The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe on Wednesday, Dec. 9, filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing city of Snoqualmie leaders of “intentional race discrimination” against the tribe.
The 19-page lawsuit claims several instances of discrimination by Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, members of the Snoqualmie City Council and other city leaders. The defendants named in the suit are Mayor Larson, Councilors Bob Jeans, Chelley Patterson, Bryan Holloway, Heather Munden, Charles Peterson, Kathi Prewett, recently elected councilor Brad Toft, City Administrator Bob Larson and Public Works Director Dan Marcinko, all identified in the document as non-Native Americans.
At the core of the lawsuit, according to a Snoqualmie Tribe press release, is action taken by the Snoqualmie City Council to discontinue sewer services to the tribe’s Snoqualmie Casino, which is the largest employer in the Snoqualmie Valley.
“Without sewer services, the casino will be forced to close indefinitely, threatening the tribe’s ability to offer core governmental programs and services to its Tribal members, jeopardizing business relationships upon which the Tribe depends, and risking the jobs of 1200 employees,” the lawsuit states, adding that the City of Snoqualmie is “trying to choke out the tribe on the basis of race.”
According to the complaint document, the city entered an agreement in 2004 to provide “essential services, including sewer, fire suppression and emergency medical services to the Tribe’s Reservation,” but did not specify whether the tribe would pay in-city or out-of-city rates. The contract term was set for seven years after the opening of the casino, which happened in 2008, with five automatic renewals of seven years each.
In 2014, the complaint states that the city determined that it would charge the casino out-of-city rates, 1.5 times higher than the in-city rate it had been paying. Both parties met in July 2015 to discuss continuing the agreement, which was set to expire in November. The city eventually agreed to extend the contract one year, but, according to the complaint, “only if there was a commitment by the tribe ‘to address human services fundings needs’ at the city.”
The tribe rejected “the city’s ‘pay to play’ demand,” the suit stated, and “reiterated its desire for a second amendment to the agreement that kept all terms in place, but extended the agreement for one year.” Snoqualmie officials responded by signing the amendment and notifying the tribe of the city’s intent to terminate sewer services to the tribe “before Nov. 30, 2016.”
Since the termination of services would include police and fire services, as well, the tribe negotiated a service contract with Eastside Fire & Rescue this fall.
The lawsuit also claims city leaders intentionally interfered with the tribe’s efforts to “ensure uninterrupted fire and EMT services” after the City Council voted to stop providing those services to the Snoqualmie Casino. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe has since reached an agreement with Eastside Fire & Rescue.
In response to requests for comment, a spokesperson for the city said “The City of Snoqualmie will not be making a statement regarding the lawsuit by the Snoqualmie Tribe until December 15, 2015.”
The city’s response and updates are available at www.valleyrecord.com/news/362539181.html.
