A draft agreement between Yuba County and Enterprise Rancheria that will cover the Indian tribe's "fair share" of costs for its hotel-casino should be completed this week, Supervisor Don Schrader said Tuesday night.
The county and the tribe have been negotiating the memorandum of understanding for months.
"I would hope that the agreement would be completed this week, unless changes have been made. It needs to come back to the board, and the board needs to look at it," Schrader said.
The proposed agreement will lay out how the tribe intends to pay for county services at the project on Forty Mile Road.
The MOU, as it's called, has to be approved by the Board of Supervisors and the tribe.
The Butte County tribe seeks federal approval to take 40 acres into trust for the development.
The supervisors would consider the agreement at a regular board meeting with a public hearing.
"If the public supports it, fine," Schrader said. "If we have a huge public outcry that it's not economically feasible, that's a decision this board has to make."
Schrader and Supervisor Mary Jane Griego served on an ad hoc committee that has met with Enterprise Rancheria officials.
"The rancheria has come to the table not asking for something for nothing," Griego said. "They knew very well they'll have to pay their fair share. I think they negotiated in good faith with us. The ad hoc committee meetings have gone very well."
Griego said the ad hoc committee raised some issues with the tribe that she was aware the public was concerned about. She didn't identify them.
Schrader said he "doesn't expect the agreement to be 100 percent acceptable to everybody."
The agreement "has to come before the board. It has to come before the public," he said.
Schrader said he's been questioned about the need for another Indian casino in Northern California.
"How many of these do we need? How many 7-Elevens do we need? How many Home Depots do we need?" he said.