(County Support Manzanita application)…The vote, however, was not unanimous.
The Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the acquisition of land in Calexico for placement in trust. The tribe wants to construct an off-reservation casino on the land, at Jasper Road and Highway 111. According to law, the Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, will decide the application, but that decision must be in agreement with the Governor of the state from which it was submitted. The California Attorney General’s Office is putting together a presentation for Governor Edmund G. Brown. Before it is presented to the Governor, they asked the County position. District 4 Supervisor Gary Wyatt said several issues had to be worked out with the City of Calexico and the tribe before the county could take a position. Wyatt was upset that the county had not been included in previous talks and that no Tribal representatives and nobody from Calexico was on hand to request county support. The majority of the Board agreed issues had to be discussed, but they said the job creation possibilities and the economic boost a Casino would bring the border community were too important. They voted 4-1 to support the application. Chairman of the Board, Jack Terrazas also appointed an Ad Hoc committee of District 1 Supervisor John Renison and District 5 Supervisor Ray Castillo, to hold talks with Calexico and Tribal officials to address County concerns.