Safety at the Soboba Indian Reservation remains a concern for local government officials and others despite the recent signing of a mediation agreement between the tribe and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The embattled Inland tribe has encountered concerns on multiple fronts:

Plans to expand its reservation and to build a new casino and hotel have drawn ire in nearby San Jacinto. Neighbors say they fear an expansion would increase crime and clog their streets. The city government has asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to suspend the Soboba application.

The federal Indian gambling regulatory agency has said it could be forced to close Soboba Casino if violence on the reservation is a threat to the gambling site's customers. The warning from the National Indian Gaming Commission followed two May shootouts with sheriff's deputies that left three tribal members dead. The tribe responded last week by asking casino employees to send the commission letters in support of the tribe.

Even the truce the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians reached with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department has its problems. Among them, the tribe and the sheriff disagree on whether deputies need tribal permission to enter the reservation.

With community concerns and outside scrutiny both increasing, some critics say the tribe must do more to allay safety worries on its 6,886-acre rustic reservation, which sits east of San Jacinto.

Soboba Band Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado and Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff sign a mediation agreement earlier this week.

"I don't think they have done anything to address the issues on the reservation," San Jacinto Mayor Jim Ayres said. "The issue is guaranteeing the safety of residents, and they have done nothing to ensure that."

Rose Salgado, the tribal vice chairwoman, referred questions to Chairman Robert "Bobby" Salgado, who did not return a phone call Thursday.

Tribal leaders have previously described the recent deaths on the reservation as tragic isolated events. They have highlighted their philanthropic contributions to the community and dedication to keeping their reservation safe. They complained that law enforcement didn't communicate or cooperate with them during the May shootouts.

Annexation Battle

Ayres, who has not seen the agreement the tribe and sheriff signed Monday, said the city will continue to oppose the tribe's plan to expand its reservation for a new casino and hotel.

The city has sent a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs asking that the federal agency suspend the Soboba Band's application to annex hundreds of acres that the tribe owns along Soboba Road, northwest of Lake Park Drive, to its reservation.

The annexation would give the land federal trust status, which means the land would become part of the reservation.

Sheriff Stanley Sniff, with Soboba Chairman Robert Salgado, talks about communication between his department and the tribe.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs' realty office did not return a phone message seeking comment on the status of the tribe's application to place the 535 acres in trust.

In opposing the expansion, the city has cited concerns over public safety of reservation residents and those visiting the casino, but it has not said specifically what the tribe would need to do to resolve the matter.

Ayres could not say what was needed, but he did point out that a contract for law enforcement services between the tribe and a police agency, most likely the Sheriff's Department, would go "a long way" toward showing that tribal officials are serious about addressing public safety.

"I don't think it is that simple as signing off one, two or three things," Ayres said Tuesday.

The Sheriff's Department had a contract for law enforcement services with the tribe, but that agreement was canceled by tribal officials in August 2006 after just a year.

Ayres said he is contacted nearly every day by San Jacinto residents who live in the neighborhoods that would be surrounded by reservation land if the expansion were approved. They have voiced strong opposition to the plan, he said.

"Some of them are scared to death. They are also worried about their safety, traffic and a host of other problems they see coming if the annexation is approved," he said. "I can see their point."

Ayres indicated that the city is willing to work with the tribe, but he said it has not always been easy even to meet with tribal leaders.

"There have been times when we had meetings scheduled and no one showed up," Ayres said.

Sheriff Stanley Sniff said the document signed Monday is a good first step that could lead to a safer reservation. The agreement calls for, among other things, training for deputies about the tribe's history. The agreement suggests tribal members take part in a citizens' police academy to learn about deputies' roles.

"In the long run, I believe that many of the issues of safety will work themselves out and ease up," Sniff said earlier this week. "We have taken the first step."

Casino Campaign

Internal Soboba Casino documents indicate that casino management wants its employees to help convince the National Indian Gaming Commission that the workers don't feel in danger because of the recent violence. A memo to employees said the management wants the community to see Soboba Casino as a "great place" and "a fun and safe environment to come and play."

Employees last week were given prewritten letters addressed to the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and asked to sign and return them to the human resources department, which would mail them to the commission. The letters stated that employees were not afraid to go to work and believed the casino was "well-insulated from other activities on the reservation."

The letters also were supposed to be copied and sent to Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands.

Lewis' press secretary confirmed Friday that Lewis has received some of the letters from Soboba Casino employees. The commission's spokesman did not know if Chairman Phil Hogen had received any.

Reach Michelle DeArmond at 951-368-9441 or mdearmond@PE.com

Casino plans

The Soboba tribe wants to add 535 acres to its reservation and to replace its existing casino. The plans, which the neighboring city of San Jacinto opposes, include:

A 90,000-square-foot casino with a gambling floor covering 70,000 square feet

A 300-room hotel

A multilevel parking garage

A tribal fire station