Casino plans advance in KCK

? Wyandotte County officials are pursuing an agreement that would allow an Indian casino to be built near the Kansas Speedway, contingent on congressional approval.

The Unified Government Commission passed a resolution authorizing an agreement with the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma, the commission announced Thursday, two days after the action was taken.

In return for being allowed to build a casino in Edwardsville, the tribe would drop a lawsuit claiming land rights to nearly 2,000 acres of prime industrial real estate in northeast Kansas City, Kan.

The year-old lawsuit citing an old treaty has clouded titles and stymied legal transactions for an estimated 1,300 landowners in the Fairfax Industrial District of Kansas City, Kan.

“This agreement is a step toward bringing an amicable conclusion to the lawsuit that has adversely affected our homeowners in the northeast area and businesses in Fairfax,” Mayor Carol Marinovich said.

Under the proposed agreement, the tribe would pay 3.9 percent of gross revenue to the Unified Government and 2 percent of gross revenue to the city of Edwardsville.

The agreement is contingent on congressional approval of a bill that would give the Wyandotte Nation federal authorization to build a casino.

The bill was introduced last month by U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who won a third term Tuesday.

The tribe would buy 52.8 acres of land just south of Interstate 70 and Kansas Speedway along Riverview Avenue. Moore’s bill guarantees that the tract would be declared tribal reservation land and legally qualified for full-scale casino gambling.