The Little Rock Port Authority board of directors approved a formal resolution Friday outlining the agency's approach to expansion in the area -- a move port officials said should have been done long ago but was pursued in light of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma's purchase of 160 acres nearby.
The resolution was approved with no dissent at a special meeting and will be sent to Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde for inclusion in the county's letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That letter, which will include input from across the county, is due to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Wednesday.
"It doesn't guarantee anything," Port Authority board Chairman Chris Matthews told board members Friday, speaking about the resolution.
"It gets our resolution on the record," Port Authority Executive Director Bryan Day said, adding that it may not sway the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "There's no guarantee on what this means."
The resolution affirms that the Port Authority board supports land use complementary to the Port Authority's mission, and that the board is "committed to working with any individual, entity or group on the protection and preservation of all identified historical, ancestral or culturally significant properties found on properties local within and adjacent to Little Rock Port Authority lands."
Port officials have not explicitly favored nor opposed the Quapaw Tribe's application to place the land into federal trust but have emphasized their desire to keep development in the east Little Rock area consistent with what is already there.
The Little Rock port is an $800 million industrial park established in 1959 that is set to expand further with funds from the 0.5 percent sales tax approved by Little Rock voters in 2011.
Placing the Quapaw land into federal trust would allow the federal government to hold the title to the land but would permit the tribe to treat the land as sovereign from local law.
Tribal and Port Authority officials have met to discuss the tribe's plans for the land and talk about entering into agreements about how they plan to work together. However, no such agreements have been made yet.
Quapaw Tribal Chairman John Berrey has previously stated to the Little Rock Board of Directors that he was concerned about agreeing to anything that a future tribal leader might want to change 20 years down the road.
On April 28, Matthews sent a letter to Berrey warning him of what could happen if the tribe developed the land into something other than what it is now or other than industrial use.
"Any use of the land within the Port that is non-conforming will put public safety at risk, depreciate the public and private assets within the port, restrict future growth and reduce the overall economic viability," Matthews wrote. "Examples of non-conforming use can include, but are not limited to, outlet malls, schools, amusement parks, gaming and high density residential complexes."
Many roads in the industrial port are single-lane and used by tractor-trailers and other trucks.
The tribe's land is directly south of the main port area and west of the Welspun industrial campus. It also lies east of land owned but not currently used by the Little Rock Port Authority. The port's expansion is limited to the south because it is neighbored by the Arkansas River to the north.
On April 30, Berrey responded, assuring Matthews that, "The Port's support for placing this land-into-trust will not be inconsistent with the Port's mission."
"I think it is unfortunate that a misunderstanding may have arisen that the Quapaw Tribe's application to place land into trust automatically would entitle the Tribe to conduct gaming on its land, and, more to the point, that the tribe plans to build a casino on the land," Berrey wrote in an extended letter that same day.
"I think the misunderstanding in this instance arises in large part from communications with the Authority by parties who, I believe it is noteworthy, have not engaged in any dialogue whatsoever with the Tribe," Berrey continued.
"Additionally, I think there is a fundamental lack of understanding that the only interest and focus of Indian tribes is gaming. In this instance, our primary interest is in gaining a connection to our homeland in Arkansas, and in regaining this important site as part of our Indian land base."
On Friday, Quapaw Tribe spokesman Sean Harrison said tribe officials liked the provision in the resolution protecting artifacts that may be discovered on land and that the tribe will keep in touch with the Port Authority.
"We feel we have met all of their concerns and complied completely with their needs," Berrey said in a statement released to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "The process has been very positive and we appreciate that we've been able to come up with a mutually favorable outcome."
Metro on 05/09/2015