While the Tule River Indian Tribe waits for approval to relocate their casino to a parcel of land off Highway 190 near Lake Success, the tribal council has begun to consider building a hotel on the site, said Sam Cohen, general counsel for the tribe.

"The idea is to put a hotel on the site independently of the casino to make the parcel productive and still continue working on the relocation; to the extent that permits on the casino are delayed, at least the hotel project would begin to make that parcel economically productive," Cohen said.
The tribe initially planned to build a hotel with 150 to 200 rooms, several restaurants, a combined entertainment and bingo area and casino with 2,000 gaming devices, Cohen said. The 40-acre parcel of land targeted for the project - which is not on the reservation - was purchased in 1990 by the tribe and was designated trust land in 1994.

"The move is very political and very difficult and it's going to take a while," Cohen said.

Cohen and others believe both Porterville and Springville will benefit from the relocation and expansion of the casino.

"The new casino would be an engine for regional, economic and tourist growth in Porterville and Springville," Cohen said. "It would most definitely save the merchants of Springville, a number of which have closed their doors just in the past couple of weeks. Other (Springville merchants) are really just trying to hold on tight until the casino is relocated to Highway 190."
Cohen also said regular casino customers would benefit from the increased accessibility and safety.

"The tribe has always desired to relocate the existing casino out of the mountains, away from the winding road," Cohen said. "It would improve access, emergency-service access, police access. It would be a larger site, and hopefully all of those factors will encourage more people to come to the tribe's casino."
Over the past eight years, the Tule River Indian Tribe has given financial support to social programs on the reservation as well as nonprofit organizations in and around Porterville.

"The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which is the federal statue under which the tribe is permitted to game, requires that all revenues from the casino be placed into government or social welfare programs," Cohen said. "While some tribes have distributed most of their money to their members, Tule River has invested most of its money in job creation, tribal social welfare programs, future economic development programs such as Tule River Economic Development Corporation and organizations throughout the area."

Despite positive endorsements by Porterville and Springville community officials, there are still people living near the relocation site who are not interested in seeing the area urbanized.

Trying to address the concerns of residents of Springville and the surrounding foothills, the Tule River Indian Tribe has hired professionals to study the possible impacts on traffic, the environment and local wildlife.

"The casino has done a traffic impact study that was reviewed by CalTrans, and they found it acceptable," Cohen said. "They have also prepared an environmental document, including a biological analysis to prevent harm to endangered species."

"We have hired geo-technical engineers to review the soils and analyze them, and any possibility that the soil may not be stable has already been included in our engineering analysis," Cohen said.

The casino move has been endorsed by the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, Porterville City Council and the Springville Chamber of Commerce, but construction cannot begin until a final OK comes from both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"The chamber supports the potential for economic impact. Tourism would benefit from having the casino in a more accessible location," said Donnette Silva Carter, chief executive officer of the Porterville Chamber of Commerce. "Also, many additional jobs would be provided to the community and there is also the multiplier effect of buying power - the more money that is being made, the more money that can be put back into the community."

More than 600 people are now employed by Eagle Mountain Casino and its subsidiaries, Cohen said, a number that would increase with the relocation.
Silva Carter said the new venue would also offer a location for business conferences and larger meetings.

"We receive requests from people interested in having conferences in our area all the time, but we have to turn them away to Visalia or sometimes Fresno or Bakersfield because we don't have a large enough venue," she said.
Contact Katie Hicks at 784-5000, ext. 1051, or khicks@portervillerecorder.com.
This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on June 25, 2004