San Diego County – Pala Strike Deal

Part of the Pala Band of Mission Indians amended compact which was negotiated with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last November required that they work with San Diego County to determine what impact the expansion of the casino would have (basically an EIR) and then to come to an agreement with the county on a deal to offset or mitigate these impacts.

This, by the way, is part of the “blue print” that all Tribes must abide by when they seek to expand their casino. It will be part of any future Chumash amended compact should they ever decide to pursue it ….which may be never.

The deal stuck between San Diego County Supervisors and The Pala is being viewed as a model for other County-Tribal negotiations. The Pala agreed to a $38 million-plus deal with the county yesterday.

Supervisor Bill Horn said, “I’d like to thank Pala for stepping up to the plate and agreeing to the most substantial mitigation packages we've seen from a tribe in our county."

Referring to the other eight tribal casinos that have sprung up across the county, Supervisor Dianne Jacob said, "I hope some of the other tribes take note,"

Supervisor Greg Cox said he had been tracking other California counties' attempts to negotiate their own deals with tribal casinos. "I don't think there's any agreement that's been reached by any other tribal government that would come anywhere close to what this agreement would cover," he said.

John Snyder, director of the county's department of public works, praised tribal negotiators for negotiating "professionally and sincerely."

Under the terms of the deal with the county, the $38 million would be used to improve various stretches of Highway 76 -- which Horn called "one of the most dangerous in the state." In addition, the tribe has agreed to pay more than $400,000 a year for law enforcement, criminal prosecution and gambling-addiction treatment services. That would be broken down into $200,000 a year for the Sheriff's Department; $150,000 a year for gambling treatment; $15,000 a year for criminal prosecution; and $6,000 a year for a project that will involve a tribal liaison for the San Diego district attorney's office.

Source:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/02/news/inland/3_01_188_1_07.txt