For the first time since 2009, a committee of city, county and Chumash tribal representatives approved nearly $1.5 million in grants Friday to public agencies as part of a state-mandated process of distributing tribal gaming profits.

The money is set aside by state officials in what is known as a Special Distribution Fund (SDF), then disbursed by the local group, which is officially called the Santa Barbara County Indian Gaming Community Benefit Committee.
Each county that receives funds from the SDF must establish an “Indian Gaming Benefit Committee” to oversee how the funds are allocated. The committee is made up of representatives from the tribe, the county within which the tribe is located, and nearby cities.

However, the Santa Barbara County group hadn’t approved grant funding since 2009 because then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger held onto the funds in a money grab to narrow the state’s multi-billion dollar deficit.
The following grants for local projects were unanimously approved at the meeting held at Solvang City Hall:

• Solvang — Widening of Alamo Pintado Bridge on Highway 246, $105,883.
• Buellton — Additional law enforcement services, $165,000. 
• Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department — Five deputy sheriff positions, $675,000
• Santa Barbara County Fire Department — Three firefighter/
  paramedic positions for Station 32 in Santa Ynez, $524,000.

The total local funding granted this year is $1.47 million. The approved list of grants will be sent to the state controller for processing.
Solvang had requested

$881,930 for continuing preliminary engineering and completion of the widening project’s environmental document. In 2009, the city received $173,281 for the he bridge-widening project.

 The committee consists of Chumash tribal chairman Vincent Armenta and tribe member Reggie Pagaling; Santa Barbara County supervisors Steve Lavagnino, 5th District, and Doreen Farr, 3rd District; Solvang City Council members Hans Duus and Joan Jamieson; and Buellton Mayor Ed Andrisek.

After the approval of the grants, Duus thanked the tribe for its economic contributions and investment in the Santa Ynez Valley, particularly in Solvang.
“The valley has benefited greatly,” he said.

The tribe owns Hotel Corque and Root 246 restaurant in Solvang.
Jamieson, who echoed Duus comments, said the generosity of the tribe is appreciated by many in the community, despite a few vocal naysayers.
Buellton is home to the tribe’s employee resource center, and Andrisek also thanked the tribe for its support.

Both supervisors said the money will save vital public-safety positions from the chopping block at a time of painful budget cuts to the fire and sheriff’s departments.

Tribal members call the Santa Ynez Valley home, committee chair Pagaling said. Developing cooperative ties with neighbors makes just as much impact as money, he said.

“That’s why we do what we do,” he said of giving back to the community.
The fund is designed to help local governments handle off-reservation impacts of tribal gaming by permitting cities and counties to apply for grants funded by mandatory tribal contributions to the state SDF.

The fund originated with “compacts” signed in 1999 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and tribal officials. The compact agreements specify how the SDF money is to be distributed; the calculation is based on a statewide formula that takes into account how much each contributing tribe pays into the SDF.
Armenta asked committee members to support the tribe in its efforts with the state for SDF funding for the 2010-11 cycle, expected to be about $1.4 million.