Broken Arrow Plans Next Move As Construction Continues On Controversial Casino

The opposition against a casino in Broken Arrow continues to grow.

Monday, the chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation spoke out against the casino. Tuesday, the city of Broken Arrow is trying to figure out what it should do next.

A day after the chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation says he's against it, the heavy machinery and dirt work continues on in Broken Arrow.

01/16/2012 Related Story: Creek Nation: No Gaming Application Made For BA Casino

The Kialegee Tribal Town is building a casino here on the property of two women who don't belong to that tribe but to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Mike Lester, the mayor of Broken Arrow, says there have been rumors for years about a casino but never anything concrete until the last few years.

Mayor Lester welcomes the opposition by the Creeks but is concerned there's not much else that can be done at the local level.

Some residents have wondered if the city can turn down requests to provide utilities to the casino. Mayor Lester says water and sewer pipes are already hooked to the nearby Tulsa Tech and those are the same that would connect to the casino.

But that can't happen unless the developers tell the city what they're building.

"We have to know what size building they're building, what the use is, and what the sanitary-sewer requirements for this facility as we've received none of that," Mayor Lester said.

Mayor Lester says he does not anticipate the city refusing to provide utilities to the casino as long as the developers share their building plans. He says it's simply a matter of safety, not only for the future patrons of the casino but for the surrounding area as well.

"If they were required to put a lagoon system in, I think the issues for those surrounding neighborhoods in that area would be significantly impaired as opposed to the city providing sewer service," he said.

The mayor says the city has never refused utilities in its entire history and the steps it's asking from the casino developers are the same it would ask of any new development.

The mayor says another big concern is litigation, he says if they refuse utilities there's a good chance the city would get sued and the odds of winning are very slim.

An attorney for the Kialegee's told me the tribe will get whatever the city needs and plans to cooperate fully.