UPDATED No Dice: Ankeny Council Votes to End Casino Partnership

Only a few days after a casino developer offered Ankeny city leaders a way to opt out of an agreement to pursue a $150 million facility on the north side of town, City Council members withdrew from the project.

Council members voted 5-0 tonight to end the agreement with Wild Rose Entertainment that had pledged city support for the developer's efforts to build a casino in Ankeny.

In October the council voted 4-1 to pursue the casino, with member Bobbi Bentz voting no. Soon after, Councilman Mark Holm and outgoing Mayor Steve Van Oort said they were not interested in pursuing the casino project.

Before tonigh'ts vote to end the agreement, Bentz stressed to those in attendance that a vote for severing the agreement wouldn’t kill the casino project. Instead, such a vote meant the city and Wild Rose Entertainment would no longer be working together on the project.

“By reversing this, we’re just reversing these two things,” Bentz said. “I know why I want to vote against it because I didn’t vote for it in the first place.”

Bentz said that over 200 residents had contacted her to urge her to vote against the casino, while she had heard from only 20 residents who support the project. For Bentz, the resolution puts the city in a better position going forward.

“I think it was something that we went into a little too hastily,” Bentz said of the agreement.

Bentz wouldn’t say how she’d vote if the issue of the proposed casino came before the council again, but she did say that input from residents would help her make up her mind.

“I’m going to continue to listen to everybody,” Bentz said.

Tonight’s resolution means the city is no longer obligated to assist Wild Rose Entertainment in obtaining a gaming license, and Wild Rose is free to pursue other sites for the proposed casino. However, local residents feel like the fight over the casino is only just beginning.

The $150 million casino project would have been built near the new 36th Street interchange on Interstate 35 in Ankeny.

Residents like Edna Todd, whose home and business are located directly across the road from the proposed casino, are bracing for a long struggle. Todd and her family own and operate Todd’s Flying Service, located at 2145 N.E. 36^th St. in Ankeny.

“I think they’re really set on it,” Todd said of Wild Rose Entertainment. “This isn’t the end of it, we just can’t give up.

Todd worries that a casino across the street from her business could spell doom for the small airstrip she and her family have been operating for years. She is concerned that her business wouldn’t be able to compete against the casino and she’d be forced out.

“They can change the landscape pretty easily and we wouldn’t be there anymore,” Todd said.

Todd said that local residents have galvanized opposition against the proposed casino, forming petitions, collecting signatures, and working to keep residents informed.

Another concern for many local residents is that any Ankeny-based casino would be a direct competitor to Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in nearby Altoona, which is owned by Polk County, and contributes thousands of dollars to local organizations every year.

“Wild Rose would be taking revenue from Prairie Meadows, they give to everything,” Todd said. “Prairie Meadows is owned by us, this casino would be owned by Wild Rose Entertainment and they’d keep all the revenue they want.” 

Our Earlier Story

Wild Rose Entertainment LLC, the gaming company seeking to build a $150 million facility in Ankeny, announced today it will allow the City of Ankeny to opt out of an agreement signed on Oct. 29.

The measure goes before the Ankeny City Council on Monday, Nov. 19. The agreement, signed by Mayor Steve Van Ort after the Ankeny City Council approved it with a 4-to-1 vote, sparked misperceptions in the media and among residents regarding the meaning of the document as well as its placement on the council’s agenda, according to a Wild Rose news release.

The agreement does not constitute approval of a casino, but rather represents a very early step in the process to obtain a gaming license from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

“The MOU only stipulated we would work with each other exclusively for the term of the agreement,and that Ankeny would allow the project to proceed through the appropriate municipal channels,” said West Des Moines businessman Gary Kirke, chairman of Wild Rose, in the release. “We reached out to the city with this offer in order to alleviate the public controversy and media misconceptions surrounding the MOU.

“We continue to believe in this project and the many advantages and assets it can generate for the community. We are proceeding with our due diligence and continuing to work through the appropriate city channels and procedures, all of which are public and transparent,” he said in the news release.

Wild Rose initiated the process to discontinue the agreement this week and provided the necessary legal documentation earlier Friday to Jim Spradling, Ankeny’s city manager.

“We thank the city of Ankeny and the many residents who have expressed support for the project,” Kirke added. “We look forward to continuing this process.”

Friday was the deadline for officials with Wild Rose Entertainment to submit a rezoning request in time to be on the Dec. 4 Ankeny Plan and Zoning Commission agenda, but no paperwork was filed, according to the Des Moines Register. Work is continuing on the project, but more time is needed to put everything together, Wild Rose spokeswoman Jamie Buelt told the newspaper.

“We continue to believe in what the project can bring to Ankeny in terms of community assets it doesn’t have – with the events center, $8 million in revenue, 600 jobs, $22 million annual payroll and benefits package, and be part of helping Ankeny better balance its property taxes,” Buelt told the Register.

The next deadline was Nov. 30 for the Dec. 18 zoning commission meeting.

Residents Organize to Oppose Casino

Some residents have begun a petition drive against plans to build a casino in Ankeny and started a Facebook page called Ankeny Citizens Against the Proposed Casino.

Ankeny resident Mike Meyerring said the group's members know the petition would have no binding effect on the City Council, but they are pursuing a goal of 6,600 signatures in opposition to the project.