Lorain mayor's gamble paid off with casino deal



John Cole, longtime editor of the local newspaper. "I feel he should be briefed early (even in the next week or two) with the understanding that we are in very early stages and he will be the first to know if anything happens and when it becomes public," Foltin wrote Oct. 11 in an e-mail to Casey. "He can personally squash any naysaying and ensure broad community support." Lorain mayor's gamble paid off with casino deal Talks with tribe kept secret from city officials, voters Sunday, March 06, 2005 Molly Kavanaugh and Tom BreckenridgePlain Dealer Reporters Lorain -- Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin beamed as he made the announcement three years ago: The big blue shipping terminal and six-story piles of iron ore, pocks on the city's lakefront for years, finally would be removed. In their place, he envisioned restaurants, shops, condos, offices, parks and marinas. INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET ?Advertisement INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "?" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET ? INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET He never mentioned a casino, but the thought was in the back of his mind. It would fill his thoughts continually until an equally ebullient Foltin returned to the podium last month, this time with more ambitious plans. Lorain and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma had reached an agreement for a $100 million-plus gambling development on the lakefront, Foltin disclosed. The announcement followed months of closely guarded negotiations orchestrated by a 37-year-old mayor, a man who was a boy when steel was strong and Lorain's future was as bright as the flames in the mills. Interviews and city records reveal a courtship between Foltin and the Shawnees spiced with secrecy, political loyalties and fears that the tribe was using Lorain to leverage the location it really coveted: Cleveland. Foltin almost walked away from the deal just days before announcing it. But for now, "we're dancing with the Shawnees, and we'd like to leave the dance with the Shawnees," Foltin said, relaxing last week in his office overlooking the casino site. Mayor enthusiastic, but tribe skeptical The idea to pursue Indian gaming came to Foltin in early 2004 during a camping trip to upstate New York. The Senecas were building a casino in Salamanca, and Foltin was impressed by what he saw and read in the local paper. "Holy cow, let's try the Senecas," Foltin told Sandy Prudoff, Lorain's longtime community development director. But phone calls and informational mailings to the tribe went unanswered. Throughout the summer, Foltin and Prudoff tried contacting other tribes, with similar results. Foltin remained enthusiastic, certain that a tribe could help Lorain land a casino. Voters had soundly defeated two statewide gambling issues, both initiated by developer Alan Spitzer, and Foltin didn't want to try a third. "We thought the Indians could come in carte blanche" to set up a gambling operation without needing state approval, Foltin said. In reality, the regulatory hurdles are huge. Gaining state and federal approval for a tribal casino in Ohio will take years, officials say. In August, Foltin got married. When he returned to work, one of his first meetings was with Terry Casey, a former director of the Franklin County Republican Party who was working as a political consultant for the Shawnees. Casey recalls that meeting. Prudoff and Shawnee consultant Mary Anne Sharkey also were there. "He outlined some sites. He drove us all around," Casey said. "You couldn't miss the mayor's enthusiasm." The tribe was skeptical. Its business plan called for large sites next to interstate exits. The tribe already had proposed casinos next to Interstate 75 in western Ohio and was working on another deal off the Ohio Turnpike west of Youngstown. Downtown Lorain sits 15 minutes from Interstate 90, but Foltin soon sold the tribe anyway. He took Eastern Shawnee Chief Charles Enyart and architect Lee Loveland to the roof of the seven-story City Hall, looking over the former iron-ore storage site. Casey envisioned a "New England-meets-Ohio" design concept. "Lorain's history has been shaped around water," he wrote to Foltin and Loveland. "In other parts of Ohio, we can do the auto or horse or aircraft thing. BUT, here in Lorain, THE LAKE, steel, boats/shipping, etc., should be our 100% top priority/ emphasis." Casey also suggested a docked cruise boat for lodging, a sailboat for lake cruises and sandstone from the local quarries used in some of the buildings. Foltin put calls out to attorneys with the Columbus firm of Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease to learn more about Indian gambling. He scribbled notes to himself during one of those conversations. "Will be held up for years. Don't get married to them. Walk carefully." Is Cleveland casino tribe's real goal? From the very beginning, Foltin was anxious about the tribe's true intent in Lorain, given its yearning for the downtown Cleveland market. "Well along in 5 locations. One of them in Cleveland," Foltin wrote during a conversation with Casey. Later he let Casey know he was worried that Lorain was being used to get Cleveland moving. Casey reassured him. "It's not a matter of Lorain or Cleveland," he said - both could succeed. Casey had not yet met with Mayor Jane Campbell but had talked with "key Cleveland partners," he told Foltin. "To be blunt and honest, the Lorain site and your cooperation are both great. However, we need the muscle and Cleveland connection to make the legislative votes and TOTAL package come together," Casey wrote Oct. 9 in an e-mail to Foltin. Repeatedly, Casey stressed that the Lorain plans had to remain secret. Foltin agreed but urged Casey to consider adding one person to the inner circle: John Cole, longtime editor of the local newspaper. "I feel he should be briefed early (even in the next week or two) with the understanding that we are in very early stages and he will be the first to know if anything happens and when it becomes public," Foltin wrote Oct. 11 in an e-mail to Casey. "He can personally squash any naysaying and ensure broad community support." Casey balked. "Things are really sensitive in Cleveland. We can't afford any leaks, published or word of mouth," he wrote back. When Morning Journal reporters started hearing rumors about a casino, Foltin called Cole and urged him to discourage reporters from poking around. "I'm working on some cool stuff," he told Cole. The casino wasn't the only cool thing Foltin was working on. Museum ponders deal as plan stays secret The Great Lakes Historical Society, a cramped maritime museum on Vermilion's lakefront, had reached a turning point of its own. A yearlong study of the museum's future was nearing an end, and committee members concluded in September that adjacent property was needed to expand. Acquiring it would be costly and unpopular with resi dential neighbors. The committee decided to look at other lakefront cities. State Sen. Jeffry Armbruster suggested that the man to see was Foltin - the biggest public lakefront landowner around. The committee met with Foltin on Oct. 14, viewing the site from his seventh-floor office. "To say they rolled out the red carpet is not going too far," said the society's executive director, Christopher Gillcrist. A casino was never mentioned, only that Foltin was working on a multiuse plan for the site. Foltin made it clear that any development must not block the view of the historic Lorain lighthouse and must get by with minimal parking. But it's Lorain, some committee members worried aloud, concerned about run-down parts of the city, even along thoroughfares leading downtown. Less than two weeks later, the entire museum board met at Lorain City Hall, marched to the mayor's office - the mayor was not there - and viewed the site from his panoramic window. Members agreed to further investigate Lorain, as well as Cleveland, Sandusky and other sites in Vermilion. By the end of the year, with Lorain clearly the favorite as a museum site, Foltin confided in a couple of museum board members. A casino would be the museum's neighbor in Lorain, he told them. But the entire board would not learn of the plans until just before Foltin went public. Announcement timed with election in mind The Lorain Port Authority was just as oblivious. "I heard rumors in town about casinos, but just rumors," said Executive Director Richard Novak in a recent interview. Foltin did meet one-on-one with several port board members to tell them about the Shawnee proposal and the 8.5 acres the city would need to buy from the port. "The mayor asked if I would be supportive of that," said board member Tom Brown, a firefighter. Brown and others gave Foltin a thumbs-up. Foltin started the new year confident that a deal with the Shawnees was near, but he worried about announcing it too close to the Feb. 8 election. The city had an income tax increase on the ballot, and Foltin feared an announcement might jeopardize the outcome. If people thought a casino would bring financial salvation, why would they approve higher taxes? Anyway, Foltin still had details to settle and people to talk to. The Shawnees and Foltin let the state's top leaders know they were pursuing a casino pact, despite Gov. Bob Taft's opposition to gambling. In late January, Foltin, Casey and Sharkey met with Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson. "Bruce was clear," Casey said. "His boss was the governor, and the governor doesn't like gambling." That wouldn't stop Lorain. Events were moving quickly. Monday, Feb. 7 (eight days be fore the casino announcement): International soccer star Brad Friedel, a Bay Village native, announces he will build a $6 million youth soccer academy on Lorain's west side. Tuesday, Feb. 8: Voters approve the income tax increase by a 2-to-1 ratio. Friday, Feb. 11: Foltin's staff calls City Council members, the police chief and about 70 community leaders such as Lorain County Community College President Roy Church and Catholic Auxiliary Bishop A. James Quinn. They are invited to a meeting Monday at the Holiday Inn in Elyria. Few details were given, only the time for their session. As those calls went out, a crisis loomed for Foltin. He and the Shawnees had verbally agreed on a one-year purchase option on the land, but now the Shawnees called from the Holiday Inn and said they wanted 10 years. There was no way Lorain City Council would accept that. At one point, Foltin had a shouting match with the tribe's attorneys. "I'll have to walk away," he threatened. By night's end, the two sides had reached a compromise - a two-year option. Foltin had the weekend to put the finishing touches on his announcement. He had personally written almost the entire 22-page glossy brochure that would be distributed during the presentation. Monday morning, Foltin and Prudoff went to the Morning Journal with poster board diagrams of the project, then headed over to the Holiday Inn. For nine hours, Foltin and Shawnee representatives met with small groups and presented the project. The $100 million Lorain Harbor Resort would include a casino, maritime museum, 300-room hotel and convention center. Up to 3,000 jobs would be created, and the city would earn at least $5 million annually in gambling revenue. Like everyone else, Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera had no idea why he had been summoned to the Holiday Inn that day. His reaction was mixed but mostly positive. "There is hope for this area," he said. Foltin left the Holiday Inn around midnight. The next day, he would stand again before a crowd of reporters and residents to talk about the lakefront. This time, he could tell them what was really on his mind. ? 2005 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. ................
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