Mayor Russ Kramer is all for the development of a casino in Carter Lake. In Kramer’s opinion, the addition of the proposed casino would bring more business development to the Iowa town on the Nebraska side of the river.
“We’ve tried to encourage economic development for years,” Kramer said. “If this comes to pass, it may be the thing that finally brings people to the city to see we’re a good place to do business.”
Nebraska’s Ponca Tribe hopes to build a casino on the 4.8 acres that it owns in Carter Lake but is currently facing many legal hurdles.
A federal appeals panel ruled against a prior decision to scrap the National Indian Gaming Commission’s 2007 decision to permit the development of a gambling resort in Carter Lake. Instead, the panel said the judge should have requested that the gaming commission consider a 2003 agreement between the state of Iowa and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In this settlement, the two parties agreed to use the land for non-gambling purposes.
The Ponca Tribe’s proposed casino would have 2,000 slot machines, 50 table games, and a 150-room hotel.
“Speaking for myself, I can’t speak for my council members, but I think it would be a great opportunity for the city,” said Kramer.
Many analysts have estimated that the casino would create between 1,600 and 1,800 jobs.
“That’d be huge for Carter Lake,” Kramer said. “To have those jobs available in my city would be enormous.”
Kramer said the many previous attempts to bring more business to Carter Lake have failed.
“We’ve tried to get a grocery store to locate in Carter Lake to no avail. We’ve tried to bring in a senior citizen housing facility to no avail. Other businesses, too. We have a local dentist who’s great, but it’d be nice to have a local doctor, a local health care facility, a pharmacy for our folks.”
In addition to the increase in jobs, an increase in businesses could result in lower taxes for residents.
“The majority of our tax base is residential,” said Kramer. “If we had a better mix of commercial and small industrial, that would certainly take the burden off the homeowners.”
