Amador County Update – Supervisor Bluffs and Tribe Calls

As posted last Saturday, Amador County had a tough decision to make. The proposed intergovernmental services agreement had died when the Amador County Board of Supervisors deadlocked 2-2, with one abstaining.

At the time, board Chairman Richard Forster said he would “in a minute” vote in favor of the agreement if the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians dropped the requirement that the county drop its federal lawsuit against the casino.

Well, the tribe agreed, and the measure came back before the board Tuesday. But Forster reversed himself Tuesday, voting against the agreement despite the change, and finally killing any hope of a negotiated settlement.

Huh ? What? Who voted for this guy?

"We all saw Supervisor Forster's comments in the press that he intended to vote for the agreement. We are not sure what happened between then and now to change his mind, but it's clear that the decision now belongs to an arbitrator," said John Tang, CEO of the Buena Vista Rancheria, in a statement released Tuesday evening.

The tribe has now invoked its right to binding arbitration.

That means that within 97 days, an arbitrator will decide how much the county should be compensated to make up for the casino's impacts on roads, law enforcement and other county services. County officials, a tribal spokesman and even Forster all agree that the arbitrated settlement likely will give the county less money than the defunct agreement.

So they had a great deal and wouldn’t have to drop the lawsuit. Now, in all likelihood, they will not have a great mitigation package and don’t have to drop their lawsuit. Nice work.

Forster's district includes the proposed casino site and much of the organized opposition to the casino. "You have to listen to your constituents," he said in explaining why he voted against the agreement even though he thought it gave the county its best financial compensation for casino impacts.

Many of Forster's constituents said they suspect that agreeing to a price tag for casino impacts would somehow make it easier for the Buena Vista tribe to win its court cases and get needed federal permissions.

"People want to stop the casino," said George Lambert, an opponent of the casino proposal. "They don't want to do something that adds fuel to the fire. That gives the tribe a leg up."

The county's attorneys say the deal on how much the tribe pays and the lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the tribal land on Coal Mine Road are different.

"The legal issues that are before the court have nothing to do with whether or not there is an agreement between the county and the tribe," said Martha Shaver, county counsel for Amador County.

Supervisors Rich Escamilla and Ted Novelli voted in favor of the agreement, reasoning that it was best to protect the county by getting the maximum compensation for the costs the county will bear when a casino opens.

Supervisor Louis Boitano joined Forster in voting against the agreement.

Citing conflict of interest, Supervisor Brian Oneto again abstained from voting because a relative of his owns land next to the casino site.

The deal that died in Tuesday's vote would have limited the tribe initially to 950 slot machines and a single opportunity to expand to 1,650 slots. The casino would be just 36 miles from Stockton, more than 10 minutes closer to potential customers there than the existing Jackson Rancheria casino in Jackson.

In return, Amador County would have received $18 million upfront and about $8 million a year to improve roads, hire more sheriff's deputies, expand the jail and otherwise meet the demand for services that the casino would create.

The tribe could propose more slots and a different amount of compensation for impacts when it submits its proposal for arbitration. Tribal spokesman Ryan Rauzon on Tuesday afternoon said that the tribe was preparing a written response to the board's decision.

Forster said his statement the previous week that he would support the agreement if the tribe dropped its requirement that the county halt its lawsuit was part of the negotiating process. "I guess a lot of that is public posturing," he said of his statement. He added that he never expected the tribe to call his bluff and agree to strike a deal that would allow the county to continue its lawsuit.

So, he was gambling huh? How ironic.

Full Article:
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/A_NEWS/803120328/-1/A_NEWS07