Pinoleville Indian Nation hosted a meeting Thursday in Ukiah to talk about its plans to build a casino on the old site of Ken Fowler motors north of Ukiah.

Tribal council members and those involved with the project said the project will be on about eight acres of land, the size of the old car lot just north of Orr Springs Road on North State Street.

"It is about 8.8 acres total property," development partner Michael Canales said. "It is exactly that space."

An environmental impact report prepared by a Petaluma firm is expected to be released as soon as two weeks from now, employees of Kennec Earth Engineering and Science stated.

"This is our second informational meeting, our first was on Sunday," John Tang who is partnered with Canales said. Members of tribal government said that the project has been a long time in the making.

"We have been planning for about nine years on this one project," Vice Chairperson Angela James said. Tang noted that building a tribal casino is a different type of process.

"This is a tribal governmental gaming facility, it is authorized under federal law," Tang said, "The process is very different than a commercial development."

Chairperson Leone Williams said that an ad-hoc committee has been formed by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to look at impacts of the project on county services.

"The negotiations with the county is for that site and that site only for gaming," said Canales.

A group of about 20 came to the Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse in Ukiah to ask questions about Pinoleville's project. One citizen inquired about how law enforcement would be provided at the casino.

"There will be casino security, that is first level," Tang said. "The Sheriff's Office would be working with the casino to provide for public safety," Tang said.

Dagan Short, a consultant hired to work on the EIR, addressed an audience question about the site's location.

Short said that while the site is located in a 100-year-flood plain, "All the work that we are doing will make sure we are above the 100-year-flood plain."

Ground breaking is expected in the late spring or early summer of 2010. The casino is expected to generate 225 full time jobs as well as an estimated 150 construction jobs. The tribe has 250 members.

The project team said that it wants to use local goods and services during construction. Canales noted that the local area has small contractors and that he had been asked in Sacramento by the union to use union contractors.

Canales said he told them no. "We literally had to take bullets early on in Sacramento to say no we cannot do that,'" said Canales. He said he wants to break up big contracts so local people can get them.

In March 2009 a gaming compact was reached between Pinoleville Indian Nation and the state. The compact is good until Dec. 31, 2030. Pinoleville will share 15 percent of annual net win revenues with the state, Governor Schwarzenegger's office stated.

Conceptual drawings of the casino by the design firm Leo A Daly were also on display at Thursday's meeting.

Zack Cinek can be reached at udjzc@pacific.net or 468-3521.