Prior Lake opposes Dakota tribe's latest land trust application

A narrowly divided Prior Lake City Council has voted to oppose an effort by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community to move 73 acres into a land trust that would remove it from the tax rolls.

The council voted 3-2 at its meeting Monday to oppose the Shakopee tribe's latest application to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The vote reflects concerns over a road on the land and its removal from the tax rolls by virtue of tribal ownership.

About half of the tribe's 4,200 acres are in trust, and the tribe has been seeking to add more. In December, Prior Lake appealed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, opposing tribal plans to move 468 acres into trust holdings.

The tribe paid $43,164 in property taxes this year on the 73-acre parcel that it's seeking to move into trust, according to its application.

The tribe wants to develop the land with residential and commercial properties, including a gas station and convenience store, according to its application to Indian Affairs.

The tribe also wants full control over the land as a sovereign government. A spokeswoman said the tribe would work closely with the city on the construction and design of North Berens Road.

"We need to continue to strenuously object" to the application, Prior Lake City Council Member Monique Morton said. Council members Rick Keeney and Annette Thompson also voted to oppose the tribe's application to put the land in trust.

The tribe, Prior Lake, Scott County and Shakopee regularly interact over matters of financial aid, infrastructure, public safety and utilities.

This is the first time since December that Prior Lake and the tribe have clashed over land acquisition, but one of a series of skirmishes over the last two years that has tested their relationship.

The tribe, which owns Mystic Lake Casino as well as a convention center and nine-story hotel that are set to be completed by the 2018 Super Bowl, has annually given Prior Lake significant financial aid since the 1990s, amounting to nearly $30 million.

Mayor Ken Hedberg, who is running for re-election, insisted that opposing the trust application will damage the city's relationship with the tribe — and cost money in the long term.

Hedberg said that the city's opposition is unlikely to stop approval of the tribe's application.

"I think we are really being shortsighted for reasons I really don't understand," said Hedberg, who voted to approve in favor of the tribe's efforts together with Council Member Mike McGuire.

The tribe will provide Indian Affairs with a response to the city's letter, which is due by Oct. 27.

Natalie Daher • 612-673-1775