City Councilor Phil Lakin warned other councilors on Tuesday that the casino controversy erupting in Broken Arrow could very well occur in Tulsa.
"There are solid rumors" circulating in south Tulsa that another casino is planned on 8.2 acres near 111th Street and Yale Avenue where the South Yale Smoke Shop is located, he said.
The site is just four miles from the Broken Arrow site where the Kialegee Tribal Town has broken ground for casino construction, he said.
Lakin stressed the need for Tulsa to be proactive and not wait "until dirt has been turned" here.
The Tulsa site, 11010 S. Yale Ave., is owned by the Paul Chissoe, according to Tulsa County records.
Chissoe inherited the property, which is a Muscogee (Creek) allotment, and in 1990 he leased a portion of it for a smoke shop, a U.S. Department of Interior court document states.
Chissoe died in April. His sons could not be reached for comment.
Lakin said he hasn't talked to the land owner, but "I've been informed by legal experts that they (tribal members) can do whatever they want to do on that restricted land. ... Nobody has been able to tell me what can't be put on the land."
The councilor questioned whether every piece of property that has a smoke shop on it has the potential to become something else.
Lakin said he will seek council approval Thursday on a resolution supporting Broken Arrow's opposition to the casino there.
Mayor Dewey Bartlett told the Tulsa World that it is "very appropriate" for Tulsa to unite with Broken Arrow.
"I think it is inappropriate that entities be allowed to skirt the laws of the community," he said. "Using misconceived notions of sovereignty and financial capability as the reason to do something is not right."
He said that if the casino is allowed in Broken Arrow, it would set a precedent "that is simply unacceptable, and we cannot allow it to happen."
Bartlett said the community needs to "rise up and show its displeasure."
"The federal government has the ability of stopping this dead in its tracks, and that is where the battle should be," he said.
Lakin told councilors that he has contacted federal, state and county officials to determine what could be done to stop the casino's construction.
He said a casino at the south Tulsa site would put enormous stress on security and infrastructure there.
Lakin noted that cities use zoning to protect areas from inappropriate construction for a reason.
"We don't allow strip clubs to be built next to schools and churches," he said. "Do we want other adult entertainment activities like casinos to be built too closely to our neighborhoods, right in the middle of our neighborhoods?
"So, whether or not a casino goes up there tomorrow or four weeks from now or four years from now, it still focuses light on the scenario what Broken Arrow is going through and something that we need to be very aware of, because it could happen," he said.
Broken Arrow officials are fighting the Kialegee Tribal Town, which has construction under way for the casino at the corner of Olive Avenue (129th East Avenue) and Florence Street (111th Street).
The Kialegee Tribal Town is a federally recognized tribe as well as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It has 439 enrolled members and is based in Wetumka.
The Broken Arrow property is owned by two Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribal members, Marcella Giles and Wynema Capps, who inherited the Creek allotment from their father.
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