Cowley County commissioners are inviting representatives of the Ponca Tribe and property owners along county roads the tribe wants to improve to the 7 p.m. May 13 meeting.
County administrator Leroy Alsup said the commission did discuss some comments by property owners who attended a meeting earlier this month when the commission met in regular session Tuesday. However, no decision or consensus was reached, he said.
The tribe plans to develop and construct a $60 million casino and hotel project along the Oklahoma-Kansas border north of Newkirk. It will be built on 800 acres of land the tribe owns at the former Chilocco Indian School.
Tribal officials have discussed funding improvements to a nine-mile stretch of county roads that would connect U.S. 166 west of Arkansas City with the intersection of U.S. 77 and State Line Road.
Some residents in the area are concerned about the increased traffic while some Arkansas City officials are unhappy the road improvements would encourage gamblers to bypass Ark City shops and restaurants.
Plans for the project include a 50,000 square foot casino with an attached 100 room hotel and a 20,000 square-foot event center.
