A request by the Ponca Indian tribe to fund improvements to some Cowley County roads near the site of a new multi-million casino and hotel the tribe plans to build this year has prompted a special meeting between the Cowley County Commission and the Arkansas City Commission.
The meeting is tentatively set for 6 p.m. April 8 at the county courthouse in Winfield, according to County Administrator Leroy Alsup. Meetings of either commission are open to the public.
“I think everybody needs to realize at this point we are in preliminary discussions,” Alsup said. “Nobody has signed an agreement to do anything.”
Ponca tribe officials are interested in a network of county roads that connect U.S. 166 west of Ark City with U.S. 77 near an area that was once the site of the historical Chilocco Indian School.
Nearly nine miles of county roads would be involved in the improvement project at no cost to Cowley County and would serve the $360 million hotel-casino project the tribe plans on 800 acres along the Kansas-Oklahoma border.
Many of the roads are already being used by Wichita residents traveling to the casinos located on U.S. 77 south of the border. Buses carrying casino visitors are also using the roads although the roads are not designed for the heavier traffic, according to Alsup.
“This is not a one issue item,” Alsup said. “We have a maintenance problem. We have a safety issue (with motorists) on roads that are not adequate or wide enough.”
Taxpayers last year paid to have some of the roads widened. The Ponca proposal would be one way to further improve the roads at no cost to the county.
“This is being paid for by the Ponca Tribe,” Alsup said. “We’re also entertaining discussions with them about a few dollars for future maintenance.”
It’s understandable if some Ark City area merchants are unhappy with the proposal they feel could cost them business if travelers bypass the town, he said.
Ark City commissioner Patrick McDonald acknowledges he is against the project partly because it creates a mini bypass around his town. But he also has concerns about encouraging more traffic along a route with so many 90-degree turns.
It also bothers him that the project seems likely to benefit only the casino group asking for the road improvements. There would also be the cost of long-term maintenance.
“All I see is a negative, negative, negative,” he said. “Anyway you look at it. Unless you’re the casino.”
The route would start at U.S. 77 and Stateline Road and continue west 1.7 miles to 41st Road. From 41st Road improvements would continue north from one mile to 322nd Road, which is also known as Cowley 22. The work would continue for three miles west to 11th road, better known as Cowley 10.
From there the route would be improved for another three miles north to a connection point with U.S. 166 highway. The project is likely to include drainage improvements, funding to purchase further road right-of-way, widening of the road and improvements to the road surface.
“The county commission is receiving input from anybody because the final decision hasn’t been made. They are very receptive to getting the Ark City Commission’s input before the final decision is made,” Alsup said.
Hopefully, people will look at all the issues including the possible savings to the county before deciding whether to support the proposal, he said.
