The Lacey City Council signed a cooperation agreement with the Nisqually Indian Tribe in support of the tribe’s plans to develop 250 acres of tribal land.
“The Nisqually Tribe is in a good place right now and ready to move forward with the City of Lacey,” said presenter Willie Frank III, Nisqually Tribal Council, who led the tribe representatives who attended the council meeting on Thursday, September 21.
The Tribe intends to develop the 250 acres property located north of Interstate 5, adjacent to the Exit 111 interchange (Marvin Road NE), south of Britton Parkway and adjacent to Cabela’s.
“[It’s] really to develop something that is going to benefit the city, tribe and county for the next generations and provide jobs and opportunities to everybody,” Frank commented.
The two distinct projects are Quiemuth (kway-mooth) Village Village and Quiemuth Resort.
Quiemuth Village is planned to be a 174-acre, mixed-use development that could include retail, housing, recreational, open-space and cultural components.
The Quiemuth Resort is envisioned to be a 74-acre casino-resort property.
According to the city’s statement, these projects were the “culmination of an extensive Nisqually Indian Tribe planning process that included working with land use and environmental planners, traffic and civil engineers, geotechnical consultants, and architects.”
Under the cooperation agreement, the properties will be designated as “Compact Covered Areas” under the Tax Sharing Compact (Compact) made between the Nisqually Indian Tribe and the State of Washington in 2021.
The compact means that the state and tribe would share state retail taxes and certain state business & occupation taxes collected from all non-tribal member to non-tribal member retail establishment transactions.
The agreement also identifies that Lacey could receive local taxes for non-tribal purchases at the development, pending the ownership of retail businesses. Non-tribal member and non-tribal member retail establishment transactions would be subject to local taxes (including city taxes, such as retail sales and use taxes and business and occupation taxes).
There would also be interlocal agreements on services like law enforcement, prosecution, etc.
Possible connections to Lacey utilities and infrastructure would be provided.
Emergency services would be provided to the development, including future discussions on mutual aid.
“This is a long time coming,” said Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder. “This is a really special time in history.”
In 2014, the Lacey City Council and the Nisqually Tribal Council signed The Nisqually Indian Tribe and City of Lacey Accord which acknowledges the partnership and mutual interests shared between the city and the tribe.
