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Whether the city of Edwardsville purchases a new fire truck depends on Congress approving the Wyandotte Nation's request to establish a reservation in the city.

If approved, the tribe will place a casino on 52.6 acres of land south of I-70 and north of Riverview Road between South 110th and 102nd streets.

As part of the agreement between Edwardsville and the tribe, the city will get a new fire truck out of the deal.

However, the bill introduced by Congressman Dennis Moore, D-Third District, The Wyandotte Nation Land Claims Settlement Act, is still in limbo.

The bill would settle the land claim dispute between the Wyandotte Nation and Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., and establish the new reservation.

Tribe members filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Unified Government and several businesses in Fairfax Business District seeking the title rights to 4,080 parcels of land valued at $1.9 billion. If approved, the tribe would drop the lawsuit in exchange for the reservation.

The bill was to go before congress last week, but it's been postponed, City Administrator Doug Spangler said.

Meantime, Council member Ed Gillette said he and the city's lobbyist, Bob Stephan, and Moore plan to meet with Senator Sam Brownback to discuss the casino plan.

Until a decision is made, Mayor Luther Pickell said the council would wait to purchase the new truck, which will cost almost $200,000. The council tabled the purchase of the fire truck until next month.

At the city council meeting Monday, Jan. 27, Council member Stephanie Eickhoff gave a presentation on her trip with Pickell and Spangler to Edwardsville's sister city, Tangancicuaro, Mexico.

The city donated a fire truck to the city of Tangancicuaro. The truck, made in 1973, had been in storage. This was the first fire truck for the Mexican city, Eickhoff said.

Tangancicuaro hosted a celebration for the event, which included Pickell and the city's president (the equivalent of a city mayor) signing a sister-city agreement.

Pickell said he would like to establish a fund for future exchanges with the sister city.

Eickhoff said the trip was a cultural experience she was glad to participate in.

The City Council unanimously approved to conducted a public hearing on whether to condemn or order owners to repair a house on 110th Street.

The house is tied up in three separate lawsuits, one in federal court and two in Wyandotte County District Court.

The city will intervene in the foreclosure lawsuit filed by the mortgage company, Ohio Savings Bank, against the homeowners, Scott and Tanya Hepworth.

The house is in the Country Acres subdivision, which began development about three years ago. There are nine existing modular and manufactured homes, and 13 lots designated for homes in the subdivision, according to the city.

The Hepworths were the first family to move into the subdivision at 407 110th Street. The couple went public more than two years ago about problems they were having with the new modular home they bought from Precision Homes in Edwardsville.

The coupled complained of poor manufacturing, including water leaks that led to toxic mold developing in the home, which caused numerous health problems for the family, according to the lawsuits.

The couple was forced to move from the home because of the conditions, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims the manufacturer and Precision Homes either improperly manufactured or installed the home, which caused the leaks and other problems.

Precision Homes and the manufacturer deny the couple's allegations.

The city wants to intervene in the foreclosure so it can force the mortgage company to do something with the house. The federal lawsuit involves an insurance company, General Casualty Insurance seeking declaratory judgment that it is not liable to defend Precision Homes in the other lawsuits. It names the Hepworths as defendants.

In other action, the council:

• Approved the appointment of John Kindred to the Cemetery Board.
• Approved the payment of the city's health plan assessment to MARCIT in the amount of $30,953.

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