Tule River tribal officials are seeking support for a proposal to relocate Eagle Mountain Casino from their reservation to land overlooking Lake Success east of Porterville.
On Tuesday, the Porterville City Council passed a resolution in favor of the preliminary plan, saying it would add more than 400 jobs and increase economic activity for the city.
"The casino would expand the Porterville area's stake in the visitor-serving industry by creating a true resort destination," says a resolution proposed by Mayor Pro Tem Virginia Gurrola.
Questionable meeting
The vote came after a questionable Sept. 26 meeting between the City Council and tribal officials. Gurrola and Councilman Cameron Hamilton are part of an intergovernmental coordinating committee with two members of the tribal council.
That group had a special meeting a week ago to tour the casino and other tribal council operations. A public notice of the meeting was posted at City Hall, presumably to make the tour available to residents. The committee and two other members of the council, Mayor Gordon Woods and Councilman Kelly West, joined the tour, along with City Manager John Longley and the city planner.
The gathering of the entire City Council on a subject they would later vote on could be a violation of the state's open meetings law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Steve Kabot, managing attorney of the law firm that represents the city of Porterville, denied a violation was made.
"No business was discussed, and no decision was made during the tour," he said. "The other two council members attended simply as members of the public to observe."
Supervisor Jim Maples said the county Board of Supervisors was invited to participate in the same kind of meeting, but the board declined the invitation.
"I didn't think it was something the board could do without being in violation of the open-meeting law," Maples said.
The board does not have a joint committee with the tribal council.
The Board of Supervisors and the Tulare County Association of Governments have been asked to voice their support for the plan.
Proposed casino
Tribal administrator Dave Nenna said traveling to the proposed casino site would be easier and safer. Access to the existing casino is made by driving into the foothill reservation up several miles of a narrow, winding road off of Highway 190.
"This proposal is a matter of relocation," Nenna said. "One, there's very little suitable building sites on the reservation. Second, safety is a consideration. There have been three fatalities on the road to the casino.
"I don't know if it's a matter of patrons who are unfamiliar with the [winding] road, or the impatience of those who are familiar with the road and are trying to pass people."
The existing casino
The current casino is about 35,000 square feet, with about 20,000 square feet dedicated to gaming machines, 10,000 square feet for bingo and another 5,000 square feet in offices. The tribe also has numerous portable buildings that house services to support the casino operation, Nenna said.
Tribal officials are eager to demonstrate to local representatives and residents that their casino has not spun off the seedy subculture many gambling opponents warn against.
"We've been operating for seven years, and a lot of the concerns the public once had never materialized, like a rise in crime, loss of property values and prostitution," he said. "Instead, the casino has helped us support ourselves and even to make contributions and donations to the surrounding community."
Plans for relocation
The tribe is working on a master plan it hopes to complete in about 90 to 120 days. The plan will include architectural drawings for the 75-acre site, as well as the effect increased traffic would have on Highway 190 and on the environment.
"It's still very preliminary," Nenna said. "It's in its infancy right now. We have to see if it's feasible to support a facility with the surrounding demographics."
About 40 acres of the land is held in trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior for the tribe. The tribe itself owns an adjacent 35 acres. Although the tribe is a sovereign nation, it can't do as it pleases when it comes to developing the land, Nenna said.
"You can't just circumvent everything," he said. "There are some federal regulations you have to follow. The idea that tribes are exempted or excluded from regulations -- that's a myth."
Times-Delta reporter Amee Thompson contributed to this report.