I was intrigued by Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad's guest opinion last Sunday in The Daily Democrat regarding the impasse between the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians and Yolo County over our planned transformation of Cache Creek Casino Resort into a world-class destination resort. The supervisor stated our inability to reach agreement over the tribe's project "has nothing to do with business, much less money." In fact, the tribe's project, and the resulting impasse with the county, is about both.

The nation, state, and county face real economic crisis. Unemployment in Yolo County has climbed to 9 percent. Meanwhile, the record shows our project would create 1,000 new jobs, plus hundreds of construction jobs. This is on top of the Resort's existing 2,500 jobs. In addition, every year the project will generate $90 million in regional economic benefits, adding the $300 million the Resort already generates annually. In short, this project has everything "to do with business."

The supervisor's article also states "the county and tribe are virtually in agreement on monetary reimbursement for increased demand on local government. Money isn't the issue here." This is not exactly right either.

The tribe has offered to pay the county more than it needs to pay for the "increased demand on local government" -- specifically, the cost of providing fire protection, law enforcement and similar services because of the project. As an independent analysis shows, such services

would cost the county less than $1 million per year. However, the tribe has offered to pay the county $3.3 million annually -- more than three times what it really needs every year to cover the "increased demand on local government."

This extra money (totaling more than $50 million) can be used for additional mitigation the county believes is necessary. This is on top of mitigation projects the tribe has offered to construct -- some simply because the county wanted them, even though the environmental studies found no need for them. The truth is, and as shown by the county's historic, unchecked use of the tribe's annual $5 million payment, the county does not want the extra money for mitigation, but rather, to address budgetary constraints having nothing to do with the Resort's impacts.

Supervisor Rexroad correctly recognizes the tribe's sovereign right to pursue this project, but expresses concern about traffic impacts and our proposed use of our Elden Ranch farm property next to the Resort. This is curious too. Enabling the tribe to use the adjacent farm property for mitigation will ease environmental impacts in important ways, including traffic. For example, the tribe proposes depositing dirt generated from construction on Elden Ranch, avoiding more than 34,000 large haul truck trips on State Route 16 to transport the extra dirt.

In addition, by using Elden as proposed, the tribe could maximize use of recycled water, since the tribe hopes to build a reservoir using some extra dirt to store recycled water generated by its wastewater treatment facility. Having this water would enable the tribe to use its farm for more than grazing, including orchards and vineyards. The extra water also could be used to irrigate the Resort's landscape, further reducing the tribe's groundwater needs. In sum, Elden's proposed use is an environmental win-win, enhancing the tribe's farming operation and resulting in fewer traffic and water impacts. This must explain why the county supported the proposal before negotiations stalled, issuing one permit needed for such use.

As for traffic, the parties and their experts repeatedly met to discuss what projects would be needed to facilitate traffic flow. The county devised a wish list of projects. Even though the traffic studies found no need for such projects, the tribe has now offered to build them. This includes a bypass around the unincorporated town of Esparto, which would facilitate the flow of traffic headed to the Resort. The tribe also offers to expand bus service, build a park and ride facility, construct new stoplights and a myriad of other road projects that go beyond what is required.

Supervisor Rexroad's concerns appear to center not on specific traffic mitigation efforts, but rather on how quickly improvements are made on SR-16. But this is a state highway, over which CalTrans has jurisdiction, and we are more than willing to work with the county to move any SR-16 improvements to the head of the line.

The tribe respects Supervisor Rexroad and has enjoyed a good working relationship with him. Based on his public comments, we are concerned that he may not have all of the facts, or that he may be misreading the circumstances leading to the current impasse. To date, these negotiations have involved just one supervisor and the Board's attorney. It might help both the county and the tribe if Supervisor Rexroad, and perhaps other supervisors not involved in the negotiations, discuss these issues with us directly. We welcome the opportunity.

-- Marshall McKay is chairman of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians