After a long closed session Tuesday, the Scott County Board decided to delay its decision on whether to appeal the federal Bureau of Indian Affaris decision to place more local tribal land into trust decision.

The board will meet again on Monday, the deadline day for making the decision.

Meanwhile, the Shakopee City Council will meet in closed session tonight to decide about the appeal.

Notice of the decision — which removes 752 acres of land in Scott County from property tax rolls and local land-use control — was made in June 2007, but not published until recently in the Federal Register.

Both the county and the city of Shakopee opposed the decision. Now that the ruling has been published, they have until Monday to appeal.

The BIA decision impacts 646 acres in Shakopee and 106 acres in Prior Lake. The city of Prior Lake, which previously opposed the tribe’s application for trust status, changed its stance in December 2005.

The tribe already holds the fee title to the land. It intends to use the property for mostly residential purposes.

Appeals must be made in federal court, but county Public Affairs Director Lisa Kohner said previously she didn’t know where in the federal court system the case would be handled.

-Shannon Fiecke is a staff writer for the Shakopee Valley News. She can be reached at sfiecke@swpub.com [2].