recently opened a casino in Vanderbilt near Gaylord despite questions about the legality of the move.[2]
CASINO SLIPPED IN WITHOUT GOVERNMENT APPROVAL
The Port Huron Times Herald reported the casino opened without the usually required state and federal approvals, and experts told the paper that the tribe could be using Vanderbilt as a test before opening a casino in Port Huron, where it recently purchased land, and elsewhere.[2]
BAY MILLS NOT AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
The Flint Journal could not reach a representative of the Bay Mills Indian Community for comment Friday.[2]
TRIBE NOW OWN PRIME LAND NEAR GENESEE VALLEY
The Bay Mills Indian Community now owns 28 acres near the Genesee Valley shopping center, putting it in a position to open a casino here if it can fend off legal challenges.
A warranty deed filed with the Genesee County Register of Deeds Office Dec. 17 shows the vacant land has been purchased by the Bay Mills tribe from Joann M. Kemp of Macomb County but neither that paperwork nor a quit claim deed filed earlier reveal a purchase price. [1]
BUZZ
Buzz has been building since the October sale of a 28-acre parcel of real estate in the area of Dutcher and Lennon roads, long promoted as some of the county's best undeveloped commercial land.[2]
DID PRESTON GET IN TROUBLE FOR LEAKING THE CASINO INFORMATION?
Jerry Preston, president of the Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he has heard the casino speculation.[2]
“We understand there's been a land purchase by what could be an Indian tribe,” Preston said Friday.[2]
DETROIT AREA REAL ESTATE BROKER
The same Detroit-area broker who helped put the sale together still has options to purchase additional, adjacent parcels that could double the size of a potential development, according to the real estate company that's representing the sellers.[2]
LAND SOLD LINKED TO FLINT TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE
The Flint Journal earlier covered the purchase of Kempts property by Norel Enterprises Inc., a corporation with owners that include township trustee George Menoutes. [1]
WHAT DID THEY KN OW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT.
At that time, Bay Mills involvement in the land deal was the subject of rumor and speculation. Now that the tribe has taken ownership, the only question is what Bay Mills has in mind for the prime commercial property, located near the northeast corner of Lennon and Dutcher roads. [1]
KEMP NOT TALKING
The Journal has been unable to reach Kemp or a Bay Mills representative for comment on the tribe's interest in the area, and township Supervisor Karyn Miller said she isn't sure whether she would support development of a casino here or fight against it.
Long-time resident Bonnie Johnson, who lives on Tandy Drive, just east of the Bay Mills property, said she's not excited about the prospect of a gambling operation in her back yard. [1]
THE PUBLIC RECORD
The 28 acres in the Lennon and Dutcher roads area were sold to Joanne Kemp of Harrison Twp in Macomb County, according to a deed on file at the Genesee County Register of Deeds Office. The Flint Journal could not reach Kemp for comment Friday and others involved in the sale say they aren't sure what her intentions may be.[2]
JUST WHAT IS THE PROPERTY WORTH
The deed did not list the price of the sale, but township records say the property has an assessed value of more than $525,000.[2]
A CASINO IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE
"It would be nothing but trouble. We would be against it," said Johnson, who has lived here about 40 years. "People go there with a lot of money and come out with none."
Bay Mills is locked in a high-stakes game of chicken with state and federal officials as well as other tribes since it opened a small casino in Vanderbilt, a small village in northern Michigan, that state officials say violates state and federal law. [1]
A letter sent to the tribe from the state attorney general's office says Bay Mills considers that Vanderbilt property tribal land because its purchase was connected to the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act. [1]
The attorney general's office says the casino there is not on "Indian lands," as required for a legal gambling operation. The letter says Bay Mills has argued the casino can operate without review or approval from the state or federal officials in part because the tribe already has an approved compact with the state. Bay Mills also operates two casinos in the Upper Peninsula, where it is based. [1]
Bay Mills opened the Vanderbilt casino in November, and the state and the Little Traverse Bands of Odawa Indians filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court last week, asking a federal judge to shut down the casino. [1][
Like the newly purchased land in Flint Township and land it purchased recently in Port Huron, Bay Mills bought the Vanderbilt land within the last six months, fueling speculation that it is planning casinos in those two areas as well. [1]
James Nye, a spokesman for six Indian tribes that claim the Vanderbilt casino is illegal, said the small gambling operation near Gaylord is "a test case to open additional areas" like Flint Township to a Bay Mills casino. [1]
"If it's legal in Vanderbilt, it's legal in Flint or Port Huron," Nye said. "Then Bay Mills is the only government entity that gets to decide when and where they open a casino.
"It's completely at Bay Mills discretion." [1]
　
Winfield Cooper, president of Cooper Commercial in Flint Township, said the broker …Vigliotti … representing Kemp never volunteered what the ultimate plans are for the land.[2]
Cooper said he's never talked to Kemp, who only emerged as the buyer days before the sale closed. He said he knows there will be interest in what's happening here — options pending on multiple parcels of land in an otherwise slow real estate market.
But Cooper said the buyer's representative “did not talk to us about what the use would be.”[2]

“We're just excited to see interest in development in Flint Township,” he said.[2]

Genesee County Commissioner Ted Henry, D-Clayton Twp., said he would support the construction of a casino to provide an economic boost the area -- provided the operation is legal and is supported by the township. [1]
Miller said she's not sure if she would use her position to fight or support a casino.
"I don't have any comment ... whether I'm for it," Miller said. "When they feel it is the right time, I'm sure they will talk to (me). At this point, I don't know." [1]
Miller said she and other township officials have discussed forming a special committee, including members of the township planning commission, to discuss the land purchase with Bay Mills officials. [1]
Menoutes said there are more questions than answers about the property but spoke in positive terms about development of a casino here. [1]
"It's too bad that it's not going to (downtown Flint)," Menoutes said. "That would have helped the city." [1]
Menoutes said he sees the positive impact of the Indian casino in Mount Pleasant when he visits there. [1]
"All I see is people walking up and down the street," Menoutes said. [1]
Police, fire and the township's tax base could all benefit if a casino becomes reality, Menoutes said. [1]
Johnson, 75, said she won't leave her home no matter what happens with the vacant land Bay Mills now owns. [1]
"We're here for the rest of our lives," she said. [1]

George Menoutes, a township trustee and partner in Norel Enterprises Inc. — the corporation that sold the property to Kemp — identified the deal broker as Ralph Vigliotti Real Estate but would not comment on what the land may be used for.[2]
　
　
　
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[2]http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/sss.html
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