CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
In a gesture of appreciation to our loyal
clientele, Chinook Winds staged several
special events during the fifth anniversary
celebration on June 23-25. We paid tribute
to those original employees, tribal officials,
staff, and consultants who made Chinook
Winds possible. The celebration also
included fireworks, dancing, and J.T. Taylor,
formerly the voice of Kool and the Gang.
Chinook Winds Casino & Convention
Center is a priceless economic asset to the
Siletz Tribe and the broader non-lndian
community of Lincoln City and Lincoln
County. It has provided meaningful
employment to tribal members and non
Indians alike.
The Oregonian published the tribally
authorized economic impact study in an
Op-Ed piece over my name on June 22. The
reputable Portland-based economic
research firm ECONorthwest conducted the
independent study. I urge you to read the
full text of the Op-Ed piece following
my column.
Chinook Winds enjoys a unique
attribute because of its location overlooking
the Pacific Ocean. It is a tourist-centered
operation and we are intensifying our efforts
by coordinating with Lincoln City and the
county in promoting increased tourism.
Through tightened management and
marketing practices, it is projected that
Chinook Winds’ operation will result in
increased revenues to the tribe beginning
in 2000.
The Tribal Council will continue to work
vigorously to enhance the economic viability
of the tribe’s gaming enterprise. We must not
forget, however, that national forces are
committed to the erosion, if not the
elimination, of Indian gaming.
It’s often easier to push complicated
issues to the background during the summer
doldrums, but I wish to emphasize that it’s
not too early for us to begin thinking about
the general election to be held in
November 2000.
A new president will be elected, either
Al Gore or George Bush, as will one-third of
the U.S. Senate and all 435 members of the
House of Representatives. The outcome of
the election will have a profound impact on
Indian affairs — remember your vote
is important!
I urge you to examine the candidates’
positions on Indian affairs at all levels and
to vote accordingly.
Indian
lobbying
contributed
substantially to the defeat of a recent
amendment sponsored by a Florida
congressman that would have been
detrimental to Indian gaming nationally. This
is a positive example of tribes understanding
the issue, standing together, and working
with our friends in Congress to help defeat
negative legislation.
The Op-Ed piece from The Oregonian
follows:
Tribal Casino Has Big
Positive Effects on
Lincoln City
On Chinook Winds’
fifth anniversary, evidence offsets
concerns about problems
When the Siletz Tribe began planning
a gaming center in Lincoln City, there was
general apprehension that a casino would
ruin the city’s quality of life - cause traffic
jams and environmental problems; attract
alcohol, drugs and organized crime, and be
a financial burden on the city.
With a study on the impacts now
complete, we are proud to say that none of
these dire predictions has come to pass.
Instead, ECONorthwest found that Chinook
Winds Casino and Convention Center is
making significant positive contributions to
Lincoln City and Lincoln County.
4 Without Chinook Winds, there would be
1,173 fewer jobs, and paychecks
totaling $23 million would disappear from
the county. This is of particular
importance because the county has
been hard hit by the decline in the timber
and fishing industries.
4- Chinook Winds attracted 475,000 new
visitors to Lincoln City in 1998; they spent
nearly $10 million at local non-tribal
businesses.
Housing occupied by Chinook Winds
employees contributes 14.3 percent of
all property taxes collected in
Lincoln City; the city government
collected $356,000 a year more in taxes
and fees than it spent in serving the
additional residents.
In fact, Chinook Winds was awarded
“1998 Business of the Year" by the Lincoln
City Chamber of Commerce.
Despite these positive impacts on the
economic well being of the city and county,
we realize some detractors remain. One
even claimed after the study’s release that
the only new businesses in Lincoln City are
pawnshops - although there isn’t a single
licensed pawnshop in town. Furthermore,
according to ECONorthwest, since
Chinook Winds opened, the number of
commercial business listings in Lincoln City
had increased 28 percent while the number
of taxable hotel and motel rooms had gone
up more than 17 percent.
In addition, the study found that the
crime rate in Lincoln City grew only 3 percent
compared to a 4 percent rise statewide.
Chinook Winds was identified as the last
place to serve a drink to a person later
charged with drunken driving in only 10
percent of the cases.
In fact, Indian casinos in Oregon, as a
matter of public policy by tribes, do not serve
alcohol to customers while they gamble.
In addition to the casino, the Siletz Tribe
itself has had a social and economic impact
on Lincoln County. ECONorthwest found
that in 1998 alone, the tribe spent $20.4
million on human and natural resources
programs that benefited Indians and non
Indian residents of Lincoln County,
accounting for $34.4 million in net economic
output in the county and $32.2 million in
wages to county residents. It is no surprise
that one out of every 11 full-time workers in
Lincoln County can attribute his or her
employment to the Siletz Tribal government.
In 1991, we opened a health clinic in
Siletz, extending medical services to our
members and to non-lndian Medicaid
patients who were encountering difficulty
receiving primary health care. In fact, 57
percent of the 27,000 patient visits in 1998
were by non-lndians. Our action in the field
of health care speaks volumes to our
concern for the well being of everyone on
the coast.
Finally, while corporations such as Wal-
Mart and factory outlet stores send profits
to corporate headquarters outside the area,
Siletz revenues remain mainly in, and
benefit, Lincoln County and Oregon.
As we celebrate the fifth anniversary
of Chinook Winds this month, the Siletz tribe
is proud to be identified as a major, positive
economic force in Lincoln County and the
state of Oregon.
I believe other Oregon tribes can be
similarly proud of their contributions.
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