Meeting for the first time since 2007, a committee of city, county and Chumash tribal representatives approved nearly $1.5 million in grants Thursday 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 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 met since March 2007 because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut the program for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Assembly Bill 158, approved in September 2008, reauthorized the funding.

The following grants for local projects were unanimously approved Thursday at a meeting held at Solvang City Hall:

n Solvang — Widening of Alamo Pintado Bridge on Highway 246, $173,281.

n Buellton — Additional law enforcement services, $132,000.

Advertisement
 

 
n Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department — Five deputy sheriff positions, $673,403, and operating expenses for a public-safety radio repeater, $1,200.

n Santa Barbara County Fire Department — firefighter/paramedic funding for Station 32 in Santa Ynez, $490,000.

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.

Brad Vidro, Solvang’s city manager, said the cost of the bridge-widening project on Highway 246 at Alamo Pintado Road is estimated at $7 million to $8 million.

The project is intended to ease congestion at the intersection.

Although Caltrans has jurisdiction over the bridge on Highway 246, Vidro said no state funding is expected. Money from the federal economic stimulus package is also possible, he said.

Solvang received $350,000 in 2007 and $300,000 in 2006 for the project from the SDF.

The latest grant will be used for preliminary designs, according to Vidro.

Buellton City Manager Steve Thompson said the additional law-enforcement grant allows the city to continue its traffic-enforcement program with motorcycle Officer Win Smith along Highway 246.

Thompson said speed-limit enforcement has “greatly reduced” speeding through the community.

Smith also patrols before and after classes at Oak Valley School and teaches bicycle safety to children.

Buellton received $114,000 in 2007 and $90,000 in 2006 from the SDF for the same program.

The committee consists of Chumash tribal chairman Vincent Armenta and tribe member Reggie Pagaling; Santa Barbara County supervisors Joe Centeno, 5th District, and Doreen Farr, 3rd District; Solvang City Council members Linda Jackson and Hans Duus; and Buellton Mayor Russ Hicks.

Both Armenta and Pagaling urged the committee members to lobby Sacramento to keep the funds in local hands.

“We want the money to stay here,” Armenta said.

Echoing Armenta’s comments, Pagaling said the state, mired in a $42 billion deficit, is trying to grab all the money it can, and a collaborative effort is needed to keep the SDF money in the community to address local needs.

Other enterprises in Santa Barbara County should follow the lead of the tribe in giving more to the public than just jobs, Pagaling said.

“I don’t think there are many businesses that will do that,” he added.

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.

To date, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has paid more than $16 million into the state’s distribution fund.

jramos@syvnews.com