The Shakopee Indian tribe has notified local officials that it plans to seek permission to take another piece of its land off the tax rolls, planning to use it to build a new headquarters and health care clinic.

The tribe, known formally as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, is also taking steps to build a new subdivision of homes on one-acre lots for its growing ranks of members.

The chunk of land it will ask to add to reservation trust lands is relatively small by past standards, only 80 acres. About a third is wetlands where nothing can be built. And it's located squarely within the existing reservation; in fact, part of it is staff parking.

Nonetheless, Scott County commissioner Barbara Marschall of Prior Lake said she will oppose a new application, as she has more far-reaching requests in the past.

"There are over $30,000 in taxes on this property," she said. The tribe voluntarily contributes to road projects and other causes, "which is commendable, and I anticipate that will continue," she said. "But when people talk to me about trust applications, the bottom line is that it's all about the money. That's where my continued opposition stems from."

She and her Shakopee colleague Jerry Hennen have been outvoted in the past by the three commissioners whose districts are more distant from the reservation itself. Last fall's election of a new commissioner to one of those districts could alter the outcome -- but it's the federal government, not Scott County, that in the end decides.

The tribe's original 250-acre reservation in Prior Lake has grown tenfold, with nearly 2,000 acres stockpiled since the early 1990s. City and county officials, in addition to objecting to the lost tax proceeds when more land is placed in trust, worry that taking territory out of their jurisdiction will create problems as they plan for future growth and development.

On Tuesday, tribal administrator Bill Rudnicki and land manager Stan Ellison told board members that on top of all the other ways the tribe helps its neighbors, it now hopes to apply $1.5 million in federal stimulus funding to make fixes on County Road 42, including the intersection with County Road 17.

That intersection, Ellison said, is "kind of scary sometimes."

The tribe is also working with officials in Prior Lake on a concept plan for a new subdivision of 31 to 34 homes. The homes would be located near the future Spring Lake Regional Park and would have trail connections to that park, in addition to trails leading to its own small park with tennis courts.

One issue for the county as it places increasing emphasis on trail creation is the willingness of the tribe to allow a broader regional system to cut through its land and homes, given privacy concerns. But tribal officials indicated that they want to tie in to those trails and understand that outsiders are liable to swing through and even use their neighborhood parks at times.

David Peterson • 952-882-9023