As reported by: Kalona News
Now that a riverboat casino referendum has been approved by 52 percent of Washington County voters, developers, owners and proponents of the proposed project are going to have to complete a lot of paperwork in the coming weeks.

The deadline for the gaming license application to the state is November 10, and forms, figures and facts that are required by several government agencies are already in the works.

Catfish Bend, which already operates boats in Fort Madison, Burlington and Clinton, must prepare a seven-part licensing application, which includes information about ownership, the site and facility, financing, gambling games operations, economic and demographic summaries and public safety, security and background forms. Officials from the company say the amount of work is comparable to a year's worth of study.

The first item of business, according to officials, is to conduct soil testing for the area east of Riverside where the proposed riverboat casino will be located.

F. W. Schnoebelen Farms, Inc., a family farm corporation of which Mid-Prairie School Superintendent Mark Schneider is president, owns the 325-acres which Catfish Bend Casino has taken an option to locate. Schneider's grandfather, F. W. Schnoebelen set up the corporation.

Schneider said he was not contacted by Catfish Bend Casino about the option until after he had resigned from the Washington County Riverboat Commission, Inc., the entity, which will hold the casino's gaming license if approved by the state.

After receiving all the proper paperwork and applications, the state gaming commission will award licenses in spring 2005. If the Catfish Bend Casino license is approved, construction on the resort and casino would start that summer on a targeted site about two miles east of Highway 218. The company wants to voluntarily annex the property into Riverside and open for business in early 2007. Dan Kehl part owner of Catfish Bend, said his company will hire an engineering firm to begin soil testing on the proposed site along the Iowa River and start discussion with Riverside officials, county officials, and the Department of Natural Resources.

security commission, among others beginning this week.

"We're going to do what we can to aid in the process, but we will not be offering Tax Increment Financing," emphasized Riverside Mayor Bill Poch, who is a proponent of the casino project, as it will benefit his community in terms of community projects. He said the council will probably be discussing the casino and annexing the 320 proposed sights at several council meetings to come.

The city of Riverside has a two-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction for subdivision regulation, and so could monitor Catfish Bend's proposed housing properties, said Larry Christianson, subdivision coordinator for the county.

But unlike Johnson County, Washington County would not require any permits because it is one of 20 counties in the state that does not have zoning requirements or a building code, he said. Iowa, Keokuk, Mahaska, Jefferson and Des Moines counties also do not have zoning ordinances.

"The only requirement is they would have to just meet plat recording requirements for the state," Christianson said. Other minor requirements could include street names, security and emergency system registration.

Because of the size of Catfish Bend's project, a majority of regulation could fall under the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other state or federal government.