Yuba County supervisors will decide Jan. 6 if they will place a hotel-casino project on the November ballot.

Tuesday night, for the third time in recent weeks, they discussed the nonbinding advisory measure but were unable to act because the item wasn't on their agenda.
"I think the public is feeling they need a voice," said Supervisor Dan Logue. "I think if the public feels they are a part of the process, they can help this decision one way or another."

Supervisor Don Schrader last month suggested it was time to put the casino project before voters.

A week later, supervisors were told it was too late for the March primary, but they could try for the November 2004 ballot.

Several county residents on Tuesday night asked supervisors to let the people vote on the project.

 
The Enterprise Rancheria tribe in Butte County has proposed the hotel-casino on 40 acres of land along Forty Mile Road in the county's sports and entertainment zone.

The matter is now before the Department of the Interior, which has to agree to take the land into trust for the tribe. A compact with the state also is required before the gaming establishment can open.

A year ago, county supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding with the tribe, assuring the county a cut of casino revenues.

County Counsel Dan Montgomery warned supervisors that an advisory vote could put the county at risk of being sued by the tribe.

"It's unclear what legal action could be taken by the tribe," Montgomery said. "We have a contract with them. There is a possibility we could be sued. That has not been fully analyzed."

Montgomery advised the supervisors, "What I am telling you, basically in contract law, if you enter into a contract and you say you are going to do something and you don't do it, it's a breach ... For your board to now engage in conduct that's inconsistent with the implied promise of good faith and fair dealing, you could be subject to suit."

Logue said the vote should have come in 2002, before the board approved the agreement with the tribe.

"I, for one, am willing to take that chance" of getting sued, Logue said.

Last month, after Schrader proposed the advisory vote, Enterprise Rancheria Chair Harvey Angle issued a statement, saying: "We welcome the opportunity for the people of Yuba County to assess our proposal at the ballot in November."