Dry Creek Band, neighbors still coming to grips with casino realities

Traffic, fire safety, private property rights still
being contested by locals, county officials, attorneys and
politicians
by Bert Williams, Staff Writer
River Rock Casino has now been open for several months on a hill
overlooking Alexander Valley, and opinions range widely as to the
impact the casino has had on the valley community.
At the Geyserville Unified School District, where enrollment has
been declining and state budget cuts are deeply felt, District
Superintendent Bill Redman is glad for the $300,000 pledge from the
Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. The district has already
received a check for $40,000 and expects to receive the remainder
of the funds during the school year in ten $26,000
installments.
“There are no strings attached,” said Redman, noting that the
casino has had no other impact on Geyserville schools.
By contrast, the Alexander Valley School has filed a formal
protest to the Casino’s application for a liquor license. District
Superintendent Michael McEvoy noted that some bus stops are within
half a mile of the casino entrance.
Most everyone agrees the casino has had an impact on valley
traffic.
“I used to be able to go to bed and not hear any traffic,” said
Jim Murphy of Murphy-Goode Winery. “It’s quite a significant
increase, and it’s 24 hours per day now.” The winery is close to
the casino, along highway 128.
Of the traffic, Murphy said, “It’s people not used to driving
country roads, and in a hurry.” He said there is no appreciable
increase in customers at the winery’s tasting room, but noted that
the quality of roadside litter has improved. “There are now Corona
beer bottles, when it used to be Budweiser cans,” he said.
County Sheriff Bill Cogbill observed that emergency calls in the
area are up, but that, so far, the impact has been moderate.
“If and when they get a liquor license and more on-sight
parking, we expect a greater impact,” Cogbill said.
A parking garage is in the works, according to Liz DeRouen,
chair of the council for the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo
Indians. She said the design will include three pods of from five
to seven levels and will accommodate 900 vehicles.
Cogbill said the tribe has indicated a willingness to negotiate
increased funding for law enforcement and for road improvements,
but, because of legal cases currently tied up in court,
negotiations have stalled.
Mike Pigoni, chairman of the Geyserville Fire Protection
District Board of Directors, said that more emergency calls are
coming into the fire station for traffic accidents on Highway 128
and Alexander Valley Road. “Traffic accidents have increased
significantly,” he said.
Pigoni also noted that the tribe seems willing to assist the
public safety agencies financially, though no agreement has been
reached yet with the fire district.
The combination of traffic and alcohol is creating concern among
both local residents and county officials. The casino has applied
for an on-site liquor license from the Alcohol Beverage Control
Board. DeRouen observed that other businesses in Alexander Valley
have liquor licenses, and that other Indian gaming establishments
in California have been granted liquor licenses, so she expects the
license will be granted. Others hope she is wrong.
“The liquor license is being contested by the sheriff and the
fire people,” said County Counsel Stephen Woodside. “Liquor will
make an already unsafe situation worse.”
“Harvest is coming,” said Candy Cadd, a nearby neighbor. “There
will be tractors, gondolas and trucks hauling grapes. Mix that up
with people who don’t know the road, and with buses and
construction equipment – it’s going to be a problem.”
The road into the casino crosses Larry and Candy Cadd’s property
– land that has been in Candy’s family for generations. In the
1920s her step grandfather began allowing the Indians to pass
through to the Rancheria, which had been established in 1915.
In 1965, Candy’s grandmother agreed to sign an easement with the
Federal Government, formalizing the right for the people living on
the Rancheria to cross their land. The family had no idea what the
road would eventually be used for, said Candy, or how much traffic
would be on it.
Now the Cadd’s say they are faced with demands that they give up
more land to widen Highway 128 and create a new expanded entrance
for the casino. Applications for the new easements are tied up in
federal court.
“Their impact on private property rights is tremendous,” said
Larry Cadd, “but they know that if they forge forward and do it,
nobody’s going to stop them. They hide under the guise of
sovereignty.”
Nevertheless, the Cadds feel their contention is more with
government than with the Dry Creek Rancheria Band. “We’re really
not pissed off at the Indians,” Larry said. “It’s mostly the
federal government and the politics of the state.”
Ralph Sceales is president of the Alexander Valley Association.
It is his observation that other tribes within Sonoma County are
more willing to work with their communities than the Dry Creek
Rancheria Band has been.
“The thing we proposed was to find a suitable location,” said
Sceales. “There were some opportunities along the 101 corridor …
but they’re sort of a renegade group of people who don’t want to
work with us.”
In addition to traffic concerns, fire safety at the casino
troubles county officials. Sonoma County Fire Marshall Vern Losh
said he simply does not know how safe or unsafe the casino is.
“I’ve been excluded from the property,” he said, “so I’ve turned it
over to the attorney.”
“What we strongly object to,” said County Counsel Stephen
Woodside, “is this tribe’s indifference to public safety … We have
sought permission to conduct an inspection for fire safety … and
were denied by the tribe, so we have filed an action in Superior
Court seeking an inspection warrant. The tribe removed the action
to federal court, claiming that the state court has no jurisdiction
over them.”
County Supervisor Paul Kelley said he has been frustrated with
the tribe’s attitude toward the county’s safety concerns. “If I
could shut them down tomorrow I would,” said Kelley, “but all the
regulatory oversight is with the governor’s office. … To have
gaming on their land, they have to sign a compact with the
governor, and the governor has the responsibility to enforce the
compact.
“The impacts are local, but the regulatory control is
extra-local,” said Kelley. “There is no motivation on the part of
the governor to do anything. The Board of Supervisors has asked the
County Counsel to consider any and all legal remedies, but there’s
so much protection around the governor to legal challenges, that
it’s difficult to do anything.”
Jerome Levine, attorney for the tribe, views the issue
differently.
“The casino is definitely within the law,” said Levine, speaking
by phone from his office in Los Angeles. He said the casino has
passed a number of inspections by state regulators, and is
safe.
“The issue is that the county wanted the tribe to concede
jurisdiction to the county. This dispute has nothing to do with
public safety. It is a jurisdictional dispute,” said Levine. “The
building meets the uniform building codes that all federal
reservations abide by. The state fire marshall has said that it is
safe.”
According to Levine, the tribe provided the all the records that
were requested during a state inquiry, and the state determined
there was no breach of the tribe’s compact.
Levine also insisted that the tribe made a serious effort to
cooperate with the county.
“We offered a binding memorandum of understanding to the
county,” he said. “It was an agreement on all sorts of mitigation
measures – building codes, roads, environmental issues, as well as
support for fire services and other requests the county made. The
tribe agreed to every requirement made by the county, and Paul
Kelley led the negotiations.”
Levine insisted that county officials are now opposing the
casino for purely political reasons. “This is just a political turf
war using Dry Creek as a scapegoat” said Levine. “It’s really
tragic.”
When told of Levine’s comments, Kelley responded, “Our assertion
is that public safety is within our jurisdiction. The state and
federal governments are too far away to deal with safety.”
Kelley said he did indeed have discussions with the tribe’s
lawyers over a memorandum of understanding. “The Board of
Supervisors made a determination that it was not comprehensive
enough to overcome our serious concerns,” said Kelley.
According to Kelley, the talks broke down when the tribe began
constructing the tent-like structure that now houses the casino.
“They never fully revealed what it was they were going to build up
there. They told us (the recontouring of the mountainside) was for
their water tank, and then they put up the tent. When that
happened, the board just said, forget it.”
Kelley said there were areas of agreement between the tribe and
the supervisors, but concerns about public safety were never
resolved.
Nevertheless, DeRouen said the casino wants good relations with
the community. “We’ve got great rapport with the Geyserville Fire
District and they provide great services to us,” she said. “The
Sheriff’s Department comes up on a regular beat. … We’re working on
arrangements with the Geyserville Fire District who are looking to
upgrade their facilities, equipment and staff. … We are seeking to
better the community. We’re not here to fight with anybody, but we
are here to protect ourselves, by all means.”
Another attorney for the tribe, Rory E. Dilweg, also of Los
Angeles, said there is a perception that tribes can do whatever
they want, but that is not true.
“The tribe does have to have a state liquor license and to
follow the laws,” said Dilweg. “The Alcohol Beverage Control Board
will have a hearing at which protesters will be able to speak their
minds.”
Dilweg said he expects some protests will not get a hearing
because they are based on misinformation. The casino is not
planning to sell alcohol to minors, for example, or to sell liquor
24 hours a day.
“We’ve got to stay within state laws,” he insisted. Dilweg
expects that protests from Kelley, the county fire marshall, the
sheriff and the Alexander Valley School will be heard.
Carrie Brown, proprietor of Alexander Valley’s Jimtown Store,
has been distressed by the strife over the casino. “It’s been
painful for me to watch,” she said. “We want to get along with our
neighbors. My hope is that we can find a way to coexist
harmoniously. There are issues that are clearly troubling, … but
since they are here, we need to find ways to get along.”
Brown admitted that being tolerant may be easier for her than
for those living closer to the casino.
“Alexander Valley is overwhelmingly united in opposition,” said
Brown. “I tend to want to be more tolerant. There shouldn’t be
exclusions or exceptions because of their sovereignty; but my quest
is, how are we all going to work this out?”