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By RAELYNN
RICARTE
News staff writer
Aug. 31, 2007
Four
Cascade Locks officials have been accused of violating Oregon’s
Public Meetings Law by attending a tribal celebration together
at Kah-Ne-Tah Resort.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge and No Gorge Casino! filed a
lawsuit in Hood River Circuit Court on Aug. 25. Their complaint
alleges that a quorum of the council engaged in illegal dialogue
with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs during the June 22
visit.
“We
asked the city to provide us with minutes from that meeting and
a list of participants. Because they did not comply with that
request, our only recourse was to take the issue to court,” said
Michael Lang, conservation director for Friends.
The
plaintiffs contend that a quorum of the council had their
travel, meals and lodging expenses paid with taxpayer dollars.
But they failed to provide the public with notice of a meeting
or minutes of any discussion that took place.
“Open
public meetings and full disclosures are the responsibility of
our elected officials and the cornerstone of our democracy,”
said Carol Taylor, a Cascade Locks resident and member of No
Casino.
“Once
our elected city officials start holding secret meetings behind
closed doors and refuse to report to their constituents, they
lose credibility and no longer represent the citizens of Cascade
Locks.”
Cascade Locks City Administrator Bernard Seeger denies that any
violation of the law took place. He said Mayor Roger Freeborn
and Councilors Tom Brazille, Tom Cramblett and Kerry Osbourn
attended Pi-ume-sha, a tribal gathering that was “recreational
and social in nature.”
“There is just no merit to this allegation,” he said.
Seeger said no deliberations took place nor were any decisions
made — the two triggers that require public meeting to be
advertised.
“I
was there and City Counsel Will Carey was there and neither of
us would have allowed anyone to violate the law,” said Seeger.
“I
think this is about creating negative publicity and trying to
turn public opinion against the city’s integrity and stewardship
of the (Bridge of the Gods Casino and Resort) project.
“Tribal leaders updated a group of 25 to 30 people on the status
of the project — but no one from Cascade Locks did any
presenting, they were not even seated together.”
Attorney General Hardy Myers’ Public Records and Meeting Manual
describes an open meeting as the convening of any governing
bodies “for which a quorum is required in order to make a
decision or to deliberate toward a decision on any matter.”
The
Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld that social gatherings of a
school board, at which members sometimes discussed “what’s going
on at the school”, did not violate the law.
An
elected board is required to open the meeting to the public if
it is “for the sole purpose of gathering information to serve as
the basis for a subsequent decision or recommendation.”
Each
year the Warm Springs invites officials from the Gorge to join
Pi-ume-sha, an annual celebration of the 1855 treaty signing.
Also attending the 2007 event were: Hood River County Commission
Chair Ron Rivers, Cascade Locks Port Commissioner Kathy Woolsey
and Port Commissioner Jean McLean, County Commissioner Barbara
Briggs and County Administrator Dave Meriwether.
Richard Randall, a Cascade Locks citizen and member of No
Casino, said the city has “blurred the line between lawful and
unlawful meetings” since 1999.
In
June of that year, the city council declared its support for a
Warm Springs casino being located within its borders. Cascade
Locks officials subsequently advocated that Gov. Ted Kulongoski
allow the gaming center to be built in the largely willing
community and not on 40 acres of trust land east of Hood River,
a location that was strongly opposed by area residents.
In
2005, Kulongoski signed off on the Warm Springs’ proposal to
build a 500,000-square-foot gaming center/resort on 25 acres
within Cascade Locks’ industrial park. Another 35 acres would be
leased from the port to provide parking spaces.
In
return, the tribe agreed to give up development rights on its
trust land near Hood River. In addition, the tribe was willing
to sign over 175 acres of adjacent land that was purchased
several years ago. All of these properties lie within the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Len
Bergstein, tribal spokesperson, said Friends and No Casino are
using the lawsuit as a form of “harassment.”
“They
seem to have a kick-up-the-dirt and throw-sand-in-the-gears kind
of mentality,” he said.
Bergstein believes opponents of the casino would be more
productive if they encouraged federal officials to hold public
hearings so the merits of the project could be discussed.
He
said the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which outlines
the potential affects of the project on the community and
natural resources, is ready for review. He said as soon as the
Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, places a notice in the federal register the DEIS can be
scrutinized by citizens.
According to Bergstein, five hearings are scheduled to take
place in Gorge communities and the Portland metro area.
“We’re poised to walk through the next door but we are waiting
for someone to open that door by signing off on a piece of paper
that will allow a good, civil and robust debate on the issues,”
he said.
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