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Benefits
The Cowlitz development will:
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Make payments in lieu of property taxes that will result in a $3 million to $4 million annual payment to Clark County.
- Create thousands of new jobs when fully developed.
- Create numerous construction jobs. Our intent is to hire local unions and local contractors through a project labor agreement.
- Work with neighboring businesses to mutually benefit from tourist trade.
- Use local artisans and vendors.
- Attract thousands of tourists and new visitors to southwest Washington.
- Keep local casino patrons in southwest Washington.
- Contribute two percent of net gaming revenues to an education and arts fund, an amount that could add up to millions of dollars per year.
- Promote other local attractions to casino and resort visitors (e.g., Tri-Mountain Golf Course, Mt. St. Helens)
- Support cultural education programs and materials in the schools that describe the history of the Cowlitz Tribe.
Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), Indian governments must spend gaming revenue to:
- Fund tribal government operations or programs.
- Provide for the general welfare of the Indian tribe and its members.
- Promote tribal economic development.
- Donate to charitable organizations, or
- Help fund operations of local government agencies.
For the Cowlitz Tribe in particular, the development will:
- Improve Tribal economy and self sufficiency.
- Create jobs and career opportunities.
- Generate funds to endow scholarships for the young and provide health care and prescription drug benefits for our growing number of elders.
- Generate funds to help us preserve our culture and language while protecting ancestral lands and the environment.
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