Wisconsin casino vote backers present petition

Wednesday, May 31, 2000 | 9:38 a.m.

"I present this in the spirit of democracy that the people of Ashwaubenon are allowed to vote," said Mer Meyer, one of the petition organizers.

With the petition submitted to the village clerk, the proposal of the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa to build a hotel-casino complex next to Lambeau Field goes to the Ashwaubenon Village Board once again.

The proposal, originally supported by the board, was rejected May 2, when about 100 residents strongly voiced opposition to a referendum on the issue.

Organizers of the petition campaign needed 977 signatures to resurrect the proposal.

Meyer, an Ashwaubenon School Board member who has been acting as spokesman for the group pushing for a referendum, said he had no trouble collecting the required signatures.

"I had them in 12 days," he said. "I could have brought them in earlier, but (the board) was getting responses from the public like, 'Why didn't I get a chance to vote on this?' so I thought I'd hang on to them a little longer."

When the count is verified, a special board meeting will likely be called to set a referendum date, said village president Ted Pamperin, who received the petitions.

"It's the decision of the Village Board," Pamperin said. "But with that number of signatures in a short period of time ..."

Meyer said the board should examine the proposal closely before making any decisions.

"With $92.5 million (in proposed direct payments over 20 years to be split between the village and Brown County), we have to look at our position on that," he said. "That's a big deal.

Pamperin said the burden now falls on the Lac du Flambeau to prove the casino project would be a good neighbor.